Regular Check Ups Help You Stay Healthy For As Long As Possible

Regular check ups and tests help us keep healthy for as long as possible. They also detect illness at the earliest stages…

Consider a car that does not undergo regular maintenance. It will be fine for the first few years, but then you can start expecting trouble without much warning. The road-worthiness test (VRT) helps prevent that to some extent. Most of us feel quite lost when our car decides to break down. Now, how much more devastating would it be to lose our body’s health? 

Check-up examinations and tests help us keep healthy for as long as possible. They also detect illness at the earliest stages. This would mean starting treatment quickly, preventing the disease from getting uncontrollable.

Some conditions are detected by an examination, while others require some sort of investigation. Regular check-ups are recommended for everyone, and even more so with a family history for certain conditions. Let’s take a closer look at what sort of check-ups you should be having.

Blood Tests

If you’re over 35, yearly routine blood tests are a good idea. A blood workup would check:

• Liver functioning
• Kidney functioning
• Blood sugar levels (for diabetes)
• Cholesterol levels
• Thyroid functioning
• For any inflammation or infections in the body
• For any anemias 
• Possible prostate enlargement in men over 50 years

Here’s how to prepare for blood tests:

• For cholesterol levels, fast for 12 hours 
• For blood sugar levels, fast for four hours 
• Take all your pills as usual with some water. If you’re diabetic, eat as normal and take your medications
• Drink plenty of water – it will help your veins pop out, making it easier to draw blood
• Relax! You’ll feel a small pinch and it’s over quickly

Physical Examination

Visit your GP for a routine physical examination twice a year. This should include:

• A review of any medications you’re taking
• Blood pressure and blood sugar check
• Pulse and heart sounds
• Lungs examination
• Abdominal examination

If you suffer from a high blood pressure, you should get a reading every one to two months. 

Quick tip: Check your blood pressure at home for closer control

Buy a mechanical blood pressure machine (choose one that fits around the arm not the wrist variation) and carry out weekly checks at home. Sit still with your elbow straight, palm facing upwards. Keep your legs at rest in front of you and don’t cross them. It’s best to write down all readings by date and time. Home blood pressure charting is medically more significant than random clinic readings since some people find it stressful to visit the doctor.

Colon Tests

Colon cancer (a tumour in the large intestine) is one of the most common types of cancer in Malta. Fortunately, it has very good recovery rates when caught early, with many going on to live a normal life after treatment is complete.

Every two years, people between 56 to 70 years are invited to take part in the government-funded colon screening programme. A kit is sent by post and this needs to be completed over three days.

The kit opens up like a small notebook. There are three rows – one for each day. A flap in each row opens up to reveal three circles. Here’s how to carry out the test:

1. Pull out the hard cardboard spatula
2. Scoop up a small sample of stool
3. Smear the sample on all the circles in the first row
4. Cover again by putting down the flap
5. Place the kit in a plastic bag, store in the fridge and repeat for two more days
6. Once complete, send the kit back by post

Results are usually ready within a few weeks. The lab looks for any traces of blood in the stool. You might be asked to undergo a colonoscopy exam to investigate further. Keep in mind there are other reasons why you might have blood in the stool. These include haemorrhoids, anal fissures and benign (non-cancerous) polyps.

Bone Density Scan

If we were to drop two plates – one ceramic, the other stone – to the floor, both are likely to break. The ceramic plate would probably shatter into several small pieces, while its stone counterpart would get one clean crack through the middle. This compares nicely to how healthy bone and osteoporotic bone act when they get fractured. 

Osteoporosis is a condition where the bone loses calcium. Osteopaenia is a milder form of the disease. Osteoporotic bone is still hard and solid, but more likely to fracture. 

A bone density scan looks at the brittleness of bone. It compares your bones’ strength with that of a 30-year old woman. Many women in menopause develop osteopaenia or osteoporosis, so it’s advisable you start having regular scans after your periods stop. If your scan is fine, you can repeat it after two years, otherwise it’s recommended that the test is done yearly when there are signs of osteoporosis.

Men and women with a strong family history of osteopaenia, smoke heavily or have a high alcohol intake should also get regular bone density scans. 

Other Tests

For more details on check-ups for conditions specific to women and men please click here.

More Information

If you would like to undergo blood tests through a health centre, you may go to your private GP and after a consultation, your GP will order the required blood tests for you. Then you can contact the nearest health centre for an appointment to have your blood taken there. After your blood is taken, you may consult with your GP in about a week for your blood test results.

Alternatively, you may also go directly to the nearest health centre and consult a GP there, go through the same procedure mentioned above, and after a week you may go back for your results at the same health centre.