HEALTH CHECKS TO KEEP ON YOUR RADAR

Setting aside an hour or two for some medical tests could be a lifesaver. Here’s ultimate guide to health checks you should tick off your list.

---

With the new year rolling around, now is a great time to get your yearly medical checks out of the way. No one is excited about this prospect, we realise, but catching health issues early typically makes them easier to treat.



1) Oral Care Matters
Get to the dentist. In addition to keeping your pearly whites pearly and white, your dentist could also identify symptoms of oral cancer, or periodontal disease, which can increase the risk of more serious ailments such as stroke, diabetes, heart attacks and some cancers.

2) Eye On The Prize
Next up, an eye test. This one won’t be annual, necessarily, but it’s recommended to have a proper exam done at least by the time you’re 40 (and annually thereafter).

And it’s not just about getting glasses; this test can also pick up early symptoms of, among other eye health issues, glaucoma and retinal degeneration caused by diabetes, both of which can lead to vision loss.

3) Check Yourself
Before visiting your GP, prepare for your check-up by doing a thorough body check of your own. Feel around for any lumps or bumps, move around to see your range of motion and check for aches and pains.

Also, examine your skin for spots, especially ones that look irregular or have changed. If you aren’t typically a fan of physical activity, perhaps do some jumping jacks and see how tired you get – to gauge your approximate fitness level.



4) Your Doctor Knows Best
The basic tests your GP will do include listening to your heart and lungs with a stethoscope and checking your blood pressure, and simply having a conversation about your lifestyle and general health.

They can also order blood tests to monitor a multitude of things, such as cholesterol and glucose levels, thyroid function and STDs. These are as simple as checking a box on a form and can lead to the identification of various risks, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes, so ask your doctor to advise you about what checks should be done.

Depending on your age and family medical history, your doctor may advise certain other tests or specialist visits. We mentioned checking your skin earlier, but if you spend a lot of time in the sun or just have lots of spots in general, let them have a look.

Skin cancer can show up at pretty much any time, so even if you’re in your 20s, get checked. From your 40s onwards, your doctor may recommend annual mole mapping by a dermatologist.

5) Reproductive Health Checks
Another thing for women to start considering even in their 20s is regular gynaecologist visits, with a pap smear every three years or so. Good reproductive health is very important, especially at the time of your life when you may be thinking about starting a family.

For women in their mid-30s and up, a physical breast examination and a mammogram are usually recommended, but as with most of these age-recommended checks, you can request one even if you’re not yet in that stage of your life.

Men, for example, are advised to get prostate exams from their mid-40s or so (or earlier if you have a family history of prostate cancer), but a much less intimidating option at any age is simply having your doctor check the box that reads ‘PSA’, for prostate-specific antigen.

This test is for a particular protein often present in elevated levels if you have prostate cancer or prostatitis (a swollen or enlarged prostate). Some more tests your doctor may advise if you’re in your 50s and up may include a colonoscopy to check for rectal or bowel cancer, and a bone-density test to detect arthritis.

This latter test is performed with a specialised dual-beam X-ray machine. On that subject, standard X-ray images can be useful tools for spotting irregularities early – anything from cancerous tumours to pneumonia and an enlarged heart – so if this is your first check-up in a while, maybe it’s a good idea to ask your doctor to send you for one.

 JET CLUB BENEFIT
Personal Health Advisor Helpline
For free advice on health issues Jet Club members can call our helpline.

SA & Namibia 

0800 0045 45

Botswana, Lesotho & Swaziland 

+2711 991 8258

Text by: Rynhardt Krynauw
Images: Shutterstock Pexels