Health Screening: 5 Things You Need to Know

On top of a good diet and regular exercise, health screenings are key to staying well.

This is because health screenings help detect potential health risks and diseases, especially “silent killers” that may not have early warning signs until the condition gets more severe. Early detection of diseases through regular health screening allows for early intervention and prevention of further complications, so that you can keep healthy and well.

Haven’t done a health screening in ages? Here are five things you should know about health screenings.

It’s not enough to just get screened once.

A one-off screening is not enough as it only picks up present conditions and may not detect the ones that surface in your later years.

Health screenings should be done regularly depending on your age, health status and individual risk factors. There are different types of health screening packages, depending on what you need.

• A basic health screening could just include screening for obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol (which are common chronic conditions).

• More comprehensive packages would include screening for thyroid, STDs, cancer markers, and so on.

Generally, doing yearly basic check-ups is a good practice to adopt. Do consult your doctor on the tests you need as well as the frequency of screening.

While you’re doing your screening, you can also take the opportunity to complete your recommended vaccinations, such as the flu vaccination.

You can save more than $100k with health screening

We all know that healthcare can be expensive. This is especially so if we have a chronic health condition that requires medication or further medical support to manage.

Going for regular health screening allows us to catch these health conditions early. Be aware of your health conditions so that you can make lifestyle modifications to reduce the risks of diseases. Even if you require medication, early stage treatments also cost considerably less compared to when a condition gets more severe.

Conditions such as diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), hyperlipidemia (high fat levels in your blood), fatty liver, breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, and more, can be detected through regular screenings.

After your results are ready, your doctor will usually go through the screening report with you. It’s here that they may discuss disease management plans, to take control of any detected conditions.

Health screening is not as painful as you think

You may think of health screening as an excruciating and cumbersome process, but it’s simpler and more comfortable than you think.

Depending on the number of tests included in your package, the entire process should s take between 30 minutes to 2 hours to complete. While you may experience a little discomfort during some of the tests, you can let your healthcare staff know if you’re uncomfortable at any point. Apart from blood drawing, tests are usually not invasive nor pose any health risks.

There are a few things you can do to prepare for your health screening.

To make your health screening go more smoothly, here’s what you can do:

1. Get enough sleep (at least for 7 - 8 hours) the night before.

2. Avoid consuming any food or drinks for 8 hours before your screening as some tests require you to be fasted. Plain water is fine, so you don’t have to worry about going thirsty.

3. No alcohol for at least 24 hours prior your appointment.

4. For ladies, avoid doing your health screening 7 days before or after your menstrual period. If you're on your period, please inform the nurse or doctor as it may affect certain tests such as urine and stool tests or pap smears.

   • Additionally, if you’re doing a mammogram, avoid wearing deodorant, perfume, makeup and creams as these can interfere with your mammogram procedure.

You don’t have to leave the house to get screened

Worried that health screenings take a huge chunk of your time and effort? Save your travel time and get screened at home.

Doctor Anywhere offers a range of home-based health screening and vaccination services. Our mobile health screening team will come over to your home so you don’t have to move an inch.

It is never too late to book your first health screening appointment. Make a booking for a home-based health screening with us today.

Not sure what types of screening tests you need? Speak to a doctor anytime on the DA app for their recommendation.