The importance of a full body physical
OFTEN we hear the saying, “prevention is better than cure”, and we file it away with all the other clichés. But consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Michelle Bailey said going to your doctor for a full body examination is a preventative step that saves lives.
“A full body examination is often guided by age. It provides an opportunity to identify any problems with your health and enables appropriate preventative care to reduce a subsequent decline in health,” she explained.
But she was quick to point that it’s not always bad news.
“It’s also a means of reassuring people who are found to be healthy after their full body check-up.”
A full body examination is usually divided into three phases: vital signs, the physical examination, and other investigations.
The vital signs test includes, but is not limited to, blood pressure, respiratory, pulse, and temperature checks.
Dr Bailey explained that a blood pressure check is significant because high blood pressure increases the risk factors for heart and kidney diseases, cardiovascular-related deaths and strokes.
“If left [undiagnosed and] untreated, high blood pressure increases a person’s vulnerability to blindness, especially when there is underlying diabetes,” Dr Bailey pointed out.
She noted that abnormalities in the pulse rate may indicate thyroid or heart disease or anaemia, while respiratory examinations provide information on the presence of underlying lung diseases.
For the physical, marks and changes on the skin and body reveal to the physician the state of some internal organs.
The tests in the full body review may involve the mouth, breasts, abdomen, and can include the dreaded pelvic and rectal examinations.
“The oral examination is a good way of knowing if your patients have kidney and heart problems. Important to note is the fact that changes in the hair, skin, nails and body weight can also be key in identifying other illnesses,” Dr Bailey explained.
With cancer being the second leading cause of death among Jamaicans, Dr Bailey said that for both men and women, full body examination including the breasts, cervix and the prostate is important, as prevention and early detection walk hand in hand.
“Every woman should do a Pap smear once she is over 21. This is one way of preventing cervical cancer by treating pre-cancer lesions found in the full body exam,” explained Dr Bailey.
Doctors recommend that a full body examination should be done at least once per year and, based on the findings of a thorough examination, a patient may or may not need to do further tests and examinations.
