Women experience intense fluctuations with their health, often because of hormonal changes, but also because of age or genetics. In every season of a woman’s life, there are conditions to screen for, prevention methods to consider, and efforts to keep you thriving. I understand and empathize with your unique health challenges, questions, and concerns. Preventive care is where we begin to work together to keep you healthy.
Wellness Visits
Seeing your doctor for regular checkups is a must on every woman’s calendar, at every age. Prioritizing full-body wellness is the route to identifying the root of health concerns. Wellness visits include discussions about your entire well-being, from nutrition to exercise, chronic conditions to genetic conditions, skincare to perimenopause, and anxiety to depression.
These appointments establish and maintain a patient-provider relationship and create a baseline for your health by which all present and future symptoms, concerns, or questions can be measured.
Physical Exams
Physical exams can take place at wellness visits. This is the time when your doctor evaluates all bodily systems. Whether you’re feeling great or not so great, it’s important for your doctor to see you in all states to identify areas of strengths and weakness and be as informed as possible when making a diagnosis. These regular exams allow your doctor to recognize when something isn’t right for you specifically.
Immunizations
A standard but critical part of overall preventive care is immunization. This can include flu shots, tetanus shots, covid vaccines, hepatitis vaccines, and more. Targeted immunizations can prevent illnesses from occurring or minimize the symptoms of the disease.
The HPV vaccine is recommended for girls around age 11 or 12, while shingles vaccines are recommended for women over 50. Women who are pregnant, have a chronic condition, or are immunocompromised will want to discuss with their doctor the importance of a variety of immunizations to keep them healthy.
Preventive Screenings
Quality women’s healthcare includes a host of preventive screenings, those for all adults and those specific to women. Along with health screenings for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, colorectal cancer, and diabetes, it is essential for women to get screened for:
- Breast cancer. Mammograms should be done annually, beginning at age 40 for women with no risk factors. A family history of breast cancer requires earlier and more frequent scans.
- Cervical cancer. A Pap test is recommended every three years, beginning at age 30 with no risk factors, to identify abnormal potentially cancerous cells in the cervix. An HPV test can be done at the same time.
- Low bone density. A bone density test is done through an easy, non-invasive DXA scan. Women with autoimmune conditions, senior citizens, and anyone with higher risk of bone fracture are wise to identify whether they have osteopenia or osteoporosis.
The Importance of Preventive Care for Women
Women take care of so many people and often fail to take good enough care of themselves. If you are living with a health condition or afflictions run in your family through your mother or grandmother, screening appointments and wellness visits are essential. Contact me, Dr. Maria Swetech, to make an appointment and talk about your health at every age.
