It’s that time again: New Year, New Me!
New year always gets me excited. A fresh start means that we are able to forget the negative happenings of the past and focus on the possibilities that the new year holds.
According to a market leading US magazine, the top New Years resolution for 2020 was to live a healthier life.
So what can we do to ensure that we are healthier? While the obvious choices are eat smarter and exercise more, there is one important aspect that is often forgotten when planning a healthy year: annual screening.
Dr. Christiaan Barnard famously stated that the heart was “just a pump”. He was right! Any reasonable mechanic will tell you that your car should get serviced every 15 000 – 30 000km. People don’t normally wait for their car to seize before deciding to take it to a mechanic, but will oddly leave their bodies to completely fall apart before consulting a doctor.
Annual screening is an invaluable tool in modern medicine. Not only does it save billions of rands globally in reduced medical bills, it also saves countless lives through early disease detection. The principle is simple: there are exceptionally few medical conditions that cannot be managed if treated early. Annual screening allows the doctor to find abnormalities and deal with them timeously to prevent further complications. The physical screening usually takes 30 minutes and can be done in a consultation. Thereafter the doctor may ask for special investigations like blood tests and ECGs.
So, what can I expect from my next visit to the doctor for a screening?
Most doctors will start the consultation by taking a history of any complaints you have. This will be followed up by a physical examination. Standard screening will look at your
- Weight
- Waist Circumference
- Blood Pressure
- Glucose
- Urine
Why do I need to do this?
Recording your annual weight will allow the practitioner to see any major fluctuations. Massive or rapid weight loss is associated with the onset of many illnesses including diabetes, cancer, tuberculosis to name a few.
Waist circumference is important in metabolic syndrome. Developing metabolic syndrome is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
Blood pressure is a standard test and should be checked regularly to ensure adequate control. Hypertension is associated with strokes, transient ischaemic attacks (T.I.A.), small vessel disease as well as a host of other complications.
Checking your glucose is important in detecting the development of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance (also known as pre-diabetes) develops over time and is completely reversible according to most modern authors. Early intervention can prevent the development of Diabetes Type 2 and reverse a large number of complications associated with chronically elevated glucose levels.
Urine is tested routinely to check for any infection, to see if the kidneys are leaking proteins or to see if there is blood in the urine. These are crucial in detecting kidney stones, kidney damage or failure as well as renal or bladder cancers.
After a general check up, the doctor may also want to do some special investigations. Routine blood tests will include
- FBC
- U&E
- Cholesterol
- PSA (in men)
- TSH/T4
- Random/Fasting Glucose and HBA1C
You might be asking yourself if these tests are really necessary? The truth is, they are very useful in early detection of major problems.
The doctor may also ask for some accessory tests to be done. Accessory tests that the doctor might ask for are
- Stool occult blood
- Mammogram
- ECG/Stress ECG
- Lung Function Test
- Fundoscopy
Don’t forget one can also have a
- Pap smear
- Routine Breast Exam
- Digital prostate examination
As is the rule in medicine, early detection and early treatment is vital to well being.
Interestingly, most medical aids make provision for annual screening . This is because they realise that it is a lot cheaper to screen a patient and treat any problems timeously as opposed to dealing with complications in the long run.
If your plans in the new year include being healthy, then I recommend a visit to the doctor for an annual screen.
We wish you good luck, happy new year, and a healthy 2020.
Howick Medical Centre Doctors