Health Screenings
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Health Screenings |
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Getting regular checkups, preventive screening tests, and immunizations are
among the most important things you can do for yourself. Screening refers to a test or exam done to find a condition before symptoms
begin. Screening tests may help find diseases or conditions early, when they are
easier to treat. Early detection is the key to successful treatment. Some conditions that doctors commonly screen for include:
Depending on your personal symptoms or your family history, your Doctor may want to run some screenings earlier or more often that what is recommended for the general public. Some health screening may be covered 100% by your insurance company, and others will be soon with the changes in insurance laws. But whatever the price just remember it will always be cheaper to find a problem earlier than later. After all we do preventive work on all cars all the time. There are also several vaccines that are recommended for adults. Wonder which vaccines you need? It can be confusing, especially if you thought vaccines were just for kids. Vaccination is a safe and cost-effective way to stay healthy, and it’s not just for kids! Vaccines are recommended for adults to protect them from serious and sometimes deadly infectious diseases. But while more adults are taking a role in their health these days, eating better and exercising, many forego one of the simplest preventive care measures available, adult vaccination. Each year, vaccine-preventable diseases kill more Americans than traffic accidents, breast cancer, and HIV/AIDS. Millions of people get sick, leading to missed work, not being able to care for those who depend on them, and passing the illness on to others. Influenza spreads easily from person to person causing a substantial number of deaths and hospitalizations in the U.S. every year.Approximately 5,000 Americans die from invasive pneumococcal disease annually. Pneumococcal bacteria can invade the lungs, bloodstream, brain and spinal cord, resulting in a number of different illnesses, including pneumonia, blood poisoning and meningitis. Two of the human papillomavirus (HPV) strains covered in HPV vaccines cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers. HPV is also associated with other genital cancers and oral cancers. At least half of all sexually active adults will be infected with HPV in their lifetime; 80 percent of all women will be infected by age 50. About 90 percent of unvaccinated household contacts of an infected person will catch chickenpox. There is no specific treatment for people who have the hepatitis B virus. Hepatitis B is a “silent disease” that often affects people without making them feel sick and yet, it kills over 5,000 Americans each year. Hepatitis B is a leading cause of chronic liver cirrhosis and a known cause of liver cancer. About 15 percent of people with hepatitis A require hospitalization in the U.S. each year. Approximately 20 percent of those with measles experience one or more complications. These complications are more common among adults over age 20. About one million Americans get shingles every year; at least 2 in 10 will get shingles in their lifetime. The pain associated with shingles may begin two to four days before the rash appears and can last for weeks, months or even years after the rash has healed. Shingles pain has been shown to affect a person’s ability to function to a similar degree as congestive heart failure, a heart attack, diabetes or major depression. Mothers are the source for nearly one-third of whooping cough (pertussis) cases in infants under the age of 1 year. Infants are at greatest risk of death from whooping cough. Whooping cough cases have been on the increase in the U.S. In 2010, ten infants in California alone died from the disease. Tetanus is commonly called “lock jaw” because it causes muscle spasms and locking of the jaw. Approximately16 percent of reported cases of tetanus are fatal. |
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