Human beings live a relatively long time, at least in comparison to most animal species. Overall, we rank in the top ten percent of all species when it comes to long life, nowadays. A lot of that long lifespan can be directly credited to improvements over the last hundred years in public health programs like vaccinations, purifying water, antiseptic surgery techniques and eradication of a few major diseases, such as smallpox.

So, given that we tend to be living longer lives, we really need to ask ourselves the question “what is the right age to start health screening and regular checkups?”

The answer itself isn’t as cut-and-dried as we’d like it to be, unfortunately. Generally, the frequency and interval of health screening and regular checkups occurs on a kind of scale, where we get more of that sort of preventive medicine both in our younger, pre-teen years and in our older so-called “senior years” of age 50 and over.

But, the answer also has to factor in the individual personal medical circumstances that each person may have undergone in the past or is currently undergoing in the present. By this, we mean have they had a serious or life-threatening illness like cancer that they’ve managed to beat, or are they undergoing an illness at present? Now, once we’re able to satisfactorily address those input factors, we’ll be able to more accurately set a precise timeframe.

When we’re young and in our pre-teen years, we may not have yet had all our immunizations or we may not yet have fully developed natural immunities to various bugs and illnesses out in the world. That’s why a regular checkup on a yearly or bi-yearly basis may be a good bet.

This allows the pediatrician (child doctor) to gauge the health of the growing child in an intelligent manner. Once kids hit their teens, checkups can generally be done on a longer time range going all the way up to every five years.

Young adults and adults up to age 30 can get away with checkups every two years, for the most part, except for PAP screening in women and also regular breast self-examination. There are also some recommended individual screening tests once we hit age 40, but nothing too complicated.

At age 30 and onward, regular annual checkups should be mandatory, as well as regular screenings for certain male or female issues that tend to appear as we age. Check with your doctor or local health maintenance advocate for a list of screening tests which should be done.

Intelligent planning and forethought in getting medically screened can make a world of difference to any person’s quality of life. Try to adhere to an effective yet simple-to-follow healthcare plan whenever possible!

Over the course of our life, chances are we’ll undergo several thorough health screening exams. This is because our bodies undergo changes as we progress through the various stages of our lives, from young child to elderly senior citizen.

It’s because of this factor that it’s recommended that these sorts of examinations be performed from time-to-time. Most of them consist of a few basic and a few thorough tests and exams, including a blood test.

In this, a quick test looks at our red blood and white blood cell counts to check for anemia, infections or possible imminent disease or dysfunction. But, what else does a health screening blood test reveal?

Let’s start out by saying that a thorough examination of the blood taken from a patient undergoing a health screening is probably one of the most useful diagnostic tools available to the physician of any era, including this one.

In the age of the MRI or CT scan, examining a person’s blood for the presence or absence of certain chemicals, factors and other items, blood test can still be the most basic way to determine if there’s something very serious going on in our bodies that we may not otherwise be able to find out, if we’re currently “asymptomatic” (without any symptoms).

As to what things our health screening blood test can reveal, well the answer can be dependent upon several factors. What was the health screening for? Was it an annual screen for general health or were we looking for certain chemicals, hormones, amino acids or proteins in the bloodstream that could be reliable indicators of something more serious than just anemia? All of these issues come into play when it comes to blood screening and values.

Generally, though, our blood will be checked for several things. The amount of hemoglobin in our blood is always determined. This is a protein in our red blood cells (RBCs) that carries oxygen. In cases where there may be internal bleeding of some sort, hemoglobin could be significantly lower. Also, the levels of the blood’s various lipids, or fats, are checked for.

The exam will look at both “good” (HDL, or High-Density Lipoprotein) and “bad” (Low-Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol. Those two, plus fatty acids in the blood, called triglycerides receive a thorough look-see. If LDL and triglycerides are too high, the patient’s risk of heart disease and other ailments is usually aslso higher. The presence of high levels of HDL can help lower the risk, by the way.

All in all, examining the blood for hemoglobin, HDL, LDL and triglycerides is normally all that’s needed in a thorough health screening exam. And people should have these sorts of blood tests on a medically-recommended basis.

Above all, a blood test does not accurately reveal if there’s any lump or cysts, first stage of cancerous tumor plus their size or location. Your blood test is useful if they are accompany by other thorough screening to get a complete health record of you.

Take Care Of Your Kidneys (Millions suffer from renal malfunction every year and it is advisable to have check-ups before it is too late)

EVERY year, World Kidney Day (WKD) is celebrated on the second Thursday in March and this year it falls this week.

In Malaysia, the WKD celebrations will be a collaboration by three parties – the National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia (NKF), the Malaysian Society of Nephrology (MSN) and the Ministry of Health (MOH). They will be holding road shows throughout the country to encourage people to take the necessary steps in ensuring their kidneys stay healthy.

This year’s theme is Amazing Kidneys – Are Yours Healthy?, which reflects on the vital roles this organ plays in our body, filtering 200 litres of blood each day as well as regulating blood pressure. High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD). That’s why the tagline for this year’s WKD is Keep Your Pressure Down.

Incidentally, there will be a tie-up between WKD and World Hypertension Day (which will be held in May) this year.

“It is well known that patients with kidney failure generally have reduced life expectancy, suffer from higher risk of heart and blood vessel related diseases and higher risk of sudden death,” said Dr Ghazali Ahmad, national adviser and head of nephrology, Ministry of Health during a press conference on World Kidney Day.

“In fact, the majority of patients with kidney diseases die from various heart and blood vessel related diseases before they reach the terminal stage of kidney failure which requires dialysis.

“It is for that reason that medical experts began recently to categorise kidney disease as an important and an independent cause of, and contributor to, cardiac and blood vessel related diseases.

“Diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure remain the two main causes of heart and blood vessel diseases. The former is the most common cause of terminal kidney failure in Malaysia while the latter is closely related to kidney diseases.”

Uncontrolled blood pressure can lead to kidney disease and subsequently kidney failure while kidney disease and kidney failure can lead to high blood pressure.

“In fact, by the time the kidney function fails and regular dialysis treatment is required, almost all such patients will have developed high blood pressure,” added Ghazali.

For the WKD celebrations, several programmes will be implemented during the road shows to create public awareness on the need to have regular kidney health check.

“This is not so difficult as kidney disease can be diagnosed by simple urine and laboratory tests,” said Dr Philip N. Jeremiah, president, Malaysian Society of Nephrology.

“Who are those that must be screened? First and foremost would be patients with diabetes and hypertension as these are still the most common causes of kidney failure. Other causes include those with autoimmune disease like SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus), those with frequent and recurrent urinary tract infections, urinary stones, family history of chronic kidney disease and those with a history of recovery from acute kidney injury,” Jeremiah added.

According to preliminary data from the National Renal Registry, 4,071 new patients commenced dialysis last year. Current figures (as of December 2008) reveal that there are 18,789 dialysis patients.

The most important aspect of this campaign is to remind people that prevention is better than cure. If the kidney problem is at its early stages, your doctor can help you with various treatments.

Ghazali mentioned that most people aren’t even aware that they have kidney disease or kidney failure as there are barely any noticeable symptoms. So urine tests are needed to measure the amount of protein and detect the presence of abnormal cells. Protein in the urine is not a normal occurrence and therefore is an indication that the organ is not working properly.

The WKD nationwide campaign and road shows kicked off on March 6 in Kangar, Perlis. On March 12, WKD 2009 will be officially launched by Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, the Minister of Health at Hospital Serdang in Selangor.

Apart from the road show, a NKF Family Day will be organised on March 29 for all NKF Dialysis patients in Klang Valley at the Sunway Lagoon Theme Park.

MJ Health Management Institution is the first to add eGFR in the member screening items for prevention of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) spread by action. Contact us now to get your special rates only for MJLifeScreening.com readers.

Source: The Sun Daily

As a medical diagnostic tool, computed tomography - known as CT scanning - almost can’t be beat for the depth and quality with which it can examine an area of the body. And quickly get to the dysfunction which may be affecting it or even the whole body, when the issue with the organ or body system is serious enough.

But there are a few reasons why we may not want to be so eager to have a CT scan at the drop of a hat, no matter how attractive the idea of getting this comprehensive and very revealing look into the inner-workings of our bodies may be. And that may be why it’s not a good idea to have frequent CT scans.

For starters, CT scanning still uses radiation as a means of imaging the organ or affected area of the body. True, it’s less than traditional radiography, but it’s still ionizing (which means it passes through body cells) radiation of the sort that’s given off when a nuclear bomb explodes.

In fact, it’s conservatively estimated that we’re now being exposed to twice the annual dosage of radiation that we experienced in 1980! This is due to the rise in popularity of this profoundly-effective medical imaging device.

Also, all this radiation exposure that the cells in our bodies are undergoing could cause long-term increases in certain types of cancers over the next twenty to thirty years. This is because ionizing radiation of a strong enough dose can affect a cell’s DNA strand, which in turn could lead to the body later being unable to self-repair that damage as it ages and gets less efficient at such activities.

Let’s face it: People and doctors are in love with the idea of CT scanning to get right to the heart of a diagnosis as quickly as they can. But many health issues aren’t spotted any more quickly with computed tomography than they are with traditional medical exams such as body fluid testing, auscultation (listening to the sounds a body makes using a stethoscope, generally), and using the hands to examine for body masses such as lumps or swelling.

Because of this fascination with a rightfully-respected diagnostic imaging test, we just may be subjecting our bodies to unneeded and unnecessary levels of radiation that really could affect us much further down the road, as we start to age.

There are actually diet rules out there that are meant to be broken? Yes, recently many dated diet guidelines and myths are up for speculation. You’ve probably heard all these silly rules before, but experts weigh-in on the worthiness of these supposed truisms - most of which won’t help you lose weight or make dieting any easier.

10 Food Rules You Can Ignore:

1. Eating at night will pile on the pounds. The total calories you consume over a 24-hour period or over a week is what causes you to gain weight, and when you eat these calories doesn’t matter.

2. It’s best to eat at the same times every day. Eat when you’re hungry, not when the clock says it’s time to eat.

3. Dieting with a buddy always makes weight loss easier. Common goals may pay off but weight loss is a personal journey.

4. Dietary fat keeps you feeling full longer, so you’ll eat less. Fat does take longer to digest, but it will not help you control your appetite. Foods likely to fight off hunger the longest are protein foods, followed by carbohydrates, then fats.

5. When you blow your diet, you might as well wait until the next day to get back on track. Nothing could be farther from the truth- always try to get right back on track with your next meal.

6. Refusing food at a party or when visiting is rude. Turning down food that you know will blow your diet is socially acceptable.

7. Skipping a meal every now and then will help you lose. Skipping a meal means you will be so hungry at the next meal that you are likely to overeat. This can also help lead to a slowdown of your metabolism.

8. Bread is fattening, nuts are fattening, pasta is fattening. Whole-wheat bread/pasta is a great source of nutrients, and it won’t make you gain weight more than any other food with the same number of calories.

9. All calories are equal. This is somewhat true, however; you’ll get more nutrients from a 100-calorie apple than from a 100-calorie portion of white bread. Choose healthier items if you are losing weight, or controlling your hunger.

10. If you don’t clean your plate, you’re wasting food. If you just don’t feel right leaving the table until you’ve cleaned your plate, underestimate your hunger and put less food on your plate to begin with, or you may overeat.

Don’t believe everything you hear! Much of it is just superstition. Now you can tell your friends the real truth. In the end, nutrition experts say, many of the food and dieting rules we hold dear are meant to be broken - without guilt!