As Health Awareness Month unfolds, it’s paramount to prioritise preventive care by staying informed about essential screenings tailored to every stage of life. These screenings serve as crucial checkpoints, helping to detect potential health issues early and pave the way for proactive management.
1. Blood Pressure screening:
- Who: Men and women
- When: At least once a year.
- How: Conducted with a soft cuff placed around the arm.
- Importance: Detects hypertension, a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, and premature death.
2. Eye Test:
- Who: Everyone
- When: Annually, increasing frequency if there are changes in vision or the onset of symptoms like headaches occurs
- How: Part of a standard eye examination at an optometrist
- Importance: Detect common vision problems essential for reading and academic performance, as well as identifying serious conditions like macular degeneration and glaucoma, which if untreated, can result in permanent vision impairment
3. Hearing Test:
- Who: Recommended for individuals having trouble following conversations, especially in noisy environments
- Importance: Detects treatable hearing issues (for children) and hearing loss (which affects a significant percentage of people over 65.)
4. Cholesterol Screening:
- Who: Men and women
- When: Annually.
- How: Conducted through a finger-prick test. Or with a formal laboratory blood test
- Importance: High cholesterol is a major cause of heart attacks and strokes, often showing no symptoms
5. Blood Sugar Test:
- Who: Men and women
- When: Annually
- How: Conducted through a formal laboratory blood test or finger-prick test
- Importance: Screens for diabetes, a life-threatening condition that often goes unnoticed
6. Vitamin D Test:
- Who: Everybody
- When: your healthcare provider will suggest this test when you show certain symptoms
- Importance: Identifies deficiencies crucial for bone health and potential protection against heart disease, diabetes, thyroid disease and certain cancers. Powerful anti-oxidant. Not to be assumed that we get enough sun exposure and therefore cannot have this deficiency
7. Bone Density Scan:
- Who: Men 65 and above and women in menopause (usually around 60 and above.)
- When: Recommendations vary based on initial test results
- How: Conducted through a dual-energy X-ray test
- Importance: Measures bone strength, crucial for detecting osteoporosis, especially in women
8. Colorectal Cancer Screening:
- Who: Men and women of 50 years and above. Except if there is family history of colon cancer or other colon associated conditions, then screening will be done from an earlier age
- When: Usually every 5 to 10 years depending on results
- How: Through tests like fecal occult blood test, flexible sigmoidoscopy, and/or colonoscopy
- Importance: Early detection of colon cancer, which often shows no symptoms until advanced stages
9. Prostate Cancer Screening:
- Who: Men 45 and above (younger if family history exists)
- When: Every year
- How: Through a PSA blood test. Physical exam needed if PSA is abnormal
- Importance: Detects prostate cancer, especially important for those with family history or high risk
10. Mammogram:
- Who: Women 40 and above (earlier if significant history exists in the family)
- When: Every one to two years
- How: Conducted through an X-ray of the breast tissue
- Importance: Crucial for detecting breast cancer, especially as the risk increases with age
11. Thyroid Test:
- Who: Men and women
- When: Every year preferable or at least every 2 to 3 years (even if normal)
- How: Conducted through a blood test
- Importance: Crucial for detecting hyper or hypothyroidism, which can be life-threatening if left untreated
12. HIV Testing:
- Importance: Essential for knowing HIV status, especially for sexually active individuals
13. Mole Mapping:
- Who: Men and women of all ages, especially after 40.
- When: Annually.
- How: Through examination and visual recording of moles.
- Importance: Early detection of skin cancer through monitoring mole changes.