Friday, August 21, 2009

Stop! Have you had your Physical this year?


Summer is fun time! Parties, picnics and camping trips are happening all over my community! Doing what I love most, socializing with friends, I secretly carried out my own little experiment on unsuspecting human subjects. What's your shoe size? Your height? Your favorite drink? Most common emotion? Just some normal-sounding questions. I got answers as quick as a cat can wink it's eye! And then, I got down to business? What's your HDL? LDL? A few smart geeks from the Virginia Technology Corridor asked me if that was a new IT term for whatever :-)

The answers: What's that? Don't know, don't remember, that was a long time ago, not yet, maybe soon.....the list was endless. Sigh! Now, let's get the facts straight. All of these folks have great health insurance policies, primary care physicians and by golly, are well-educated and informed. They could talk for hours on politics, religion, culture, sports and entertainment. But when it came down to what mattered the most, they were literally clueless.

No judgment intended. I've been there myself. What's so important about a physical? Why do we need to know if our bodies are working the way they should? What's normal for me may not be normal for you. How do I know my normal, my baseline if I don't "check" myself.

What is it that puts me off. Is it the scheduling, the trip to the doctor, the wait, the thought of putting myself through an inspection? It really isn't any of these for most folks. People tell me they really don't need it, they're healthy, no sign of disease, no real discomfort, maintaining the status quo.

Prevention is always a boring topic. Until you hear of a neighbor, a friend or colleague who passed away in his sleep, of a major cardiac arrest that was largely preventable. Or the husband of a dear friend of mine, who was diagnosed with Colon Cancer on a routine colonoscopy. Identified and treated early enough, he is recovering and enjoying his family.

Your health is your most precious treasure. Don't let 2009 go by without get a complete checkup, that includes blood tests, urine tests, x'rays, cardiac evaluation and so forth. Know your numbers. Knowledge is power. What is your body telling you? Are you listening?

For more information on physicals for men and women, check out:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/MEDLINEPLUS/ency/article/002125.htm

Be well!
Anita

3 comments:

  1. Good one Anitha. I will do mine in 2009 after reading this post - Subash

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  3. I have had mine, thanks to you.....very important to have a physical, I get to eat low-fat food now.........ugh.......

    John

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