Age is a relative concept

A few weeks ago I went to the dentist. Not because I needed to this time, but because, as I've told you before, my dentist is in a city 100 km from where I live, and with these gas prices, any reason to travel has to be combined with everything else. So, I went to the dentist for a preventive checkup, I have a reason to do it, although this is not entirely accepted and, not to mention, it is quite strange, in a country like Bulgaria, where usually no one goes for a preventive checkup, at least not to a dentist, but whatever.

And regarding this preventive examination and my concerns about the condition of my teeth, the dentist told me something like this (I paraphrase): According to the latest scientific findings, a person is, so to speak, guaranteed to have a more or less normal condition of their teeth until the age of 45. They are guaranteed to have teeth at all. After 45, nothing is guaranteed anymore. If you lead an unreasonable life - smoking, drinking alcohol, etc. after 45 years you will have nothing left, if you take care of your teeth and lead a more reasonable life, you will have a lot more after these 45 years, eventually.

This news shocked me a little and discouraged me a lot.

"I'll be 45 this year," I told him.

"Well, the way I look at you, the way you look, you'll have a lot more left after those 45 years of warranty," he had told me reassuringly.

Shortly after that, we had a visit from acquaintances. The woman in the couple is younger than me, but she looks older, which is something that is already noted on purpose at this age, because... what else do we have left?😅 And sooner or later the conversation turned to diseases, and not just any diseases, but genetic, hereditary and... autoimmune. And so, we, people over 40, got to the point of talking about these incurable conditions that we all find ourselves in, one condition or another that you just have to accept because you have it, inherited or not, triggered by stress or not.

I must say that then, as now, I find this quite worrying. Because, as I have told you before, I did not believe, I never even thought that something could happen to my health so early. I have always thought that people of 60 and more could be sick. And I have reason to think so, of course, it's not just some superficial whim, after a few years ago I had an illness that usually happens to older people, quite old ones at that. That was probably why it couldn't be diagnosed at first, because it's quite unusual for a "young person" to be sick with something like that.

But am I really young in the medical sense? Especially after the information I received from my dentist. Well, I think that according to Bulgarian medical textbooks, a woman who has not given birth at 23 is already considered old. I remember well how when I was about 27, there was a young man, but older than me, at my workplace who made fun of me for not having children at that age, calling me old.

Then I remembered that GP I had until the end of last year, who told me that "I was young and absolutely healthy" and therefore refused to give me a referral for the preventive blood tests that I was entitled to by law, as well as to give me a referral to a specialist.

At the time, this incident had made me feel a little uncomfortable, it had even made me ashamed. How come I, "so young", would want a referral to a specialist, why would I want to have my annual check-ups - I'm young, right? How come my blood tests haven't been good for years - so this is just a lie, etc.

But at the same time, coming from the mouth of an old-school doctor, fed by the "23-year-woman / an-old-woman" theory, this should sound strange, right?

From a medical point of view, I, over 40, am by no means young, people even younger than me in the area where I live suffer from autoimmune diseases, this is also statistically one of the regions with the highest concentration of cancer, where people commit suicide because they simply cannot stand the pain and no relief is offered by the local doctors (misanthropes?)
Well, I openly declare that I do not trust Bulgarian doctors and next time I will turn to a fortune teller or herbalist rather than dealing with arrogant misanthropes who only wonder how to take the money of the suffering patient instead of helping him with something.

But my question today is different - am I young and life is still ahead of me or am I already super old and I should be grateful that I have reached this age at all?

For the conditions in which people live in Bulgaria, it is more likely the latter. A Western European, I am sure, does not even think that he is old at 45.

And yet, my former GP is not right, I am now 100% sure. Mostly because we live here, in these terrible, hostile conditions. And his attitude towards me only reinforced this very view.

So, I guess age is a pretty relative concept, depending on your perspective.

Thank you for your time! Copyright:	@soulsdetour
	Soul's Detour is a project started by me years ago when I had a blog about historical and not so popular tourist destinations in Eastern Belgium, West Germany and Luxembourg. Nowadays, this blog no longer exists, but I'm still here - passionate about architecture, art and mysteries and eager to share my discoveries and point of view with you.

Personally, I am a sensitive soul with a strong sense of justice.
Traveling and photography are my greatest passions.
Sounds trivial to you?
No, it's not trivial. Because I still love to travel to not so famous destinations.🗺️
Of course, the current situation does not allow me to do this, but I still find a way to satisfy my hunger for knowledge, new places, beauty and art.
Sometimes you can find the most amazing things even in the backyard of your house.😊🧐🧭|