Most people in this part of the world are of the notion that hospitals are only to be visited when one is sick.
However, if we will cultivate the habit of going for regular health checks, many diseases, which are incapacitating people, making them miserable and shortening their life span, would have been detected and treated. You can, therefore, be sure of good health, your age now standing here how,
As we grow older in life, it is very essential to go for the following tests no matter how busy and tight our work schedules might be.
Diabetes Test
In recent times, diabetes has become an epidemic. Meanwhile, some people who have it are yet to be diagnosed while those who went for checks did so when it had already eaten so deep into their system.
The test is termed fasting blood sugar test. All you need to do is stop eating and drinking wine for up to 12 hours, and then have a blood test you can do this fasting overnight while asleep and have the test first thing in the morning. The result tells whether you have abnormally high levels of sugar in your system, which, in turn, indicates whether your body is metabolising food correctly.
READ ALSO: NECA urges CBN to suspend Forex restriction on milk
Regardless of your age, you should have the test done if you experience blurred vision that’s not cleared up by wearing glasses, excessive thirst and or urination, unexplained fatigue or unexplained sudden weight loss. If you are over 15, have it as a routine every three years.
BP smears and STD’s screening
This is a pelvic test that could reveal cervical cancer, a disease that often leads to death among women. Also, sexually transmitted diseases (STD) like gonorrhea and Chlamydia are treatable when detected early. But if they are left untreated, it could result in pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which most times, lead to infertility.
How it goes
The doctor examines your vagina for evidence of infections as well as any discharge from it. He’ll also examine your cervix to see whether you have any irritation or infection in that area; your uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries are palpated through your abdomen for abnormalities or sign of infection. For the pap smear, cells are scraped off the cervical opening, and sent for analysis at a laboratory. This is a painless procedure.
The results
If it shows changes in the cervical cells. These changes are an early warning system for cervical cancer.
Importance
Every woman needs this test as soon as she becomes sexually active, at least, from age 18; you need this test every two or three years until age 65. If you have more than one sexual partner, you should be tested yearly. If your test results are inconclusive or abnormal, you should be tested yearly until you have three consecutive normal tests.
Clinical breast examination
Once you are in your 20’s and 30’s, you need a clinical breast examination every three years and immediately you hit 40, it should be a yearly thing. You need this test to avoid death from breast cancer.
How it goes
The doctor will check your breasts and arm pits, feeling the tissue for lumps or swollen glands. Any lump which is found may indicate either benign conditions, such as blocked milk duct or a sebaceous system. It can also identify breast cancer once something is found. You may need the following as follow up investigation, a mammogram, ultrasound, fine needle aspirate of the lump or other tests.
Mammograms, according to medical experts, can detect tiny tumours you can feel during self-examination. They can also find micro- calcification-small calcium deposits that sometimes indicate the presence of breast cancer.
Skin check
To avoid series of skin cancer, especially if it runs in your family or you spend a lot of time in the sun, a routine check with a dermatologist is necessary. If you catch skin cancer early, it is highly treatable and dangerous if left untreated.
READ ALSO: The Bayelsa whale and cruelty to animals
Dental Check up
Every six months this particular test is required to be observed by all, including children from age three upwards. This will allow attendance to every problem, relating to tooth decay and cavities abnormal growth of tooth and other forms of gum disease. The dentist also checks for a variety of oral cancers, which may call for an emergency.
Eye test
Many tend to experience change in their vision, as they get older and to avoid blindness at an early old age, it is advisable to have the eyes examined yearly regardless of one’s age, even if you think you have perfect vision. Such examinations will avail your optician the chances of recommending you the right pair of glasses or put you on an early treatment against cataracts and glaucoma, which can damage the optic nerve and cause blindness.
Colonoscopy
This is a fairly common cancer and is fatal if left untreated. Colonoscopies are the best way to find suspicious growth inside the colon before they become cancerous. The test is desirable once you clock age 45.
Prone density scan
These are tests that women need to do as soon as they hit menopause. This is because it is the time when they stand at the risk of Osteoporosis (bone infection). A talk with your pharmacist will guide you on the type of calcium supplements needed to preserve your bones and the kind of high impact aerobics like walking, mining, skipping and weight lifting your bones may need.
Life as we can all see can be sweet and delightful if it is free of diseases. Many of these dreadful diseases will be avoided if tackled early via regular checks and monitoring. A stitch in time, they say, saves nine.
