Preventive health care is managing health with a goal of preventing disease processes before they occur. Sometimes referred to as health maintenance, preventive health care includes diagnosing early, identifying risks for disease conditions, and educating on a healthy lifestyle. This may help avoid development of health issues or slow its progression. It can even reverse or cure some conditions completely. Annual physical exams and regular visits with your health care provider can accomplish this with regular screening tests, nutrition and exercise education, and other preventive measures such as immunizations.
Let’s look at type 2 diabetes with this lens. At your regular health care provider visits, we will check your blood glucose (sugar). If you have elevated blood glucose, or are trending up, we can check your hemoglobin A1C. Hemoglobin A1C represents a three-month average of your blood sugar levels. If your hemoglobin A1C is in the prediabetes or even early in the diabetes range, we can reverse this process with lifestyle changes and medications. One of the best things for controlling blood sugar is exercise. Even a small amount of exercise, like going for a walk or light weight lifting, can make a difference. Dietary changes can be easier than you may think with some simple tricks to alter your food intake. An example of this is to eat your food groups in a specific order. Always eat non-starchy vegetables first, protein next, and then carbohydrates. So you would eat broccoli first, then chicken, then your potato. By eating the same exact meal in this order you can help prevent your blood sugar from spiking higher than if you ate it in the opposite order.
Your health care provider can help with identifying if you are at risk for developing a health condition based on many factors. We look at things like your age, family history, past medical history, past or current laboratory findings, and other factors that can be discovered in your history and physical examination. There are many conditions, such as breast cancer and colon cancer, for which your risk increases with age. We recommend annual mammograms for women beginning at age 40. Breast exams can be done before 40 to help screen for any lumps, or concerns that may require a diagnostic mammogram before age 40. The guidelines for screening colonoscopy have recently changed from age 50 to age 45. If you are having regular medical visits, we can discuss any changes in your bowel habits, and if appropriate, a diagnostic colonoscopy could be ordered to check for early onset colon cancer. A colonoscopy cannot only detect colon cancer, but it can actually prevent colon cancer! If a precancerous polyp is discovered during a colonoscopy it can typically be removed during the test and therefore prevent it from growing into a cancer.
There are many health conditions that can be prevented with regular medical visits. We recommend annual physical exams for everyone.
Elaine Lawrence is a family medicine nurse practitioner at Mercyhealth Richmond. To schedule an appointment, call 815-678-4528.