Have you organised your health check yet?
It’s a common perception that men typically don’t think about their health until something is broken. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it” is often the strategy for many men.
But what if there was something wrong with your body and you didn’t know about it? Left unchecked or untreated, many minor ailments can develop into significant health issues.
June 10-16 is Men’s Health Week. Its purpose is to promote awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys.
The aim of the health check is to find and prevent, or lessen the effect of disease, given that it is better to avoid disease than to treat it. This health check will give the opportunity to look at your lifestyle and medical/ family history to find out if you are at risk.
If you’re a male between the age of 45 and 49 it is time to schedule your health check.
The health check involves:
- Updating your medical history and looking at your health issues
- Doing tests, such as pathology and blood pressure
- Follow up of any problems identified
- Advice and information on how to make lifestyle changes to improve your health
If you have any of the following risk factors you should consider a health check:
- High blood pressure
- Lack of physical activity
- Extra weight
- Poor diet
- High cholesterol
- Family history of disease (e.g. diabetes, heart disease)
- Smoker
In most cases, if you’re a male aged 45-49 there is no cost involved for this service, as it is covered by Medicare.
If you have any of the risk factors above we recommend you contact your local General Practitioner to schedule a heath check.