Women’s bodies change significantly over time, making certain health screenings more relevant than others, depending on your life stage. Dr Rivera provides a checklist for essential screenings at each decade.
You’ve probably heard of preventive health screenings. They’re known as tests that look for diseases before symptoms are present. In terms of conditions that often show no warning signs, preventive health screenings can be very effective at providing insights about early disease risk so you can take proactive steps with your doctor to prevent illness.
Preventive health screenings are essential for a variety of reasons. The first is that if you are at high risk for a condition that exhibits few to no warning signs, screenings can show your risks for chronic diseases to take proactive steps towards preventing, delaying or alleviating chronic illness under your doctors care. For example, cervical cancer does not typically cause noticeable symptoms in the early stages of the disease. Routine pap smears are essential to check for abnormal cells in the cervix so that they can be monitored and treated as early as possible.
These are recommendations for healthy individuals. If you have any chronic illness, family history of cancer or take chronic medication, these guidelines may not apply to you. Please consult your doctor or other healthcare providers for advice.
Women How often? When to start?
Screening:
Pap smear Every 3 years 25 years old
Mammogram Every 2 years 40 or 50 years old
Dentist Once a year Lifelong
Bone density scan At least once 65 years old
Colonoscopy Every 10 years 50 years old
Eye test Every 2-3 years 40 years old
Cholesterol test Once a year 40 years old
Blood sugar test Once a year 40 years old
HIV test Once a year As soon as sexually active
Vaccinations:
Flu vaccination Once a year 6 months old
Pneumococcal vaccination Once off 50 years old
Shingles vaccination Once off
50 years old
Book those appointments so you can spot and manage any potential health risks early – saving you greater expense and stress in the future.