Waiting for something hurting or not working to go to the doctor is a habit as deeply as risky. In a country where waiting rooms are usually filled by emergencies, preventive medical checks remain a pending debt. But when should we get general control? And what studies should it include according to age?
“Medicine should not be reactive, but preventive. Detecting in time can save lives, especially in silent diseases such as hypertension, diabetes or certain types of cancer,” explains Dr. Juliana Menéndez, a clinical doctor at the Italian hospital.
How often does a general check -up?
Most medical societies recommend annual clinical control for healthy adults, although the frequency may vary according to personal and family history.
From the age of 20, it should be controlled at least once a year:
Blood pressure
Abdominal weight and perimeter
Blood analysis (glycemia, cholesterol, liver and renal function)
Complete urine
From 40, they add up:
Electrocardiogram
Ophthalmological evaluation
Thyroid control
Colonoscopía (from 50, or before if there is a history)
In women, it is also recommended:
Annual Gynecological (PAP and Colposcopía)
Mammography from 40 (or before if there are risk factors)
In men, it is suggested:
Annual urological control from 50 (or before according to the background)
Specific Prostatic Antigen (PSA)
What does not hurt also sick
Some diseases such as hypertension or type 2 diabetes can advance for years without giving symptoms. “Many come to the consultation when they already have a complication: loss of vision, heart attacks, renal damage,” says Menéndez. The same goes for colon cancer, which detected in early stages has a cure rate of 90%, but in advanced phases, it is drastically reduced.
Public health and social works: What do they cover?
In Argentina, the Mandatory Medical Program (PMO) includes basic preventive studies in both social works and in the public system. However, access is not always simple: delayed shifts, lack of professionals or little dissemination of campaigns are usually barriers.
“Many people do not even know they can ask for a complete check without previous symptoms,” says Menéndez. In some municipalities, health campaigns are organized in community centers, with free controls and without the need for derivation.
Prevention is also a right
Caring for health should not depend only on chance or pain that forces you to look for answers. The body speaks, but many times it does so in silence. Therefore, taking a time a year to review is not exaggeration, it is self -care. And while nobody wants to receive an unexpected diagnosis, receiving it in time can make a difference.
Getting a check is, in short, a way of saying: I care.