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Recording Your Family Medical History - an Important Medical Record

By Trisha Torrey, About.com

Updated March 20, 2009

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Adopted? No Relatives? Some Ideas for Recording Family Health History

If you have no access to family records, or if your relatives aren't around to help you, it will be much more difficult to put together a family medical history.

  • If you have a sibling that you know about, record what you can.

  • If you have access to your adoption records, even with no identification, there may be clues. For example, if information about the birth itself is available, you may be able to determine if your mother needed a c-section.

  • If you have lost all your known relatives but know of family friends, they might have some useful information, even stories told by your relative.
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