Heres some important information for the men in our lives. The key word when it comes to a check-up for our guys, is annual. According to the latest medical recommendation, an annual physical for men under the age of forty may not be necessary or desirable. Indeed, there may even be some disadvantages.
For one thing, a doctors clean bill of health can provide a false sense of security. As one extensive study found, taking exams and tests does not automatically prevent anyone from developing medical problems. More importantly, the yield or likelihood of fining something significantly wrong each year in healthy men under forty was so low as to make the expense and bother unjustifiable.
But a healthy or symptom-free man should not eliminate scheduling a physical from his calendar although many medical experts advice a man between eighteen and thirty-nine to have a complete checkup every five years, and a man over forty every one to three years. However, he should see the doctor immediately is something else is bothering him pain, persistent cough, or shortness of breath, for example.
The checkup should include a blood pressure measurement, eye and ear exams, height and weight checks, urine analysis, cholesterol and other bloods tests, and rectal, prostate and testicular exams.
Its also important for a man to see his doctor and his ophthalmologist periodically for specific purposes. Heres a suggested list of guidelines for the most important of these:
Men of all ages Blood pressure once a year
Under 40 Tetanus booster every 5 10 years
Over 40 Glaucoma test every two years as well as a rectal and prostatic examination (PSA measurements are presently controversial)
Over 55 Flus shots each year, in the autumn
Robin Westen is ThirdAges medical reporter. Check for her daily updates. She is the author of Relationship Repair.
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