Annual Check-Up: The Importance of Being Proactive With Your Health

It’s no secret that most of us live fast paced, high pressure lives, often dictated by our work demands. There is hardly enough time to eat right, to sleep well, to exercise or to consistently maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Most people book a doctor’s appointment only when they are already sick or if they are experiencing some health concerns related to their body. However, with everyone’s stress levels higher than ever and with the growing awareness about the importance of one’s health, more and more people now opt for annual health check ups that can help one identify ailments even before they start.

Annual health check ups are extremely important, especially as we age, because they help identify health problems early. This allows for treatment to start earlier and with less to no complications. Furthermore, in diseases such as cancer, early detection can be crucial and life changing for a patient’s life.

4 Reasons Why You Need Annual Health Checkups

1. Prevention Is The Best Cure

Health checkups allow for early identifications of ailments whose symptoms might have been missed or ignored in your everyday life. Conditions like diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure,cancer, HIV/AIDS, anemia and coronary artery diseases can be identified through blood tests. It is only through these tests, as part of annual health checkups, can doctors tell whether or not your organs are functioning optimally. A health checkup helps you take charge to make sure that you are taking steps at the prevention stage itself and not just at the treatment stage.

2. Lower Healthcare Costs In The Long Run

While an annual health checkup might seem like an additional, unnecessary expense, it is actually an expenditure that will ultimately help you save money. A health checkup can help reduce the risk of undergoing way more expensive surgeries, and can also help in preventing chronic illnesses. Undergoing an annual health screening can help prevent sudden, unexpected expenses and long bills in the hospital.

3. You Take Charge of Your Own Health

Going to a doctor once you experience symptoms involves you responding and reacting to your situation. However, taking an annual healthcare screening to identify some problems within your body makes you proactive. It is common knowledge that it is harder to cure a disease or condition once it has advanced. A health checkup allows a doctor to diagnose you sooner than expected, thus allowing you the opportunity to start treatment much in advance before the ailment progresses into critical stages.

4. Time is Money

Along with the harm that ailments bring to our bodies and minds, they also disrupt our daily routines and day to day lives, adding more stress and burden to an already stressful situation. Getting sick requires one to take time off from work, school and other commitments. An annual checkup helps you ensure that you are healthy and decreases the chances of you having to take time off due to future sickness or ailments.

What to Expect During Annual Health Check-up

A preliminary health check-up usually includes the measurement of blood pressure, pulse, and a physical examination conducted by personnel specialized in internal medicine. Other check-ups may include tests for body mass index, blood disorders, glucose levels, and cholesterol levels to determine the risk of heart disease, hypertension, and the risk of paralysis in the future.

Other tests will examine kidney function, bone mineral density, uric acid, rheumatoid arthritis, and lung x-rays. Specific tests can also be conducted to determine the risk of specific diseases as necessary such as cancer in men and women. This may include blood tests to find prostate cancer for men or tests for liver or colon cancer in women. Cervical cancer can also be diagnosed with a Thin-prep and breast cancer through a Digital Mammogram. Furthermore, as you get older, more care should be provided with regards to risk of heart disease.

How to Choose an Annual Health Checkup Plan and Provider?

You should always compare any medical plans, keeping in mind factors such as price, number of tests, type of tests, type of service and credibility of the healthcare provider.

A private healthcare provider such as SanoMed Solutions provides a comprehensive one-stop service for health check-up and health promotion. As each person will have a different set of risk factors, a good provider will also personalize the package to suit each individual patient, with advice and consultation to allow for self-care at home.

Conclusion

If you know that you have a family history of e.g. high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, cancer, or if your body is showing the strains of a hectic lifestyle or excessive work schedule – a private health screen is a proactive step to help alleviate your health worries or uncover any potential issues.