Staying healthy can be a lot of work. A balanced diet takes much more effort than most health authorities would have you believe, especially when you’ve not only got the cooking of healthy meals to contend with, but also doing so when you have work and family commitments to think about. Getting enough exercise can also be a chore, as there often just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to slot it in.
In reality, though, there’s likely more time available than you think if you shift things around a little, and what seems a chaotic mess can be simplified by applying the right strategy.
Organisation is everything, and beyond diet and exercise, there are several smaller, more basic things you should be doing to protect your health. Here are three regular health check-ups everyone should have in their diary.
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1. Annual GP Checkup
Far too few people do it (and that could be something to do with the fact that the NHS is struggling), but you should have at least one general GP check-up per year.
These annual checkups cover all the basics. You’ll have a series of routine blood tests, as well as your blood pressure and cholesterol taken. The results of each combine to paint a picture of your overall health, and give your doctor a good idea as to your risk for issues like cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type-2 diabetes. If anything is flagged up, it can be dealt with through lifestyle modifications, medication, or a mixture of both.
2. Dentist Checkups
No one likes going to the dentist, but it’s a necessary evil to ensure you don’t have major issues that silently creep up on you.
The reality is that tooth decay takes a long time to present with symptoms. You could have a cavity with decay going on for a year before it reaches the nerve and causes pain, and by that point, you could need a root canal, which is a very expensive procedure. Routine checkups might be unpleasant and expensive in their own right, but without them, you could easily face a much bigger problem.
Your standard checkup is usually completed once every six months and includes two bitewing x-rays and a full evaluation of the inside of your mouth, and in the grand scheme of things, it’s only half an hour out of your life.
3. STI Testing and Screening
This is a topic most don’t want to think about, but if you’re a sexually active person, it’s always a good idea to have testing and screening done every three months.
The vast majority of towns (and most certainly cities) will have a walk-in clinic where you can get a full panel done (chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV, and syphilis). If you prefer, you can also order a rapid test kit to complete at home (the chlamydia & gonorrhoea rapid test kits are considered one of the best ways of testing, for example).
It’s peace of mind for you and whoever you’re seeing, and it takes barely any time at all.
Wrapping Up
While the above checkups certainly don’t cover everything to do with your health, they’re a baseline, and everyone has to start somewhere. Keep these in your diary, and you’ll be doing more than most people.
