Practicing preventative health care is a way to become empowered and educated about your own health. Seeing your doctor and dentist regularly and seeking emergency treatment when needed can help lower your risk of developing various diseases and conditions.
The Doctor
You can’t build a relationship with someone you don’t see regularly, and your doctor is no exception. Building a relationship with your doctor means that they will better understand your medical history and your risk of developing certain conditions. Nearly every time you visit your doctor, they will check certain health markers. You’ll step on the scale, have your blood pressure taken and maybe have your heart rate monitored.
This routine data tells a story about your health, and observing changes over time is a way for your doctor to better assess your health. You’ve probably heard that prevention is the best medicine. According to Beaumont, early detection and regular monitoring is important for treating cancers, controlling chronic issues like diabetes, and preventing heart attacks and strokes. If you don’t see your doctor regularly, you miss out on opportunities to take early detection tests that can catch these problems early.
The Dentist
Visiting the dentist every six months is also beneficial for your health. Even if your brush and floss every day, plaque can easily build up in tiny areas of your mouth. When plaque turns into tartar, you need professional help to remove it and reduce your risk of cavities and erosion. Your six-month visit is also an opportunity for your dentist to check for oral cancer and gum disease. Early detection is key to preventing oral cancer from progressing and becoming a life-threatening illness. While you may not notice any symptoms in its earliest stages, your dentist will.
A buildup of plaque and tartar can cause infection where the teeth and gums meet, leading to the gums pulling away from the teeth. This is called gingivitis, and it can worsen to become gum disease. The symptoms of gum disease include swelling, soreness, and bleeding, and it can even make your teeth fall out. This dramatic effect can be easily prevented by seeing your dentist regularly.
Emergency Medical Treatment
If you experience a serious injury or illness, seeking emergency medical treatment in a timely fashion can be the difference between life or death. Symptoms requiring medical treatment may include vomiting or coughing blood, difficulty breathing, cuts that won’t stop bleeding, numbness in the leg, face or arm and seizures. Other signs that you may need to seek emergency treatment include sudden, severe headaches, severe abdominal pain, severe burns, sudden blurry vision and sudden weakness, dizziness or loss of coordination.
Furthermore, Emroch & Kilduff points out that it’s important to seek emergency medical treatment after an accident even if you feel fine. Sometimes stress can mask an injury, some injuries don’t show symptoms immediately, and treatment can prevent those injuries from getting worse.
Making regular appointments with health professionals is the foremost way to take charge of your health. In between those visits, look out for troubling symptoms that don’t get better on their own and signal that you need a professional’s care. By trusting your health to a professional rather than yourself, you can live a longer, healthier, more comfortable life.