Gaining control over your personal health is probably one of the most fulfilling decisions you can make. Although living in Silver Spring, Maryland, may always keep you on the go, scheduling regular preventive medical check-ups is the best way to ensure that you remain healthy, full of life, and active.
One of the main aspects of preventive healthcare is scheduling a regular female wellness checkup. Such appointments aim at unearthing potential health threats before they become a matter of concern, monitoring your usual measurements, and providing a time for you to discuss bodily changes with your doctor. Women desiring thorough and caring preventive services in Montgomery County will find Washington Medical Clinic a place where they are warmly received and their individual health concerns are properly addressed.
What Exactly is a Female Annual Exam?
A wellness exam for females is a special preventive health checkup committed fully to the reproductive, physical, and emotional health of a woman. In contrast to a visit made because of a specific illness, this female exam medical visit is entirely dedicated to prevention, early detection, and lifestyle planning for the long-term. Based on the phase of life you’re in, these exams monitor how your body changes, help manage perimenopause or postmenopause transition periods, and identify risk factors that do not show any symptoms, like high blood pressure or cellular changes in the cervix.
The Annual Physical Exam Checklist for Female Patients
Learning what will happen can remove your worries about your appointment. A traditional annual physical exam checklist for female health usually includes these main items:
- Checking your vital signs: The healthcare professional is going to take your blood pressure, count your heartbeats, determine your height and weigh you. They will use your height and weight to work out body mass index (BMI). Checking blood pressure is an essential method to find out if someone has or could have heart disease.
- Thorough review of medical history: You will be explaining your medical history, types of medicines taken, past operations, habits like eating, drinking alcohol, working out, and also any changes to your family’s history of long-term illnesses or cancer.
- Vaccination review: Checking and giving necessary vaccines like flu vaccine, tetanus shot (Tdap), or vaccines against HPV and shingles, depending on the person’s age.
- Screening for mental health: Occasional, friendly check-ups for any changes in mood, anxiety, and depression to look after your emotional health.
- Advice on lifestyle and prevention: Tailored recommendations on healthy eating, planning pregnancy, keeping bones strong, and maintaining a healthy heart.
Understanding the Female Pelvic Exam and Breast Screening
Specialized reproductive and anatomical exams play a major role in your health visit. Basically, the goal here is to carry out two entirely different types of checkups.
Clinical Breast Exam
The first part involves the doctor running their hands over the breasts and underarms to detect any changes in the structure, asymmetry, skin dimpling, or occurrence of unusual lumps. Besides that, it’s an ideal moment to talk about when you should start having regular mammograms for breast cancer screening, according to your individual risk factors.
Female Pelvic Exam
The female pelvic exam refers to a very thorough, procedure-based, physical and visual assessment of your reproductive organs. It involves three separate stages:
- External Visual Exam: Examining the vulva and labia for any manifestations of irritation, cysts, or inflammation.
- Internal Speculum Exam: The doctor employs a speculum, a surgical instrument with smooth edges, to visualize the vaginal walls and cervix. If the woman is due for a Pap smear or HPV test as per her age, a tiny brush is used to collect cells from the cervix.
- Bimanual Exam: The physician places two gloved fingers in the vagina and at the same time applies pressure with the other hand on the abdomen to assess the size, shape, and mobility of the uterus and ovaries.
Take Charge of Your Health in Silver Spring
Prioritizing your well-being keeps you strong for your career, your loved ones, and your future. If you are due for your checkup, don’t delay your preventive care. Make the choice to put your wellness first by scheduling your next appointment with a trusted healthcare provider in the Silver Spring area today.
FAQs
Although both are important healthcare practices, an annual physical is a broader check-up that assesses various systems of your body, such as your heart, lungs, and general vital signs. On the other hand, a well-woman check-up is more specific to women’s reproductive health and may include breast and pelvic exams.
Under the Affordable Care Act, if you have health insurance, routine preventive wellness exams are usually fully covered with no out-of-pocket expense. For self-pay patient, the charges are dependent on the specific lab tests required.
To keep the wellness and pelvic health in check, a yearly visit is recommended. As far as Pap smear for cervical cancer screening is concerned, it is usually performed every 3 to 5 years only, based on your age and medical history.
It would be ideal if you do not get your period around the time of your appointment. Also, make sure to take no intercourse, douching, or vaginal creams before 48 hours of the exam if you want to get the most accurate lab results.
You will probably feel a little bit of pressure or slight discomfort when having a pelvic speculum exam or Pap smear, but it should not be painful. Concentrating on breathing deeply and loosening your pelvic muscles are great ways to help, too.
