By: DR. THOMAS KAISER
Dear Reader,
Have you ever compared the amount of money you spend on the maintenance of your car and the sums you spend on having your own engine checked? I would dare to bet that, in most people, the balance is very much in favour of the car.
I would also claim that the priorities are not set right here. Don’t worry, it is normal for human beings to act only when a problem has occurred. We are not very good in rationally trying to prevent things from going wrong. That explains a lot of past and present difficulties and crises on this planet.
Should you however toy with the thought of starting the new year with a check-up for yourself, here are a few useful tips to get the most out of it.
It seems fashionable these days to go for “total body scans” in London and Monaco. I am often consulted after these procedures because they frequently raise a lot of questions and have to be followed up with more tests. I don’t think you need to spend huge sums of money and have your whole body scanned to keep a check on the important parts of that beautiful body.
What makes a good health check-up?
1. Doctors make 80 per cent of correct diagnoses by doing a detailed history. You should expect that the doctor who does the check-up asks you a lot of questions.
2. Many illnesses have a strong genetic component. Your doctor needs to know your detailed family medical history to guide you in the check-up.
3. The other important part to assess your risk for certain diseases is your lifestyle. Inform you doctor about your work, hobbies, social life, bad habits like smoking, drinking and other factors that could be relevant like trips to Africa and Asia.
4. Make sure you mention all your concerns clearly and with brutal honesty to the doctor even if they seem trivial or worse, embarrassing. These symptoms could be very important for the choice of investigations.
5. Be precise with the description of your possible symptoms and signs and always write down all medication and supplements you may take and make sure you inform about your allergies and intolerances.
The basic check-up
A basic check-up consists of a good history, thorough physical examination, blood, urine and stool tests. That and for women a gynaecological check with smear and pelvic ultrasound is what you should do if you are under 40 years of age.
In depth, health check ups should be done for the 40 plus age group.
Here you should expect to have an ECG, stress test, lung function test, ultrasound of abdomen and pelvis and other tests according to your risk profile.
If colon cancer is common in your family, you need to have three to five yearly colonoscopies. If breast cancer occurred in your mother or grandmother, you should be checked for the breast cancer genes and have more frequent mammograms and ultrasounds.
A check-up should be done every year. Once a thorough first test is carried out, the following tests often can be less extensive.
Health action plan
The health check should enable you to act preventatively to avoid illnesses from occurring or to at least treat them in a very early stage. There is no point doing lots of tests if you are not able or prepared to do something about it.
Therefore, your doctor should outline for you where your risks are and what exactly you can do to reduce or eliminate the health risks. He/she plays an important part in assisting you following the agreed plan of action through, e.g., to stop smoking, to eat healthier, to laugh more and enjoy more exercise.
In the “Health Action Plan” your doctor should put his “Health Coach” hat on.
I am a great believer in patient held records and you can certainly expect to get your own copy with all the results of the check-up.
Dear reader, prevention is better than cure. Make that important appointment with your doctor for the new year.
A very happy Christmas and a good start in the new year.
Yours, Dr Thomas Kaiser
Vale do Lobo Medical Centre 289 398 009. Family Medical Centre Quinta do Lago 289 398 411
