A wise car-owner knows that he doesn’t have to wait for his car to develop faults before visiting the mechanic. No, he goes for regular car servicing, not necessarily because there are any problems, but because that’s the right thing to do (and a car specialist could discover problems better than him). It’s an opportunity to check the oils. Prevention is better than cure.
Most medical experts advise routine medical check up as this age-long health tradition has being known to have helped many lives especially due to early detection of serious medical condition like heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, cancers, etc. Another way to look at it is: you are visiting the doctor not to uncover a disease, but to confirm your health – to be doubly sure you are as healthy as you feel! It is a matter of caution, not fear. It is a positive thing to do.
Once in a year, at least, walk into a doctor’s office and say: “I am fine, healthy and strong; just came in for a medical check up”. He will spend some time asking you questions, physically check your body (sometimes, with instruments, like that for measuring blood pressure) and might ask you to conduct some tests.
A medical check up is important for all, but especially for those who smoke, drink alcohol, have multiple sexual partners, or have any other high-risk behavior; those with a family history of hypertension, diabetes, cancers, sudden unexplained death, obesity, or any other genetic or familiar diseases.
Medical check up is supposed to put your mind at peace and make you feel in control of your health, however, in some people, it brings unnecessary fear, worry and anxiety. And this is why some experts are not too comfortable with it. But, we in these parts of the world, know what we are facing here, we know that is no sufficient reason, we know prevention is cheaper.
And we know that “the earlier, the better.”
