Medical screening is important for all ages, but it is more important for older people above the age of 60. This is because your immune system reduces as you get older, and you are prone to even mild infections like flu and common colds. This explains why seniors develop chronic diseases more than younger people.
Chronic diseases and other old age conditions sometimes don’t show symptoms until they worsen. Also, most older adults don’t know about STDs. However, some are still sexually active and engage in sexual intercourse, which puts them at risk of developing sexually transmitted infections. Again most of these STDs don’t show symptoms, and the only way to know is through STD testing.
For these reasons, it is vital to regularly go for medical screening and examination, which can help you identify and treat a condition early, among many benefits. Below are the benefits of medical screening and examination for the elderly.
Help you know if you are at risk for disease
Besides wisdom, old age brings a lot of risk of health problems and knowing them before or immediately after development will help treat and manage them easily. When you go for a checkup, your doctor can look at your family health history and check if your parents had inherited conditions like diabetes or cancer. If you are having fly symptoms, you can get the Same Day Flu Testing done and start taking precautions accordingly.
If they have, your doctor will do appropriate screening so that you mitigate the condition at an early stage.
Your doctor may also inquire about your lifestyle, whether you do physical activities, diet, sleep, and if you frequently have stress. If they find out you are not leading a healthy lifestyle that may lower your immunity, they will advise on how to improve.
Learn more about STDs
Older adults have little to no knowledge about STDs which is not their fault because these infections were not common at their young age. But, because of the technological advancements in health, these elders live longer and are still sexually active even in their old age.
Therefore, it is vital for the elderly to learn more about STDs, know some of the signs of these infections, and treat them early. They can only achieve this if they regularly undergo medical screenings and examinations.
Identify health problems early
You cannot find health problems you may have unless you see a trained professional who can identify symptoms and know the condition you have, and if they can’t remember, they can run tests or refer you to the right specialist.
Some chronic conditions like diabetes usually don’t show symptoms early, and you cannot know if you have it. But, your doctor examines your weight, cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure.
They will know if you have these conditions based on these results and help you treat them early enough before they worsen and lead to complications.
Learn more about first aid and emergency procedures
Accidents are the norm of the day, and you may not want to see your doctor any time you have an injury because some can be mild that you can attend to yourself, but you can’t do it if you don’t have basic first aid skills.
It is easier to learn more if you regularly go for medical examinations and chat with your healthcare provider about emergency responses like first and CPR. They can recommend the best place you can go for training.
Get regular vaccination
Older adults have a weak immune system, and the best way to boost their immune system is through vaccination and protecting them against infections from bloodborne pathogens. Several vaccines are available for older adults, including flu shots, pneumonia, and shingle.
You can only learn about these vaccines if you regularly go for checkups.
Gain more control over chronic diseases
You need day-to-day care to control chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and arthritis because they are long-term conditions. If your doctor regularly checks these diseases, they may recommend treatments and a change of diet that can give you control over them.
Saves money
There is a say, “prevention is better than cure,” which applies in this case. When you go for a checkup, your doctor may recommend you change your lifestyle by quitting smoking and alcohol because they lead to or cause severe chronic diseases like heart attacks. They can also advise on weight loss to avoid diabetes or heart disease.
This can help you avoid these conditions, which are very expensive to treat.
Keep you up to date with tests and screening
Regularly going for checkups will ensure your doctor checks your health history, whether you are up to date with tests like mammograms or colonoscopies or vaccines like flu, pneumonia, or shingles.
Conclusion
Older adults require regular medical screening and examinations more than younger people as this will help them manage and avoid chronic diseases and other conditions, usually common in old age.