Get A Medical Check-Up Even When You Feel Fine

Regular health exams and tests can help find problems before they start

- Yolile Malinga

HAVE you ever wondered if you need to see a doctor even when you are not feeling ill? If you want to stay healthy in the long term, you don’t need to wait for an illness to strike before you go for a health checkup. There are some illnesses that you can prevent or manage more effectively if you go for regular annual health check-ups.

According to Dr Busisiwe Khumalo, a physician at Leratong Hospital in Johannesburg, there are times where you feel fine, but it is still advisable to consult your doctor to be sure that your body is functioning optimally.

HEALTH DAMAGES

Regular checks will help you avoid future complications and health damages, according to Dr Busisiwe.

“Going for screening for illnesses such as high blood pressure, TB (tuberculosis), HIV, blood sugar and high cholesterol level is very important. The only way to find out if you are infected with one of these sicknesses is to have them checked annually as they may hide many symptoms in the early stages,” she says.

There are some illnesses which affect one gender more than the other but there are also some which are not gender specific such as the following:

Sugar diabetes – You must test your blood sugar level for diabetes. If you have a body mass index of more than 25, which looks at your weight in accordance with your height, it means you are overweight, you have a higher risk of getting diabetes. You must be checked.