Ears: Almost 50 per cent of men and women over 65 are deaf to some degree. In a proportion, this can be cured by simply syringing the ear to remove wax. For others, specialist advice, an operation or hearing aids can be improve hearing and bring a new interest in life. The screening of old people, and of people in noisy jobs, for deafness is badly needed; in older people deafness is as common as poor eyesight.
Heart: Electrocardiograms (ECGs) sensitively record every beat of the heart and if it misses a beat, or a beat is irregular, then the machine records it. Even so, between 25 and 50 per cent of those who suffer from angina – an early symptom of heart disease – have normal ECGs. Although some heart disease can be detected, it is not possible even with the most elaborate tests to be certain that someone’s heart is in good condition. And it is not until heart disease has progressed a long way that it can be detected by screening tests.
Lungs: Mass radiography has proved useful in detecting tuberculosis, but so far has not proved useful in detecting lung cancer. By the time a lung cancer is detectable on an X-Ray, it is usually so large that the chances of effective treatment are no better than they are for people whose cancers are picked up in the normal way by their own doctor.
Liver: Blood test may detect early liver disease. The most frequent cause is drinking too much alcohol; a new test can pick up early damage to the liver and indicate to those people who are drinking more than they should.
Rectum: Bleeding from the rectum is often neglected because people often blame it on piles. Bleeding from the rectum should always be investigated because it can also be a sign of rectal cancer. Rectal cancer has excellent prospects of cure if caught early. Piles should, in any case be treated, because if neglected, they can cause anaemia, simply through persistent loss of blood. Tests are also available for hidden blood in the stools, which may be a sign of cancer, higher up the bowel. However, these tests are not considered sufficiently reliable for use on people who have no major symptoms. In older people any major changes in bowel habit, should be reported to the doctor.
Eyes: If you cannot read a number plate at 25 yards, or a telephone directory at 19 inches, you may need glasses. Anyone who has reached the age of 45 without needing glasses should get his eyes checked, because sight fails increasingly with age. Check ups every two or three years, afterwards, are advisable.
One in ten blind people have lost their vision as a result of glaucoma, a disease, which causes a rise of pressure in the eyeball. The increased pressure in the eyeball flattens the small blood vessels in the back of the eye, cutting off blood supply to the light sensitive retina, which then dies. People who have a relative, who has suffered from glaucoma, and people over 55, are most at risk at getting the disease.
Glaucoma can be treated effectively if caught early, before too much damage is done. Danger symptoms include pain in the eye; occasional bouts of blurred vision occurring in dull light; large rainbow rings around a clear bright light, and loss of ability to see an object, at the edge of the field of vision, which is not being looked at directly. If you have these symptoms, seek an early eye examination.
Weight: Being over-weight is the easiest condition to screen, since it simply means weighing someone. It is associated with an increased risk of death from diabetes, blood vessel disease, stroke, pneumonia and diseases of the digestive system.
Blood pressure: A few people who suffer high blood pressure complain of headaches, dizziness or palpitations but most complain of no symptoms, so the condition is not likely to be discovered unless someone has their blood pressure measured. High blood pressure has serious consequences if left untreated, and so screening for blood pressure must form part of all the standard health checks.
Urine: Tests may detect kidney disease, diabetes or infection. However, kidney disease is not commonly detected to make the test useful for health screening.
