Before a disease takes centre stage, it gives off warning signs or mild symptoms. Seeing a doctor and discussing these initial symptoms is what preventive healthcare stands for.
Let’s find out more about what preventive healthcare means, its importance, and its overall benefits.
What is Preventive Healthcare?
Preventive health care is the use of standard clinical techniques such as body examinations, counselling, and maintenance to prevent future illness and treatment. It is also known as preventive medicine, routine care, or prophylaxis.
Want to get started? See a doctor at Avon Medical Practice, Lagos, Nigeria. We have all you need to keep your health in great shape.
Importance of Preventive Health Care
People don’t take preventive healthcare seriously because they believe they are healthy until their condition stops them from performing their daily activities.
Here are some of the reasons and benefits tied to preventive healthcare:
1. Protects Against Chronic Diseases
Preventive care allows doctors to identify symptoms with negative potentials before they become untreatable. After identification, treatment options are provided on how to eradicate these symptoms.
A good example is someone who checks his blood pressure regularly. The moment your physician detects an increase, you will be advised on how to lower your blood pressure before it results in a serious disorder.
In other words, preventative healthcare protects your health in the long run and shuts the door against medical emergencies or serious ailments.
2. Increases Lifespan
When you practice preventive care regularly, you can easily spot weaknesses in the body and correct them easily (sometimes, without drugs). With this level of general wellness protection, you can easily live a long and healthy life.
Preventive healthcare practices such as weight management can increase your lifespan and reduce your chances of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
3. Reduces Cost of Treatment
Preventive medicine is one of the cost-effective ways to stay healthy for a long time. You just have to stick to the practice.
In addition, health insurance programs will gladly pay for the cost of preventive care. If you have one, maximize it.
Types of Preventive Care
Now that you are familiar with the importance and benefits of preventive health screenings, how can you practice them?
1. Weight Management
Being overweight or obese is a major risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, and some kind of cancer. Practising weight management activities such as exercise and eating healthy can help you shed excess weight.
These exercises do not have to be rigorous nor does eating healthy means staying away from certain foods completely. We advise sticking to recommendations from doctors only in this regard.
2. Mental Health Screenings
People rarely think of their mental health. We believe when the body is fine, the mind should be sound as well. Unfortunately, this is a very wrong belief.
Mental health conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are responsible for substance abuse and most deaths globally. They can also affect eating habits, stress levels, and response to activity.
To prevent these conditions from causing serious damage to your health or other areas of your life, regular mental health screening is essential.
3. Physical Health Screenings
There are different types of physical health screenings you can be subjected to depending on your age, gender, and medical history. These examinations are carried out to identify symptoms of conditions such as:
- Type 2 diabetes – is a lifelong condition where insulin cannot regulate the sugar in the body. It is the most common type of diabetes.
- Cervical cancer – is a type of cancer that originates within the cells on the surface of the cervix.
- Breast cancer – forms within the cells of the breast. It is more common in women than in men.
- Prostate cancer – originates in the gland cells of the prostate.
- Colorectal cancer – Cancer of the colon or rectum. At an early stage, they do not present symptoms.
- High cholesterol – the presence of excess cholesterol in the blood. Smoking, alcohol, and fatty foods are mostly responsible for this condition.
- Osteoporosis – a condition that makes the bone very porous and likely to break
- STI – Sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS, gonorrhoea, herpes, syphilis, and hepatitis B.
4. Vaccinations
Vaccines are the most common form of preventive care. This is thanks to their easy mode of administration and effectiveness. Chronic diseases you can get vaccinated against include Hepatitis A, Pneumonia, Tetanus, and Shingles.
Seasonal flu shots are also a great idea, especially for adults who are susceptible to chronic health problems as a result of viral infections. Book a vaccination appointment today.
5. Wellness Exams
Practising preventive healthcare begins with going for a wellness exam every year. This screening helps confirm the status of your health. It usually involves checking your weight, glucose level, blood pressure, and cholesterol level.
Special tests like pap smears and breast examinations are meant for women. At Avon Medicals, we have a wellness package that lets you know more about your health.
Preventive Health Care Services Offered at Avon Medical Practice
Avon Medical Practice is a leading multispecialty healthcare provider based in Lagos, Nigeria. We have a team of certified primary care doctors that can help you understand your health status and protect you from conditions like obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.
Take advantage of our modern screening facilities and book a session today.
Conclusion
Understanding and practising preventive care are crucial to healthy living. When a symptom is detected early, it can be treated at once.
When you ignore a symptom, it becomes worse and may require a series of treatments. This results in spending more money to correct such conditions.
Save time and energy and practice routine preventive healthcare.
References
- https://www.marshfieldclinic.org/specialties/primary-care/preventive-care/why-important
- https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2019/18_0625.htm
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10181501/
- https://www.tamus.edu/business/the-importance-of-preventive-care-screenings/
- https://www.wrf.org/preventative-healthcare/preventive-healthcare
- https://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/about-the-aca/preventive-care/index.html
- https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/leading-health-indicators/2020-lhi-topics/Clinical-Preventive-Services
- https://healthcaremba.gwu.edu/blog/what-is-preventive-healthcare/
- https://www.rmhp.org/blog/2013/may/the-importance-of-preventive-health-screenings-rmhp
- https://www.mphonline.org/preventative-care-guide/