Everyone is familiar with the widely used idiom from the English language, “Prevention is better than cure.” The quotation is attributed to Desiderius Erasmus, the greatest academician and Christian humanist of the Renaissance. Although it doesn’t have a specific medical basis, the sentence has a lot of application to health and fitness in daily life.
A condition of being known as “good health” can be improved and maintained generally by eating and sleeping well, exercising, and avoiding dangerous ingestions like excessive alcohol, sugar, salt, or tobacco and drug usage. That is insufficient, though. Numerous additional internal and external elements may also contribute to system issues. For the sake of both you and your loved ones, it is your obligation to monitor your body and make sure everything is in working order.
PREVENTIVE HEALTH CHECK UP
A preventive health check-up, often known as a PHP, is a comprehensive evaluation of your physical health that identifies any potential illnesses or risk factors so that you can proceed with their minimization and treatment. Doing PHP once a year is sufficient if a person has more or less steady physical health. However, the appropriate frequency would depend on the person’s age and state of health.
WHY IS PHP IMPORTANT?
We typically only visit a doctor when something is seriously wrong, but preventive health check-up clinics can help identify complications before they start to negatively impact your wellbeing. Many diseases, like diabetes, hypertension, elevated cholesterol levels, and others, are quiet in nature and have become more prevalent recently due to the usual urban lifestyle of most people. They have an internal impact on the body and gradually deteriorate health. It requires pathological screening to be found in time because there are very few early indicators to detect it from the outside.
Through the use of vaccines and antibiotics, many infectious diseases have been cured thanks to advances in medical technology. However, a number of disorders like Diabetes, Hypertension, Heart problems, and Obesity are on the rise as a result of lifestyle changes. Due to the lack of time available for exercise and a balanced diet in modern living, there is an increase in harmful behaviours and a decline in overall health, which further contributes to lifestyle disorders.
Many of these lifestyle illnesses, like diabetes, are silent; they don’t have early signs and need prompt screening to be found. Only when cancer is discovered early on can it be successfully treated. There is a better probability of recovery when a variety of illnesses and conditions are identified and treated early.
Early diagnosis entails providing therapy at a more advantageous time or taking steps to stop the disease from spreading. It is crucial to have a coordinated, comprehensive preventative approach that supports individuals of all ages, encourages healthy behaviour, aids in early disease detection and diagnosis, and eliminates health inequities. Annual foot and eye exams, for instance, help prevent lower extremity amputations and vision loss in diabetics. In a similar vein, maintaining appropriate blood pressure and cholesterol levels significantly lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Early detection and a few lifestyle adjustments can significantly improve the prevention and treatment of many diseases, allowing patients to live longer and with higher quality of life. After all, the key to living a healthy and long life is prevention.
BENEFITS OF PHP
Numerous direct advantages of preventive healthcare are offered to the individual.
Comfort: By getting a preventive health checkup, you can avoid the agony and discomfort of unpleasant symptoms and medical procedures.
Economy: Due to the high cost of medical care, research from around the world has shown that it is more cost-effective to spend in a yearly preventive health checkup than to visit a hospital in an emergency.
Benefits: Preventive healthcare is a personal insurance investment. Utilize whatever preventive services that your insurance provider provides.
Cost-effective: Contrast the low cost of routine checkups with the high cost of serious care, such as cancer treatment or long-term home healthcare. Major medical costs frequently consume a large portion of one’s lifetime savings. Neglecting your physical health over those same years might undo all the years you diligently planned, saved, and invested to enjoy your retirement years.
WHAT TO EXPECT?
Preventive health examination In addition to routine blood pressure and pulse checks, packages typically include multiple tests such as lipid profiles, kidney and liver function, blood tests for anaemia and infections, glucose levels, chest x-rays, ECGs, USGs of the abdomen, and urine examinations.
For better service, several clinics offer specialised tests for cancer, STDs, bone ailments, and mental health examinations. You will be required to fast for 10 to 15 hours before to the examination in order to appear with an empty stomach for the sample collection. Before the test, let the facility know if you already have a problem or if you have any external body installations, such as a pacemaker or bone plates.
WHAT CAN IT DETECT?
The early identification and treatment of any significant illnesses that may be present is a key component of preventive health checks. Regular doctor’s visits not only guarantee your health but also detect the onset of diseases that can be prevented, sparing you a lot of suffering and money. The key conditions that can frequently be detected through a preventive health checkup are listed below.
- Cancers, such as Women’s breast and cervical cancer
- Metabolic diseases like diabetes
- Cardiovascular Conditions (High blood pressure, High Cholesterol etc)
- Osteopenia and osteoporosis are examples of micronutrient deficiencies
- Obesity and Overweight
- HIV/AIDS
