Health Check Ups - How Vital Are They?

Blood pressure and diabetes are checked fairly regularly for people over the age of 60, both in men and women. However, one of the most important but overlooked tests that women specifically need to do is for bone loss. This is extremely important as most women suffer from bone density loss after menopause. Women are also at a much higher risk of developing osteoporosis which can make them immobile and cause fractures even with the lightest of impacts. Bones loss and damages caused due to osteoporosis can be treated and managed much better if detected earlier.

Pap smears and pelvic exams are required to check a woman's sexual and reproductive health. This is where the doctor will use a speculum to widen the vagina and take samples of the vaginal wall and the cervix to check for any abnormal or cancerous cells. Pap smears are also included in pelvic exams when checking for signs of sexually transmitted infections. However, if you are a woman in your 20's you don't need to do this more than once in every two years. If you are in your 30's and have had three consecutive tests come up safe, then you only need to do this once every three years.

Most men over 40 should get a regular prostate check-up every two years. However, if you are over 50, you should perform certain tests to know a normal baseline reading for your healthy prostate. After that, you should go for an annual checkup every year in order to ascertain whether major changes or deviations have occurred or not. Prostate exams are necessary to gauge symptoms of not only cancer but other problems such as enlargement of the prostate.

Genetics or heredity plays a big role in the development of certain disorders throughout your life. It doesn't mean that you will develop those disorders, but you are at a higher risk of developing them. Regular and preventative health checkups will be able to pinpoint certain symptoms or signs of an anomaly and thus better prepare you and your doctor to deal with it at an earlier stage. This will result in better management of the disorder and even its cure.