Health Coach Tip: Why women should see a doctor when they don’t feel sick!
Preventive Care
Health screenings are medical exams (history of illness and physical) and laboratory tests done by your healthcare provider when you have no symptoms or complaints.
Screenings pick up hidden signs of disease that your provider can treat at an early stage when it can be cheaper and easier to treat.
Identifying “risk factors” (family history, age previous disease) helps avoid certain illnesses.
Screening Tests
Mammograms screen for breast cancer: 1 out of 8 women will get breast cancer. Get mammograms every other year starting at age 40 and every year after 50 years. Begin earlier if a first degree relative (sister, mother or daughter) has had cancer.
Self-Breast exams(SBE): These are usually performed monthly after the menses when hormone levels are lowest. Report any lumps, dimpling or discoloration to you provider. These findings tend ti accimpamy advanced diseae.
Pap smears screen for cervical cancer in women who begin sexual activity at an early age, have multiple sexual partners and are exposed to the HPV virus. It should be performed on sexually active women once per year. Some vaginal infections can also be picked up by this test.
Stool test for blood/colonoscopy screen for colon or rectal cancer. Screening should begin by age 45 or with family history or with rectal bleeding.
Blood pressure and cholesterol tests screen for cardiovascular (heart) disease and hypertension (high blood pressure). Blood pressure should be checked regularly and cholesterol levels drawn every five years over the age of 20. Know your numbers. Normal blood pressure is 120/80.Normal cholesterol is less than 200.
Eye exams should be performed every three to five years over the age of 39.
Bone density tests should be performed in women after menopause. Attention should be paid especially in: white women, low activity (sedentary), family history, and steroid medication use.
Blood glucose (sugar) levels screen for diabetes. Screening should start at age 45 or with other risk factors. Hemoglobin A1C cand determine sugar control and pre-diabetes.
Immunizations are indicated for:
Ages 13 – 18 need tetanus-diphtheria booster and Hepatitis B.
Ages 19 – 44 need tetanus-diphtheria booster every 10 years.
Ages 45 – 64 need tetanus-diphtheria booster every 10 years, influenza vaccine yearly after age 65 and pneumococcal vaccine once.
Flu shots and Covid vaccinations are recommended annually to persons at risk
Screening tests for sexually transmitted infection in persons who are high risk.
