Most people shy away from going for regular health checks. It is a common human failing. As long as a person is healthy, he keeps miles away from doctors or hospitals least realising that as far as health is concerned, the old saying –‘a stitch in time saves nine’, holds perfectly true. The human body is quite like the machine in that sense. Regular greasing, caring and maintenance will definitely keep the body-machine working fine for a long– long time whereas neglect and disregard for it will finally lead to a break-down.
Health checks are needed because we often do not heed to the warning signals of our bodies. We do not notice the small changes and ignore the little problems thus failing to detect the early signs of a disease. If everyone was observant about changes in their health and did not hesitate to ask their own doctor when they were worried about something, health-screening checks would not be necessary.
Health checks also work to put one’s mind in peace, reassured that the body is functioning at its optimum level and does not require medical treatment. In most cases, nothing may be found to be wrong, and after the check a person can go away relieved of any anxiety. Nevertheless, among those who are screened there is more under-diagnosed disease than might be expected, although most of it is minor. Screening services can also identify those people who are a high risk of developing certain diseases, particularly those caused by smoking and excessive drinking, and give precautionary advice. Prevention is better than cure, and this is especially true as far as our health is concerned.
The most important part of a check up, when you talk to the doctor about your health and he asks you questions, is your previous history. More than 50 percent of internal illnesses are picked by doctors on the basis of history alone, 20 per cent are picked by physical examination and the remainder by laboratory tests.
Choose a doctor or clinic, which is prepared to spend time with you. A thorough check-up should take about an hour. Some of the tests may be done by nurses or trained technicians, but the final physical examination and interview should be with a doctor. Tell the doctor anything that is worrying you, even if you are afraid that he may think it is silly.
The most valuable tests are for blood pressure, certain hearing and vision defects and perhaps cancer of the cervix and of the breast. Testing of people over sixty for hearing and vision, poor nutrition and difficulty in walking is especially worthwhile.
