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Healthy Habits
Check-Ups
Many of us read horoscopes to see what our days or weeks are going to bring us. Some of us go to fortunetellers or psychics to determine what our futures have in store. At times we invest our money or wager on sporting events trying to predict who or what is going to be the biggest money winner for us in the end. When it comes to our health, we also need to be able to do our best in determining what our prospects are for good health in the future. The only difference is we'd like to leave the guesswork to less important things and not our health.
Of course, we are eating right and exercising, as we should, to make our health as good as it can be. In fact, more and more people are starting to learn the value in taking better care of themselves to increase not only the quantity of life they have in front of them, but also the quality. This investment ensures we are doing all that we can to better ourselves. Along with this investment comes the need to screen our health for possible problems in the future.
The following guidelines represent a respectable approach to having periodic examinations:
- A physical exam and health risk assessment every 5 years from the age of 20 to 40, every 3 years from 40 to 50, every 2 years from 50 to 70 and yearly thereafter. Of course, if you have a pre-existing condition, heed the advice of your health care provider as this schedule may be intensified to watch any serious concerns.
- Blood pressure checks yearly, unless otherwise needed.
- Cholesterol level checks every 5 years unless, again, there is another concern.
- Breast and pelvic exams are conducted every 3 years from the age of 20 to 40 and then yearly thereafter.
- Pap smears every 3 years after 2 yearly negatives are obtained, but yearly is recommended if other concerns exist.
- Mammography done at age 35 as a baseline followed by 2 year check-ups from age 40 to 50 and then yearly thereafter. Recent debates as to the effectiveness of mammograms have led to the development of a thermal scan that it purportedly more effective and less invasive. Contact your health care provider about the details.
- Blood stool exams every 3 years from the age of 40 to 50 and then yearly thereafter.
- Proctosigmoidoscopy every 3 years from the age of 50 onward following 2 yearly negatives.
- Prostate exams every 5 years from the age of 40 until 60 and then every 2 years thereafter.
These guidelines tend to vary from region to region and are of course dependent on your overall health to begin with. As a screening tool, however, it is a wise approach. Prevention, after all, is the cornerstone upon which health care should be built. This proactive approach will help to lessen the need for crisis intervention and disease care and focus our efforts on living healthier and happier lives by maintaining the good health we were all meant to have.
Add to this your dental visits every 6 months, your eye exams every year (even though coverage only exists for every second year), any hearing, heart or other necessary testing and you are on your way to beating the odds. Finally, few people know the diagnostic capabilities of their family chiropractor. Doctors of Chiropractic receive equal amounts of training compared to their health care counterparts in assessing your health status and consulting with you regarding an appropriate mode of action for any problems that become evident. This is true even if the problem is not a chiropractic one where referral to another health care provider will be recommended.
So, all bets are off. The only way to win this race is to get prepared and take action. Forget the psychics, forget the stars and go with what you know…good health starts and ends with you.
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