Importance of Regular Health Checkup

In this fast-paced life, where we are always on the go, we hardly spare any time for ourselves – to review our health condition, check whether or not we are eating properly, taking ample amount of sleep, exercising regularly, and so on. While we aren’t unaware of the fact that all these petty things are what exactly govern our lives and help us stay fit and healthy, we pay the least attention to our condition, until we’ve run out of time. We fall sick only to discover, we’ve been lethargic and ignorant about our health issues we already knew were brewing since a long time.

This is precisely the reason why many organizations, all across the globe, make it mandatory for their employees it get a health checkup done every now and then, or educate their workforce about its importance, to ensure their masses stay fit and healthy and work effectively and efficiently, adding to the overall profitability of the organization.

Here too, in this post, we urge individuals, belonging to all age groups to spare a few hours from your busy schedule and get tested once in every six months, just to ensure they are in a good physical condition in all respects.

Need for a Regular Health Checkup

As stated above, regular health examinations and tests widely aid in defining your health condition and even finding out problems that already exist or are about to surface in the near future. Most basic health checkup packages today cover all the essential blood and urine tests for screening lifestyle diseases and chronic infections that are common in your region/country and those that match with your existing health condition. By getting checked at regular intervals, you basically improve your chances of living a healthy, long life. Your age, sex, family history, lifestyle choices, and many other essential factors also affect what and how often you must take a health-screening test.

Composition of a Regular Health Check-Up

In addition to an overall physical examination, a standard or regular health checkup package comprises of test that helps in the assessment of the functionality of your heart, lungs, digestive system, kidneys, liver and the immune system. In some cases, typically depending upon the age and sex of an individual, a health package may also include certain cancer-specific tests such as PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) for men and mammography and some gynecological tests for women.

However, most packages primarily comprise of pathology tests (blood and urine), cardiac stress test, imaging tests (x-rays and ultrasounds), kidney, liver, and lung function test. Each of these tests is performed in carefully controlled environments to ensure the samples obtained produce only the exact and accurate results.

Furthermore, there are a number of reputed medical institutions and diagnostic labs in India that offer a colossal range of health checkup packages covering a broad range of diseases, infections, and lifestyle conditions. You can choose a package as per your needs, or as per the recommendation of your physician. Usually preventive or full body health checkup packages are suggested. For a reason that they cover all the basic and necessary tests.

Those of you who are still skeptical about health checkup packages and their benefits, read on for better clarification.

Comprehensive in Nature

When you’re out there looking for a good health checkup package, you’ll see that a single package offers you a broad range of tests. If you sum up the prices of individual tests and compare them with that of a comprehensive health checkup package, you will witness that you are almost saving one-fourth of the total amount by opting for a package.

Early Detection of Problems

One of the best and most prominent benefits of getting tested on regular basis is that you’re able to keep a tab on your health. Your test results help in analyzing your current state and diagnosing your chances of suffering from a mild or chronic disease if necessary measures are not taken right away. In addition to this, if you’ve already been diagnosed with a disease and are undergoing a treatment, regular health checkup aids in monitoring your condition and stating whether your condition has improved or deteriorated since the start of the treatment.

Makes You Aware of Various Good and Had Habits

Health is wealth! Quoted by a learned man, the statement stands true in all respects. Regular health checkups do not just inform you about your exposure to potential diseases but also in indicating your good habits that you must continue with. For instance, if you’re someone who has a control over his/her sugar intake, food habits and keeps a tab on his/her physical exercise, your test reports will duly showcase your efforts. On the other hand, if you’re not careful with yourself and your health, your reports will determine that too.

Energizes You

For a fact that if your reports showcase a positive result, you feel good and your morale is boosted. You will continue to ensure that you uptake activities which shall help you maintain a healthy lifestyle in the long run. Furthermore, your positive moral will keep your happy, which shall indirectly keep your spirits up, both at work and at home.

Age Wise Health checks

Here we define some health checks you must consider at different stages of your life.

When in your 20s and 30s, ensure your master health checkup package comprises of the following tests:-

• Dental check and cleaning
• Blood pressure
• Glucose levels
• Cholesterol
• BMI, waist and hip measurements
• Certain cancer checks
• Testes self-checks (men)
• Breast self-checks (women)
• If you’re sexually active, ensure taking these tests:-
• Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) screenings
• Pap smear for women (once in every two years)

When in your 40s, ensure your package covers all the same tests as mentioned above ( for 20s and 30s) and the following:-

• Risk Assessment Test against Type 2 Diabetes
• Risk Assessment test against Cardiovascular
• Mammogram for women
• PSA for men
• Eye checks

When you hit your 50s and 60s, uptake all the tests as mentioned for ages 20s, 30s and 40s along with these tests:-

• Osteoporosis
• Bowel cancer screening
• Visual acuity
• Hearing impairment tests

To conclude, “Health is the most precious asset a man possesses.” Do not let your daily routine and habits damage your condition and expose you to the risk of suffering chronic, non-curable diseases. Make sure you get tested at regular intervals, eat healthily, steer away from habits that may affect your body, exercise regularly and adhere to basic preventive measures.