It is always a good thing to go for a physical examination even if you do not fall ill. Some medical conditions can be detected and treated in their early stages, as opposed to when they develop and become severe. If you ask around, most people will tell you that scheduling an annual visit is the best thing to do, but is it really worth it? Well, people are different and seeing a doctor annually might not be the best thing for everyone. You should be aware of some key considerations that can guide you and your doctor on the number of times you need to see them for a check, say in a year or two.
Scheduling regular physical examinations is referred to as preventative healthcare since it helps to safeguard against potential risks. The main thing that a doctor does during this visit is to analyze your current health situation and verify that your body is working normally. It is evident that if you are healthy, scheduling an annual checkup might not be necessary. However, there is no set standard for how often you should see your doctor and the best thing is to ask them for advice. The most common things that justify annual or even more frequent medical checkups are age and risk of certain diseases. Older people are always likely to fall ill since their organs are ageing and their number of years increases their cumulative exposure to some disease-causing organisms.
Normally, if you reach sixty years, your doctor may request to see you more often. Some common risk factors that might prompt this need in younger adults include genetic disorders, exposure to some substances and previous cases of certain diseases. It is quite obvious that if you should see your doctor more often if you suffer from a chronic disease. The same applies for cases where you are prescribed to a long-term drug dose.
There are so many things at stake when trying to find a suitable rate at which you should see your doctor. Well, if you do not want to go through the agony of trying to determine whether you should see them after two or three years, stay safe and opt for the annual checkups. Your health is paramount and three years is a long time. You can easily contract a medical condition within those years and get shocked by how serious it is when your scheduled visit finally comes. Keep in mind that most of the things done during a physical examination do not require a doctor since they are basic records of your weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels among others.
There have been lots of discussions on how frequent one should see a physician for examinations and both sides have their validations. Going for annual checkups when you are perfectly fine is costly and unnecessary, but it also relieves you off the pressure and shock that would hit you when you realize that you have been suffering from a severe and subtle medical condition that just worsened. Furthermore, annual checks help to treat diseases and avoid cases of emergency and unplanned visits to the doctor, which are costlier. If you need a primary care physician, Dr. Socrates has immediate opening and can get you seen today. Call (239) 331-5114 to schedule your appointment.