Recommended Health Screenings: Wisconsin Urgent Care

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends routine preventative medicine screenings for anyone over the age of 18.

Blood Pressure
Firstly, there is blood pressure, which is the pressure circulating blood exerts on blood vessels’ walls. This is an essential vital sign, or a physiological statistic that assesses the health of the body’s basic functions. Blood pressure should be screened regularly, generally with a device called a sphygmomanometer, which is an inflatable cuff combined with an electronic measuring device.

Cardiovascular Disease
Screening for cardiovascular disease is also important; this is the category of disease involving the blood vessels, including the veins and arteries, and the heart. Regular screening for cardiovascular disease via blood testing ought to be begun at age 55 for women and earlier, at age 45, for men.

Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer, or cancer of the cervix, requires routing screening every two years beginning at age 21. Cervical cancer screening is done with a test commonly known as the Pap smear.

Cholestrol
Cholesterol is a fatty substance necessary for health in certain quality and quantity but detrimental to health otherwise, particular with regard to cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis, or the clogging of the arteries. Cholesterol levels are to be tested along with a comprehensive lipid, or fat, profile panel of blood tests in a cholesterol (lipid) test array every 5 years beginning at age 45 for women and earlier, at age 35, for men.

Bowel Cancer
Colorectal cancer, or bowel cancer, is cancer of the colon, rectum or appendix. Colorectal screen should be conducted routinely beginning at age 50 via colonoscopy, fecal occult blood testing or flexible sigmoidoscopy.

Dental Screening
Periodic dental screening is also important for preventing and detecting early problems in dental health.

Diabetes Screening
Diabetes is metabolic disease of damagingly high blood sugar. Diabetes screening ought to be done regularly for adults with high blood pressure by the glycated hemoglobin or glucose tolerance tests.

Breast Cancer
Screening for breast cancer is accomplished by conducting mammography on standard risk adult women starting at age 40 every one or two years.

Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a bone disease that reduces bone mineral density and increases risk of bone fractures. Routine bone densitometry screening is recommended for women starting at age 65. Women as young as age 60 may need osteoporosis screening if risk factors like low body weight, family history of osteoporosis and personal history of smoking are present.

Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate, which is an organ that is part of the reproductive system. Men should talk to their doctor concerning their personal need for prostate screening at age 40. Screenings for prostate cancer include the prostate-specific antigen blood test and the digital rectal exam.

Vision/Eye Screening
Vision screening, or an eye exam, is also recommended for everyone on a periodic basis at a frequency determined by physicians that takes the risk factors of individual patients into account.

This can include external examination of the eyes and pupils, visual field screening and testing for visual acuity, color vision, cover test, amplitude of accommodation, stereopsis, interpupillary distance, near point of convergence and extraocular motilities, among other tests.

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