You’ve probably heard someone utter the phrase, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. This logic might apply to something like a vase, but it’s pretty bad advice for your health. You don’t want to wait until you have a full-blown health complication before you start trying to remedy it. Your health is infinitely more valuable than a vase, so you should treat it as such. You want to prevent disease or illness before it happens. Wellness exams can help with that.
But wellness exams are meant to do more than just prevent health problems. They are meant to promote better health in a patient and encourage overall wellness. That’s what makes wellness exams so important.
Your wellness exam may also include some routine screenings. For example, women should have an annual mammogram starting at age 40. Blood pressure screenings and cholesterol tests are likely to be part of your wellness exam, and there may be other tests your doctor recommends.
Your doctor will discuss many things with you during a wellness exam. Your doctor may cover things such as your health history, your dietary habits, the medications that you take, the amount of exercise that you get, drug and alcohol use, how much stress is in your life, and even things like whether or not you wear a helmet while riding a bicycle. The conversation you and your doctor have will identify the ways that you are making good efforts to be healthy, and areas you can work on to improve your wellness.
While your physician will know which questions to ask, if you have any health questions or concerns, be sure to bring those in. A wellness exam isn’t an interrogation where you answer “yes” or “no” to questions about your health and then get berated for how unhealthy you are. It’s a dialogue. If you have concerns about your health, inform your physician so you can work together to find a solution.
Wellness exams will not only help you live a healthier life, but they can help identify health complications early, and provide crucial information in the event that you’re in an emergency. Meeting with your physician will provide a record of your health, and that record can be invaluable.
So schedule a wellness exam with a physician in the MANA network today!