About Regular Medical Check-ups
History of Regular Medical Check-ups
Benefits of Regular Medical Check-ups
Carrying out Simple Health Checks at Home
Important Regular Medical Check-ups
Regular Medical Check-ups and Age
Medical Check-ups for Older People

About Regular Medical Check-ups
A new term was introduced during the last few decades. It is the preventive health or preventive medicine. This is to prevent the disease from occurring rather than being infected or diseased and then search for the cure.

Part of the preventive health concept is to have a healthy lifestyle, enjoy healthy food, and practice sports. This is to reduce the risk of being exposed to various diseases or medical conditions. Another important element is to carry out regular medical check-ups to ensure that people don’t have any certain illnesses or negative medical conditions.
Among the major benefits of regular medical check-ups is that they help doctors in recognizing any signs of health problems in early stages. Physicians advise all individuals, especially older people to carry out regular medical check-ups in order to act before a health condition would develop and the complications would increase in their severity. It is as simple as this; visit the doctor for regular medical check-ups in stead of visiting him when you already suffer from health problems.

History of Regular Medical Check-ups
There are no clear evidences concerning when regular health check-ups began to prevail among people around the world. However, they are surely more spread in advanced countries like USA, Europe, Canada, and Australia.
Doctors and health professionals started advocating for the concept of regular medical check-ups as early as the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The earliest examples of periodic medical examinations were carried out in schools to identify common transmittable diseases. Afterwards, doctors started to advise older people to have regular health check-ups and later on the idea became prevalent among adults and even children.

Benefits of Regular Medical Check-ups
The most excellent method to detect a health problem in early stages, or even before they begin, is to carry out certain health check-ups on regular basis. These check-ups significantly increase the chances for better treatments and cures.

Diseases Prevention
The most significant benefit of carrying out regular check-ups is to prevent various diseases and health conditions to happen. If doctors detect the presence of any irregular indicators in the check-ups, blood screening, and physical examinations, they would easily provide patients with advice and prescribe proper medications in early stages.
If patients suffer from chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, or heart problems, regular medical check-ups become a necessary to prevent the occurrence of more complications or severer health problems.
Doctors also recommend that all individuals should observe their health and notice any changes in their bodies’ behaviors or looks. A change in the color of the skin for example would be an indicator that there is a health problem. All of these factors help doctors and facilitate the cure.

Reduce Healthcare Costs
Generally speaking, the costs of preventive healthcare are much lower than these of treatments and cures. A great idea to reduce your healthcare costs is to identify health problems before they happen and act accordingly. It is vital to have medical check-ups scheduled.
On the long run, the costs of regular check-ups would prove to be quite saving in comparison to the costs of medications, various cures, and medical operations. This an important advantage of periodic health check-ups.

Recognize Stress-Related Illnesses
Stress and anxiety can cause many various diseases that are both psychological and physical. Illnesses that may occur due to stress include depression, digestion problems, high blood pressure, and Alzheimer.
Carrying out medical check-ups on regular basis would largely decrease the rate of being exposed to such conditions. If doctors detect the presence of such problems, they would immediately support patients with proper advices and medications if needed.

Carrying Out Regular Blood Tests
One of the most important procedures of regular medical check-ups is to carry out a blood test.  Various diseases can be identified through blood tests including diabetes, blood pressure, anemia, cancer, and HIV. Doctors can also make sure that various body organs like the kidneys and liver are functioning appropriately.

Be Informed about your Health

It is always advisable to be informed about all your health conditions. Doing regular medical check-ups would surely play a significant role in this regard. They would also keep your doctor aware of every detail related to your health.
When doctors recognize health problems in later stages or when they are already developed, it is harder for them to manage and sometimes more difficult to diagnose. It is better to detect the problem as soon as it befalls.

Carrying out Simple Health Checks at Home
There are simple procedures that can be implemented at home that indicate various health conditions. For example, weight losses and gains are usually a pointer, in case the person is not applying certain diets or changes in his eating habits, that there is a health problem.
Skin is one of the key protectors of our bodies. People should check their skins periodically for any changes in color or unusual signs. These changes might be an indicator of several medical conditions.
It’s a great idea, for sure, to practice sports regularly. Carrying out physical activities would also help people to observe their health. It is recommended to run for 5 minutes, for instance, and see if you have problems with breathing, any aches or pains, or sudden fatigue.

Important Regular Medical Check-ups
•    Cholesterol
•    Diabetes
•    Blood Pressure
•    Body Mass Index (BMI)
•    Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection
•    Colorectal Cancer Screening
•    Oral Health for Adults
•    Immunization Schedules
•    Skin Cancer
•    Prostate Cancer Screening
•    Viral Hepatitis
•    HIV/AIDS

Regular Medical Check-ups and Age
The regular medical check-ups, tests, and screens required by doctors largely vary according to the age of the individual. Other factors include family history suffering from certain diseases, especially those that would be inherited by diabetes or heart problems. Smoking, being over or under weight, the presence of chronic diseases, and many other elements motivate your doctor to identify the check-ups you need.
For men and women in the age group from 20 to 30 years, their medical check-ups would usually include blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose. BMI, and skin checks.
When people grow older, this requires more medical check-ups and examinations. This is why doctors would recommend they would carry out the checks prescribed for the younger generations. This is in addition to diabetes, eye checks, and cardiovascular risk assessment.
Starting at the age of 50, people should carry out health check-ups more often. They would also include more medical examinations like. osteoporosis tests, cancer check-ups, and hearing and visual examinations.

Medical check-ups for Older People
As people get older, it becomes more essential to pay attention to their health. A major part of this attention is to carry periodical health examinations and tests.
The medical check-ups for those above 60 years old would include an abdominal screening and smokers, especially men should consider making an ultrasound screening of the abdomen.
Blood pressure should be examined at least every 3 months as it gives an impression concerning general health issues and the proper functioning of several organs. Simple bowel cancer tests are also recommended every two years. The levels of cholesterol in blood should be screened at least every five years. However, if patients suffer from any chronic diseases, they should consider carrying it out on yearly basis. A general physical check-up is advisable as well including BMI, or body mass index. Diabetes is also a factor to monitor closely at older age.