10 key health tests for women and children
From top to bottom: Get examined regularly for preventative health
By Anne Bokma
Not sure when your child's last tetanus shot was? Wondering when you need to book your next physical? One part of staying healthy is scheduling regular screening tests. Here's a rundown of the most important medical tests and interventions for women and children.
Click here for a template where you can record all your family's important health tests.
1. It all starts in the womb
Routine physician visits during pregnancy include weight and blood pressure checks as well as blood and urine tests to rule out problems, such as anemia and diabetes. An ultrasound may be scheduled to assess fetal progress. You can track baby's in utero development by month, week or day with a personalized calendar available at American Baby.
Check out FamilyDoctor for detailed information on prenatal screening tests such as chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis, which can determine genetic disorders such as Down syndrome.
2. A fair shot
Immunization has saved more lives in Canada in the last 50 years than any other health intervention, according to Health Canada’s Childhood Immunization page.
Vaccines to prevent diseases, such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, rubella and hepatitis B, among others, are given at regular intervals from infancy to adolescence.
It’s important to ensure children get the right shot at the right time. Toronto mom Camilla Cornell forgot all about the diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis shot her daughter Carly needed to have at 14. “I actually got a notice saying she’d be suspended from school if she didn’t get it,” she says. The Public Health Agency of Canada offers a complete immunization schedule.
3. It’s good to stick to a routine
Even if they’re as fit as a fiddle, women and children should have regular physical exams to check for potential problems. Women need a checkup every two years; women need more frequent checkups if they have a chronic condition, such as diabetes or a complicated medication regimen. Children need complete exams during the recommended immunization periods.
“One of the most important reasons to come in for regular physical exams is for preventive health — it allows us to catch things early and to discuss health promotion and prevention,” says family physician Dr. Meghan Davis in Hamilton, Ont. For detailed health information on the developmental stages of children from birth to 21, check out the American Academy of Pediatrics.
4. Time for a Pap
“A Pap test is one of the most effective tests there is to detect early pre-cancerous conditions before they become invasive cancer,” says Dr. Gerald Stanimir, president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada.
Since the introduction of the Pap test more than 25 years ago, the death rate from cervical cancer has dropped almost 50 per cent. You should have a Pap test at 18 or as soon as you are sexually active and get screened again every one to three years until age 69. Check the recommendations in your province.
5. A hands-on experience
One life-saving screening test you can perform is a breast self-examination (BSE). “About 70 per cent of all lumps are detected by women themselves,” says Dr. Stanimir. “But,” he stresses, “they [BSEs] are not a substitute for regular doctor exams or screening mammograms.”
The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation has a downloadable chart with step-by-step instructions for the BSE. Click here to sign up for a monthly BSE e-mail reminder.
6. The ultimate breast test
Mammograms are recommended every two years for women between 50 and 60. However, depending on personal risk factors and the view of their physicians, some women have mammograms as young as 40.
“I’m a walking poster girl for the importance of early screening mammography,” says Vancouver pharmacist Barbara Ogle. “My cancer was found with my first-ever screening mammogram — I had no lump, no risk factors and I’d just turned 41.”
RadiologyInfo offers advice on how to prepare for a mammogram.
7. Putting on the pressure
Each year, approximately 50,000 Canadians have strokes, and high blood pressure (BP) is the top risk factor. Forty-two per cent of Canadians with high BP are unaware they have it, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. BP should be checked at least every two years after the age of 20.
Tips on how to check your blood pressure at home are available at WebMD Health.
8. Why you should cut cholesterol
Like high BP, high cholesterol levels usually don’t produce any symptoms until advanced disease has occurred. Your doctor will recommend a cholesterol-testing schedule depending on your age, general health and whether you are taking medication to lower your cholesterol.
The American Heart Association offers monthly e-mail on heart-healthy tips, checklists for lowering your cholesterol and a downloadable chart to track cholesterol levels at your doctor visits.
9. What’s up down there
Regular screening for colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer in Canada, can catch the disease at an early stage. The Canadian Cancer Society recommends women over 50 have a fecal occult blood test (FOBT), which examines the stool for blood, at least every two years.
10. Bad to the bone
By their mid-30s, women begin to gradually lose more bone than they form and can develop osteoporosis. One in four Canadian women over the age of 50 has osteoporosis. The Osteoporosis Society of Canada suggests women over 65 should have a bone mineral density test to check for osteoporosis, and all post-menopausal women should be assessed by their doctors for the presence of risk factors for osteoporosis.
Not sure about your risk factors? You can take an osteoporosis screening quiz.
Keeping track of your tests
Your computer is a great place to store all of your family’s medical records. Use templates to keep track of your family’s medical history. Click here for our printable template to document important dates and information.
Click here for a template where you can record all your family’s important health tests.
