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If
you are in good health, and between the ages of:
18-40 years:
You should be seen every ten years and if needed for illness. The ten
year visits could include testing for cholesterol, diabetes, and anemia.
Family illnesses, bad health habits, and your past medical and surgery
histories should be reviewed, followed by a decision of your risk factors
for disease and premature death. For women, breast exams are recommended
yearly throughout a woman's life, while pap smears are needed every one
to two years.
40-50 years:
You should be seen two years. All of the things listed above are done
with additional liver, kidney, and stool tests for hidden bleeding. Heart
stress testing is first considered at 40 years old. For men, prostate
blood tests and/or digital rectal exams are advised starting at 40. For
women, mammograms every one to two years are recommended, with bone density
tests first done with menopause.
50-65 years:
Once a year for everything above. Bone density tests can be started here
for men. Colon exam by a scope is started at 50 years old if there is
no family history of colon cancer.
65 +:
Every six to twelve months.
Other basic healthy
behaviors
Tetanus / diphtheria shots every ten years. Flu shot yearly for most everyone.
Pneumonia shot twice in five years for diabetics, asthma, and many other
chronic conditions. Some type of exercise that makes you sweat least three
times a week. Maintaining your weight within 10 per cent of your ideal
body weight. Having healthy teeth and gums. Drinking a lot of water. Getting
enough sleep. Laughing. Moderation in everything else.
Special Situations
If you have new diabetes,
you should be seen every one to four weeks. Once your sugar levels are
under good control with home monitoring, visits should be every three
months.
If you have high blood pressure, a visit every one to three months until
the disease is under good control with home measurements. A visit every
six months will then supplement your home monitoring.
If the problem is high cholesterol, you should be seen every three months
until the blood levels of fats become normal. Once normal levels of blood
fats are reached, only a yearly visit is normally needed.
With moderate to
severe allergies or asthma, a visit every seven to fourteen days is advised
until most of the discomfort is rare. Once controlled, visits every two
to six months are enough to keep control.
Treatments to remove
warts, moles, and age spots are spaced two to three weeks apart, to allow
the skin's reaction to the treatment to quiet down.
These suggested
guidelines should be discussed with your health care provider, and do
not replace their advice.
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