Issue 6.10
There has been a lot of focus on the importance of eating a balanced diet, keeping your mind/body active, and reducing stress to help you make the most of your life as you age. However, some unrealized opportunities lie in screening for chronic diseases and immunizations. Many of the key strategies for protecting the health of older adults include broadening the use of preventative services and health assessments. There are tremendous benefits to obtaining preventative care services and detecting problems early, when treatment is likely to be more effective. Screening tests are tools used for early detection of potential deadly diseases including cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
First and foremost, your doctor should complete a thorough physical exam at least once each year and design a personal health strategy specifically for you. At that point, your doctor will recommend which screening tests are right for you & how often you should have them. The key screenings which are commonly recommended include blood pressure checks, cholesterol checks, colorectal cancer tests, diabetes screening, mammograms, pap smears & pelvic exams, prostate cancer screening, and a bone density test for osteoporosis.
It is also important to get your eyes checked every 1-2 years as well. Eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration increase with age. In addition, get your hearing checked every 2 years by an audiologist; have a routine dental check-up at least once a year; and have annual skin examinations done by a dermatologist each year to check for skin cancer.
Health screening exams play a principal role in preventative health care for a wide range of common diseases and some that are not so common. In addition, vaccinations play another key role in preventative medicine. Common recommendations with vaccinations are yearly flu shots, a tetanus booster every 10 years and for seniors over 65 a pneumonia vaccination. As always, talk to your doctor about which vaccinations are right for you.
And, finally, remember the old adage – “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.
At BeeHive Cottages, we focus all our resources on helping our residents to stay as healthy as possible.