What Regular Health Checkups Should I Be Getting? Here's The Ultimate Guide
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If you have a healthy lifestyle and are in good shape, it’s easy to assume that you don’t need to see a doctor. But even though you might feel healthy, getting regular checkups is still important. Many diseases have no symptoms but suddenly strike, right when you least expect it.
Regular check-ups can help improve your quality of life by detecting medical conditions early on. For example, any signs of chronic disease, heart disease, or hypertension can be addressed before they cause more damage to your body. But what health checkups should you be getting on a regular basis? Let’s take a look!
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The Top Routine Screenings You Shouldn’t Miss
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Blood Pressure Test
High blood pressure is the number one killer globally. It is a leading cause of death in both the developed and developing world. More people die from hypertension than any other single cause.
Blood pressure is your heart's force against the walls of blood vessels — if it's too high, it can damage the vessels themselves, leading to problems like stroke or heart attack. Blood pressure readings are generally given as two numbers — 120 over 80 is normal blood pressure; 140 over 90 would be considered high blood pressure.
The good news is that getting your blood pressure checked is easy. And once you know it is too high, you can take action to bring it down. That might include changing your diet, eating more blood pressure-lowering foods, or taking medications your doctor prescribes. A blood pressure test calculates the pressure of blood in your arteries as it pumps through your body. If the pressure is too high, it can lead to heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease, so it's essential to monitor this number over time.
Diabetes
Diabetes can be managed with regular exercise, a healthy diet, a blood sugar test, and medication. However, you'll want to ensure that you get blood tests & screening tests for diabetes. Diabetes is an interesting condition. Type II diabetes doesn't develop immediately. Instead, it takes around ten years for most people to develop the full-blown disease. First, your blood sugar control is standard. Then, over time, it starts to deteriorate. Eventually, your pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin to shuttle sugar into your cells. And that's when potential problems can begin.
Cholesterol
The body needs cholesterol to make specific tissues, such as cell walls and the brain. However, when levels are too high, it can form plaques in your arteries. Over time, these build up and become more prominent, eventually becoming unstable, breaking off, and causing a heart attack or stroke.
LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol carries most of the fat through your bloodstream; HDL (high-density lipoprotein) transports cholesterol back to the liver for processing. High cholesterol (bad cholesterol) in your blood can lead to buildup in your arteries which may cause them to narrow over time and block blood flow throughout the body. Interestingly, cholesterol can start building up from a young age. Even teenagers can have fatty streaks in their arteries that can later lead to heart disease.
Gum Disease
Making sure you have good oral health & getting regular dental care is also critical. Mild gum disease can quickly progress into much more severe periodontitis, a serious condition resulting in tooth loss. Fortunately, dentists are pretty good at spotting the signs of gum disease early. If they see a problem, they can provide you with treatment to fix it quickly.
If you're not getting regular dental cleanings, you should visit the dentist once every six months for oral cancer screening. This is the best way to prevent and reverse periodontal disease, a severe condition that can result in tooth loss if left untreated. A great way to avoid gum disease is by getting regular dental cleanings, also known as scaling and polishing (S&P). Also, dental professionals are trained to spot signs of oral cancer at an early stage when it's most treatable.
Cancer Health Screenings
Cancer screenings are one of the major things you should get regularly. Regular screening can detect cancer early and significantly increase your chances of surviving cancer if it is caught early enough. In particular, women need to ensure they are up-to-date with their mammograms and pap tests (men can also get them). In addition to these cancer screenings, many doctors recommend colorectal cancer screenings for women at age 50 and men at age 45.
Some cancer screenings include:
Colonoscopy: A procedure where a doctor looks for signs of cancer and other problems inside the large intestine (colon), like colon cancer. This test can help find cancer at the early stages when it's easier to treat.
Breast exam: During this exam, your health care provider will feel for abnormalities in your breasts by pressing them with their fingers and looking for anything unusual through a magnifying glass called a breast probe. They may recommend further testing, such as mammograms and ultrasounds, if they find something suspicious.
Skin Cancer
Unfortunately, this type of cancer is the most common type in most Western countries, which means there is a high risk that it will develop at some point in your life. Therefore, early detection is critical. If you are always in the sun, preventive care and regular skin cancer screenings are the best way.
Lung Cancer
Regular lung cancer screenings are highly recommended if you are a smoker or have been in the past. This can catch cancer in its earliest stages when it is most treatable. A simple chest X-ray is all it takes to screen for lung cancer. Further testing, such as CT scans or biopsies (removal of tissue inside the lungs), may be recommended if abnormalities are found on the X-ray.
Cervical Cancer
The same applies to cervical cancer. Treatment is more likely to succeed if you can quickly get on top of it. Cervical cancer screening is relatively straightforward. Most women should go for a pap test every three years up to the age of 29 and every five years after that. A pap smear can help detect whether you have the HPV virus, a germ that causes cancer in some women.
Are you getting regular medical checkups & screenings? Even if you feel like you are in good health, visit your healthcare provider for your physical and overall health. Regular health checkups and screenings can provide information about your current health and insight into potential issues you may have. So discuss with your physician or healthcare provider to find out which ones you need.
