BODY-
“It is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them.”
-Benjamin Franklin
One day while assisting my employer (a Family Practice Physician) we had a patient come in with the complaint of shortness of breath. She couldn't breath while laying down. This was a woman in her 40's with teenage children. She admitted that she was a smoker and had this issue for awhile but was afraid to seek treatment. After ordering a chest x-ray, my doctor discovered she had inoperable lung cancer. She called a few days later in tears, a week later she had died. This was a preventable disease, but by the time she got to us, it was too late.
Preventive medicine are tests and screenings conducted to prevent, avoid, or predict future illness, disease or injury. Every person, both young and old, should be receiving preventive medical screenings. They not only protect the individual, but they also help protect the community. Due to ease of international travel, they also protect on a global level.
There are different types of preventive medicine. Some treat the individual and some apply epidemiological research towards finding ways to prevent diseases. There are different tiers used to address preventive medicine. For instance in substance abuse prevention:
• Universal Prevention- addresses the entire population (national, local community, school and district) and aims to prevent or delay alcohol abuse, tobacco and other drug usage. All individuals without screenings are provided with information and skills to help prevent problems with these substances.
• Selective Prevention- Focuses on groups who are at risk of developing problems. The groups may be selected by age, gender, family history, or economic status.
• Indicated Prevention- involves a screening process, and aims to identify individuals who exhibit early signs of substance abuse and other problem behaviors. Identifiers may include decline in grades, known conduct disorders from parents, school, etc.
• Environmental Prevention- Environmental prevention approaches are typically managed at the regulatory or community level, and focus on interventions to deter drug consumption. Prohibition and bans use various initiatives at the macro and micro level, from government monopolies for alcohol sales, through roadside sobriety or drug tests, worker/pupil/student drug testing, increased policing in suspected areas (near schools, at rock festivals), and legislative guidelines aimed at precipitating punishments (warnings, penalties, fines).
It's important to get regular check-ups from your primary care doctor. These health exams can help find problems before they start or find them early enough to be treated. Some common preventive medicine screenings are:
Breast exams
Pap smears
Colorectal cancer screenings (colonoscopies, sigmoidoscopies)
Diabetic screenings
High blood pressure check
Immunizations
Oral health screenings
Prostate exams
Skin cancer screenings
Chest X-rays
Cholesterol tests
EKG's
Psychological exams
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Osteoporosis check (bone density scans)
To remain as healthy as possible one should get the recommended screening tests, don't smoke, drink alcohol only in moderation, be physically active, eat a healthy diet, stay at a healthy weight and take preventive medicine if necessary.
Here is a local website that initiates Health Screenings.
http://www.7company.com/health-screenings.htm
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