Most people’s idea of staying fit and healthy is eating right and being physically active.
However, there is one aspect of having a healthy lifestyle you may be neglecting that can affect your wellness goals: getting a regular health check.
Practitioners of family medicine in the UAE explain that a health check is different from a standard appointment with your doctor. It is used to assess the risk you may have for certain medical conditions you could develop.
This check-up can help your doctor spot the warning signs or symptoms you might not feel or notice.
Additionally, a health check can keep you and your specialist informed about your well-being. This will allow your doctor to give you advice on what you should and shouldn’t do to stay healthy.
Benefits of Getting Scheduled Health Checks
Below are the specific benefits you can gain when you start getting a routine health check:
1. Early identification of any disease you may have or are prone to developing.
As mentioned, a health check can identify the risks you may have for certain diseases, which you may not even know about.
The process involves physical checks and laboratory tests that can help your specialist detect and diagnose any kind of medical conditions you may have and prevent them from becoming severe or life-threatening.
A routine check-up also includes a mental check to ensure you are emotionally and psychologically healthy.
When your practitioner can catch any medical or mental condition you may have early, you can be prescribed the right treatment for it right away. Your chances of overcoming it and staying healthy will be higher.
2. Help you be aware of your health.
Most people only see a doctor when they are severely sick and require treatment.
If you also have this habit, you likely won’t get a check-up even once a year if you don’t get ill, injured, or need prescription medication.
When your doctor does not see you regularly, you won’t have a clear picture of your overall health.
Your annual wellness check comes with a report of all the results of the tests you underwent. These include your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugar, and weight.
The report and your doctor can tell you if your levels are healthy or unhealthy.
If the levels are healthy, you can maintain your daily habits and practices. If they are unhealthy, you can make changes in your diet and lifestyle to turn things around and stay on top of your wellness goals.
3. Let you know if stress is affecting your health.
Chronic, severe stress can affect your health in different ways. It can cause various medical conditions, including:
– Tension headaches
– Insomnia
– High blood sugar
– Heartburn
– High blood pressure
– Weakened immune system
Not knowing how to manage your stress can also lead to depression, a mental health problem affecting millions of people worldwide.
Whether you are aware of your constant battle with stress or not, if you don’t know how to deal with it, you are at risk of developing one or more of the mentioned conditions.
Your doctor can assess if stress is threatening to impact or is already affecting your well-being during your health check. Moreover, they can discuss possible treatment options, including working with a therapist to ensure you stay mentally healthy.
4. Build and strengthen your relationship with your doctor.
Getting an annual medical check-up ensures you speak with your medical practitioner at least once a year.
Because of this, you can establish a relationship with them on your first health check and strengthen it every time you get one annually.
This, in turn, can help you develop a relationship with your doctor based on mutual trust. As a result, you can feel more comfortable talking with them about your symptoms and medical history or conditions.
And this can pave the way for an appropriate, more effective medical management and treatment.
Having a good doctor-patient relationship also ensures you have a specialist you can trust that can help you understand and navigate the complex world of healthcare.
5. Lower your overall healthcare costs.
The preventive nature of health checks helps you avoid the development of various diseases.
If the tests reveal certain medical conditions, your chances of preventing them from worsening will be higher since they have been detected early.
Avoiding diseases and treating them during their early stages can help lower your medical expenses. This is because you won’t have to pay for more expensive medications and treatment options needed to cure advanced variants of your illness.
Moreover, since you can avoid getting ill, you won’t need to take time off from work. This means you can continue earning and your source of income won’t be affected temporarily or permanently.
What to Expect During Routine Health Checks
If you are undergoing a health check for the first time, below are the tests and procedures you can expect:
– Physical exam
– Blood pressure
– Cholesterol level
– Blood sugar test
– Skin check
– Bone density
– Mammogram (for women)
– Cervical cancer screening (for women)
– Prostate exam (for men)
Your doctor may recommend additional ones based on their initial assessment of your condition.
Health checks are important parts of staying on top of your wellness and fitness goals. Find out from your doctor how you can get one today to experience the benefits they offer.
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