Living
a long, healthy, and happy life is what most of us hope to
achieve. Meeting those goals requires some determination on
our part. Our lives are often so busy, that many times we
forget to incorporate these basic steps necessary to health,
happiness, and longevity into our daily lives.
- All
women should have annual pelvic examsby the age of 21 whether or not they are sexually active.
Young women who become sexually active before age 18
should have a pelvic exam, including Pap smear, whenever
sexual activity begins. Girls should begin a habit of
monthly breast self-exam with the onset of menstruation.
Although there is debate about when to start annual
mammograms, it is generally sometime between ages 40 and
50. Mammography is an important tool in the early
diagnosis of breast cancer.
It's important for women to remember to have general
health checkups, which are often not provided by OB/GYNs.
From the ages of 25 to 64, all women should have basic
screens each year that include height, weight, and blood
pressure. At the age of 50 screening for colorectal
cancer becomes an important and sometimes lifesaving
tool. Your family physician can perform these checks and
order other diagnostic tests such as cholesterol
screening, thyroid function tests, and other appropriate
laboratory or radiology screenings as needed. And don't
forget to keep your immunizations up-to-date, adults
often forget that tetanus shots provide protection for
only ten years.
Most importantly, when medications are prescribed don't
forget to take them as prescribed. If you have high blood
pressure, diabetes, thyroid disease, or another
condition, taking your medicine as prescribed is
extremely important if you want to live a long and
healthy life.
- Being an adult doesn't mean you don't need to see your dentist regularly. It may actually become more important as we
age. Several diseases are under investigation for their
relationship to oral
health.
For example, the risk of cardiovascular
disease has been associated with tooth
loss,
and periodontal disease has been linked to pre-term labor
in pregnancy. According to About
Dentistry Guide Dr. John
Brooke,
" Cancer of the lip, tongue, pharynx, and mouth affects
approximately 30,000 people every year. This disease
kills almost 8,000 people every year, or about one person
an hour." So, don't forget to brush, floss, and see your
dentist regularly.
