How often do you feel like going to a clinic to get your vital parameters checked? In today’s fast-paced life, managing time for self-health checks is quite a struggle. At the same time, you will never want to push yourself to dangerous edges by missing out regular checks, particularly if you are suffering from a chronic ailment. Even if you are fit and fine, there are several health checks you can do at home that will help you take proactive measures to safeguard yourself.
Health checks you can do at home to prevent future complications:
If you are wondering how to check your health at home, you may need few simple gadgets that do not demand heavy investments and serve your purpose well. Self-health home checks are easy to do. They also keep you updated about your medical condition. These can be life-saving too. The following home health checks can keep things under control, preventing clinic visits or hospitalization.
Measure your blood pressure:
Investing in a blood pressure monitor would be a good idea to keep track of your blood pressure even if you are taking medications regularly. Sometimes you may need to alter the medicine dose. Those above 40-45 years of age also need a regular BP monitoring.
Check your heart beat:
Whether you are a chronic hypertension patient or not, you need to check your heartbeat occasionally. Troubles related to abnormally high heart rhythm triggers 20% of stroke incidents, especially with hypertensive patients.
Tap your foot along with the rhythm of the pulse for a minute. If it is tough to maintain your foot tapping with a racing heartbeat, relax for one hour and check again. If the situation remains the same, report your doctor who may advise an electrocardiogram to record your heartbeat.
Arm-sensored blood glucose monitor:
If painful needle pricks are keeping you away from regular blood glucose monitoring, then this pain-free device would be an ideal choice for self-health home checks. The FreeStyle Libre Sensor comes with a 5g sensor patch and a pocket-sized reader.
Place the sensor on your upper arm and scan it for a second with the reader. You will get all the blood glucose readings of last 8 hours instantly. The longevity of each sensor is 14 days and the device is waterproof.
Checking for asthma:
Untreated asthma causes 4000 deaths and 1.8 million emergency visits every year. Do you often wheeze or experience shortness of breath while performing regular physical activities? This is one of the essential health checks you can do at home.
Report to your doctor if you face these difficulties. He/she may suggest proper medication or inhalers. He may also suggest the spirometry test to assess your lung function. A timely reporting of this condition can be life-saving in the truest sense.
Checking your belly fat:
This should be one of your regular self-health home checks before inviting any danger. Accumulation of belly fat can be linked to a number of health conditions. In fact, most of the chronic ailments arise from being overweight or obese, where fat is mainly concentrated around your mid-region.
Wrap a measuring tape around your belly slightly above the belly-button and note down the measurement. If you see it is increasing every month, it could be due to an underlying medical condition like heart disease or blood sugar.
Checking oral health:
This is one of the simplest health checks that you can do at home, but few stick to a regular regime. For example, a persisting sore or lump inside the oral cavity may signal something as dangerous as cancer. Just run a finger all around the oral cavity and beneath the tongue to check for any abnormal growths.
Examining your breasts:
While listing the health checks you can do at home, you cannot simply leave out breast examinations. Self-breast examinations are crucial in breast cancer detection. Run your palm over your breast and check if there is any abnormal lump formation or growth. Although most of the lumps are benign in nature, they should be reported to doctor for a mammogram and other related tests to rule out cancer.
At home pap smear test:
A must health-check for women, but very few comply with it. Women dread this clinical test but this can be done comfortably the at home with the SoloPap HPV Test kit. All you have to do is insert the patented cylinder smoothly into the cervical canal and allow the collection brush to take cell samples. The process is totally effortless as the cylinder fitted with a guide head automatically fits into the cervix. You can take the sample to a certified clinic or GP for testing.