Medical checks women need in their 20s, 30s, 40s to nip health issues in the bud

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Medical checks women need in their 20s, 30s, 40s to nip health issues in the bud

The best defence for your wellness is regular screening. Here'south a expect at the yearly checks you should get for.

In partnership with UOB.

Medical checks women need in their 20s, 30s, 40s to nip health issues in the bud — (Photograph: iStock/FatCamera)

27 Aug 2022 07:02AM (Updated: 21 Oct 2022 12:50PM)

Y'all schedule medical appointments for your loved ones, accompany them to said appointments and make certain they take their medicine in a timely manner.

As practiced as many women are at taking care of others, there is one important area that has become a bullheaded spot – your very own health. Take, for instance, health checks. How long have yous been postponing yours?

Inquire whatever md and he or she will tell you that it is important to go for regular check-ups. Cancers that are deadly are treatable when detected early. Even picayune issues such as low energy or heavy periods could exist linked to a thyroid problem and they tin be treated when picked up – but but if you accept yourself tested.

To give you a ameliorate idea what those yearly contributions of blood, urine and other bodily fluids are for, CNA Lifestyle checks in with the doctors.

Here's a look at the tests yous need, depending on your age.

IN YOUR 20S

You're young and there'due south naught incorrect with y'all. Then why do you demand to get tested? Considering many conditions such every bit hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidaemia (high levels of lipids in the blood) are "silent", said Dr Chan Wan Xian, a cardiologist from Gleneagles Hospital.

It is a good thought to have your claret sugar level, cholesterol levels and claret pressure measured, particularly if you have a family unit history of "diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and cardiovascular diseases, including heart diseases and stroke", said Dr Chan.

Only concur off on the breast ultrasound scans and mammograms for now as "it is extremely rare" to develop the disease at this historic period decade, said Dr Andrew Lee, a general surgeon from Gleneagles Hospital. In most cases, the lumps are benign and do not evolve into breast cancer, he said.

There's another reason why the breast scans aren't quite necessary at this stage: "When a immature woman with no personal health insurance is institute to take such lumps, she volition have problems finding insurance coverage for her breasts," said Dr Lee.

"My advice for whatsoever women is for them to take their personal health insurance first before contemplating breast screening."

If you have a family history of breast cancer, y'all might want to consider insurance policies that cater to such wellness concerns. For instance, PRUCancer 360 from UOB offers a 100 per cent payout for all cancer stages and covers a broad range of cancer, including breast and ovarian.

TESTS YOU'LL Demand IN YOUR 20S

Blood test: The diabetes and hyperlipidaemia that Dr Chan mentioned can be screened out with a elementary blood test. Here are the healthy numbers you should be aiming for when it comes to your postal service-fasting blood glucose and cholesterol levels:

Glucose level: Below half-dozen.1 mmol/50 ( prediabetic: 6.ane mmol/L to vi.9 mmol/L; diabetic: 7 mmol/50 or higher)
Full cholesterol: 200 mg/dL or below
Triglycerides: Less than 149 mg/dL
LDL (bad) cholesterol: Less than 100 mg/dL
HDL (good) cholesterol: 50 mg/dL or higher

As well cholesterol and glucose levels, a blood test can also check if your organs such every bit the liver, kidney and thyroid are humming along fine. Pick up your anaemia or a low haemoglobin count if you lot oft feel faint, said Dr Derek Koh, the head of Medical Heath Screening at Thomson Wellth Clinic.

Furthermore, a blood exam can screen for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and is encouraged in the post-obit scenarios, brash Dr Susan Logan, a senior consultant at National University Hospital's Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology:

You've had a new partner in the past 3 months
Y'all've had more than a partner inside 12 months
Y'all did not use bulwark protection
Yous take a previous history of STI

Blood force per unit area test: This screens for hypertension; a healthy reading is below 130/80mmHg.

Pap smear: Cervical cancer is caused past the human papilloma virus or HPV. The Pap smear (age 25 onwards, or younger if you're sexually agile) can detect precancerous cells caused by the virus, said Dr Cindy Pang, an obstetrician and gynaecologist from Mount Elizabeth Novena Infirmary.

Non only that, information technology can as well screen out fungal or bacterial infections, said Dr Koh.

Urine exam: This tests for blood, poly peptide and infection, said Dr Pang. "It can sometimes pick upwards weather condition such equally kidney stones and kidney problems that cause leaking protein."

OPTIONAL Test

Thyroid examination: This is done through a uncomplicated blood test to detect abnormally low or high thyroid hormone levels (encounter beneath) – common in women – which could explain your "vague symptoms of tiredness, bowel habit changes or temperature intolerance", said Dr Pang.

Unusual thyroid levels tin can cause "very low-cal or very heavy menstrual flow, very irregular periods, or absent menstrual periods", she said. Doctors tin can then determine if there is a demand to test for further gynaecological issues like fibroids.

Normal: 0.five to four.1 mU/L
Depression: Lower than 0.5 mU/L
High: College than iv.1 mU/Fifty

If you're worried about the price of these tests, at that place are ways to get around it. The UOB Lady's Savings Account, for instance, offers gratuitous health screening.

It too provides free cancer coverage of up to S$200,000 for six female cancers, including breast, cervix, uterus, fallopian tube, vagina/vulva and ovary.

IN YOUR 30S

The 30s are the reproductive years, so the health checks will often exist about maximising fertility, said Dr Logan, who is also a co-lead for Women'south Health at Alexandra Infirmary.

Pre-formulation checks tin include testing your female hormone profile to appraise if your hormonal levels are optimal (for instance, for stimulating the growth and release of eggs from the ovaries). Mums-to-be may also want to be screened for blood-borne viruses, thyroid office, ovarian reserve and thalassaemia. This is an opportunity to cheque your vaccination status for hepatitis, varicella and rubella as well.

While you may be in a committed relationship at present, it doesn't hurt to test for STIs either. Herpes, for instance, is life-threatening to newborns; gonorrhoea can cause miscarriages and preterm labour.

To guard against cervical cancer, you may want to consider an HPV test in addition to a Pap smear for more thorough screening confronting cervical cancer.

TESTS You'LL NEED IN YOUR 30S

Blood test: The cholesterol levels bated, yous'll want to exam for diabetes and/or center disease, polycystic ovary syndrome and gestational diabetes mellitus, particularly if you have a strong family history, brash Dr Logan. "Annual glucose screening should be undertaken in women who had gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy."

Claret pressure test: See In Your 20s.

Urine test: See In Your 20s.

Pap smear: Run into In Your 20s.

OPTIONAL TESTS

HPV test: While the Pap smear detects abnormal cells that could turn into cervical cancer, the HPV examination tin tell the presence of two strains of HPV, which is responsible for about 70 per cent of cervical cancer cases.

Mammogram: " If there is a strong family history, mammograms may be recommended to start five years earlier than the earliest historic period of diagnosis in a close family fellow member," said Dr Logan. Otherwise, stick to your regular breast self-examination, she said.

Liver role test: Become yourself tested if there are symptoms such as jaundice or risks like congenital Hepatitis B, said Dr Logan.

Thyroid test: Run into In Your 20s.

IN YOUR 40S

Numbers that shouldn't rise (weight, cholesterol and glucose levels, blood pressure, etc) volition start to climb and tin can lead to problems such as diabetes and hypertension.

Due to the prolonged exposure to oestrogen, women in this historic period grouping are as well at a higher risk of breast cancer. According to a 2010 study on Singaporean women, the highest rates are reported between the ages of 45 and 49.

Optional tests to consider can include a bone density examination to detect early on osteoporosis, peculiarly if you hadn't been paying attending to your calcium requirements during your childbearing and breastfeeding years as both events tap on your calcium reserves.

Thyroid checks are prudent to become equally well. Symptoms that y'all recall are related to impending menopause may exist acquired by a thyroid disorder instead. In fact, the status is often diagnosed between the ages of 45 and 55, according to Mayo Clinic.

TESTS YOU'LL NEED IN YOUR 40S

Blood examination: See In Your 20s.

If you were born in the 70s or 80s, some of your vaccination jabs may no longer be effective. For instance, d iphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (aka DPT), require booster shots every 10 years. A claret test can test determine if yous still have the antibodies.

Blood pressure test: If the reading is persistently elevated (it should be less than 140/90mmHg for this historic period group), you may demand to tweak your lifestyle, including exercising more than, losing weight and reducing your salt intake, said Dr Koh. "When lifestyle modifications fail, medication may exist needed."

Urine test: See In Your 20s.

Pap smear: Run across In Your 20s.

Mammogram: In addition to regular chest self-examination, you should also schedule yearly mammograms once yous accomplish 40. "Breast cancer is the No 1 female cancer, so this is an important screening test for women," said Dr Koh.

Stool test: This checks for blood in your stool, which can be traced to a problem in your digestive arrangement, including polyps, haemorrhoids, ulcers and colorectal cancer. If blood is detected, it often entails a referral to see a specialist for a colonoscopy and other follow-ups, said Dr Koh.

Tonometry: Information technology can be done in a few ways; the least invasive method involves puffing air onto your centre. This tests for glaucoma by measuring eye pressure level; a high reading (normal eye pressure range is 10 mmHg to 21 mmHg) may mean that the optic nerve is damaged by this heart illness.

(Photograph: iStock/Inside Creative Firm)

OPTIONAL TESTS

Thyroid ultrasound: Other than the thyroid function examination (a blood examination really), there is too a thyroid ultrasound scan that can catch what the blood test misses, said Dr Koh.

HPV test: Meet In Your 30s.

Pelvic ultrasound: Uterine and ovarian growths, including fibroids, ovarian cysts and cancer, are fairly common, said Dr Koh. "The ultrasound scan provides a visual overview to exclude such pathologies."

Os density examination: Osteoporosis leading to fractures is a common crusade of disability and death later on in life, cautioned Dr Koh. "It is important to pre-empt the situation by doing a bone density test."

Scans are usually done on the hip and spine equally these areas are the most probable to fracture. Co-ordinate to the World Wellness Organization, the results are reported in T-scores – the higher, the better.

Normal: -i.0 or to a higher place
Low bone density: -1.0 and -2.5
Yous take osteoporosis: -2.5 or below

Y our doctor can suggest you on further tests or deportment to take should your test or browse results show abnormalities.

For more than great ideas for yous and your money, visit www.uob.com.sg/women.

CNA Women is a new department on CNA Lifestyle that seeks to inform, empower and inspire the modern adult female. If you lot have women-related news, issues and ideas to share with us, email CNAWomen [at] mediacorp.com.sg .

Medical checks women need in their 20s, 30s, 40s to nip health issues in the bud

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