All About Me Goal 4: Preventative Healthcare

Hey there! As a nurse practitioner this goal is my life’s mission. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of preventative healthcare. There are healthy tips we all can do to keep our bodies in shape, along with periodic medical screenings. The beauty of participating in this goal is that it can help to prevent disease and detect an issue before becoming sick. You’ll also have the benefit of prolonging your life or receiving early treatment if an illness is discovered. Here is a list of tips and health screenings:

• eat healthy to prevent heart disease and diabetes
• exercise regularly to maintain a healthy weight
• don’t smoke or quit to prevent lung diseases such as cancer, emphysema, COPD
• limit alcohol intake to prevent liver disease
• wear seat belts
• get proper amount of sleep
• use sunscreen if skin is going to be expose to the sun for long periods of time
• ladies make sure daily moisturizer has SPF in it
• gynecology appointment yearly after becoming sexual active
• dental cleaning and exam every six months
• skin cancer check yearly if you’re over 40
• blood pressure check yearly
• cholesterol screening over 50
• mammogram over 40; younger if a close relative had breast cancer
• colon cancer screening over 50; colonoscopy can detect precancerous polyps thus preventing cancer with there removal
• pap test should start once a woman becomes sexually active; usually done yearly
• bone scan in women over 65 and men over 70 to check for osteoporosis
• depression screening
• diabetes screening at age 45; diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney disease, heart disease and limb amputation
• immunizations – hepatitis a and b, shingles, tetanus and pneumococcal are few adult immunizations
• flu vaccine yearly for everyone over 6 months old

Please don’t let this list overwhelm you. Trust me, it’s not as scary as it seems. I would encourage you to see your family doctor, gynecologist and dentist once a year. I hope this post was a help.

Until next time,

Suzette