Forty announces yet another transition in the lives of women. This is the time that is marked to some of the obvious changes in the medical conditions of the lives of women. The most prominent among them is menopause. It is the time when women suffer from menopausal period. This hormonal change in their lives announce some other related problems too like depression, irritation, lethargic feeling, appearance of age spots and hyper pigmentation in the skin, thinning of hair, etc. Other prominent signs that testify that a women is in her forties is the development of pain in the knee joints and the waist, development of farsightedness and vulnerability to some of the commonly occurring lifestyle diseases like high blood pressure, blood sugar, high cholesterol, thyroid, etc. While these are some of the problems that are easy to handle, there are certain lethal health conditions too that come hand in hand with the age of forty, such as more chances of developing breast cancer, asthma, osteoarthritis, rheumatism, etc. Thus, in order to stay healthy even after forty there are certain medical tests women need to go for.
Here is a comprehensive list of some of these.
1. Blood pressure screening
One of the most obvious things women might suffer from after the age of forty is elevation or low blood pressure. This is the force that is exerted by the flowing blood on the walls of the arteries while passing through the same. While systolic blood pressure is the reading at the time of the heart beat, the diastolic is the one when the heart relaxes in between the beats. Thus, the normal reading is 120/80, anything below or above that is not normal. It should be monitored at least once a year.
2. Blood sugar monitoring
Blood sugar monitoring is basically keeping a track on the quantity of glucose contained in the blood. It is basically monitored in two circumstances, one is when the patient is instructed to remain in fasting and the other is when after patient has his or her usual meal. The normal reading of blood sugar is in between 64.8 to 104.4 millionmoles per liter. The body itself regulates the amount of glucose in blood as a part of metabolism. But, in situations of decreased metabolic rate, the glucose level in blood keeps on increasing and leads to diabetes mellitus. In such a situation only medication and injection can handle the rate of glucose in blood. Thus, before you land up in suffering from diabetes mellitus, have your blood sugar screening done after every two years at the least.
3. Thyroid test
Thyroid, as you probably know, is a small gland situated at the throat area, just below the skin and muscles of the neck. It is the gland that secretes hormones and assists in maintaining the normal rate of metabolism. They also regulate other functions such as the rate of body growth, onset of sexuality, development of the bones, conversion of carbohydrates into energy, etc. But, when someone suffers from diseases of thyroid a disturbed secretion of thyroxin, the hormone secreted from thyroid gland is witnessed. Thus, it leads to either hyperthyroidism, when the energy from carbohydrates is used up much faster than needed or hypothyroidism, when less thyroxin is secreted. Both diseases underline several other diseases. Thus, doctors recommend that women must have thyroid test done at least once in five years.
4. Mammography
Breast cancer is one of the most raging women diseases in the recent times. It is estimated that one in every five women in the current scenario is suffering from breast cancer. The chances of occurrence of the disease multiply in the post menopausal phase, which is when women cross the age of forty. Thus, mammography is the test to detect the prevalence of breast cancer in a woman. Doctors advice that one mammography after at least a gap of every one or two years should be done to stay away from the disease.
5. Eye testing
Women post forty face quite a number of eye related problems as well that can turn out to be fatal if not handled initially. One of the common eye problems is farsightedness, when they face difficulty is seeing nearby objects. Other eye related problems may be glaucoma, cataract, etc. So after forty, eye test every two to four years will keep the eyes healthy.
6. Skin test
Women with matured skin face quite a lot of complications. They can range from age spots, hyperpigmentations, mederma, alteration and discoloration of the skin complexion, appearance of dark circles, thinning of hair, alopecia, etc. Thus, if you really wish to stay beautiful even after forty, get skin test done every year.
7. Hearing test
Women, who have crossed forty, might sometimes face difficulty in hearing too. Although not as common as other diseases, but there might be underlying factors behind this. So, it is wise to have a hearing test done once in every five to ten years to be sure that your ears are all right.
8. Pap screening
Cervical cancer is the next most threatening disease, mostly affecting matured women. Women after the age of twenty one become vulnerable to this disease and as they advance in age the risks multiply. Hence, it is recommended by the doctors that a pap screening should be done within a gap of every one to three years to detect any chances of the disease in women.