While we work to create comfortable, safe environments and host plenty of activities for residents, you can work to protect your health via regular screenings.
Health screenings are designed to help catch medical issues as early as possible. In some cases, this is so treatment can be administered before the medical issue becomes an emergency or untreatable. In other cases, it's to identify a chronic illness and provide education on managing it in the future.
While your medical provider can give you the best recommendations for what screenings might be right for you, here's a look at 10 health screenings you may need each year or periodically as an older adult.
Your medical provider can check your cholesterol levels by drawing blood and ordering a lipid panel. The results of this blood work let your provider know the total amount of cholesterol in your blood as well as how much bad or good cholesterol is present. It's typically recommended that older adults get their cholesterol checked every 1-2 years, but your doctor may recommend more frequent screening if you have risk factors, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, a sedentary lifestyle or obesity.
During annual or routine doctor's visits, you may be asked to do fasting labs. This means you don't eat for a certain period of time before your blood is drawn for the labs. While fasting blood work may be ordered for a variety of reasons, it can also include a measure of the glucose in your blood. If this figure falls out of normal range and other risk factors are present, your doctor may want to order further testing to rule out diabetes. Some medical providers recommend that anyone over the age of 45 or 50 gets this screening every few years as a matter of course.
Doctors use bone density tests to screen for osteoporosis. This involves a scan that measures the density of your bones. Ultrasounds and a clinical risk assessment that considers lifestyle, genetics and other factors may also be used to help screen for this condition. The general recommendation is that women should get screened after the age of 65, and men should be screened after the age of 70 unless a medical provider has reasons to suspect osteoporosis earlier.
Medical teams use a variety of tests to screen for colorectal cancer. Colonoscopy is one of the most known, but stool sample tests are also common. Screening is usually recommended starting around age 45 or 50, but if there are risk factors in a person's medical history or symptoms suggesting potential issues, doctors may recommend earlier testing. Adults aged 50 and older should have periodic screenings.
General recommendations are that women should begin mammogram screening between the ages of 40 and 49, depending on the recommendations of their doctor, the history of breast cancer genetically and other risk factors. After age 50, women should continue with screening every few years or as recommended by their medical provider.
Cervical cancer screening is typically done with a Pap smear, hrHPV test and/or examination. This is typically a screening women have throughout their adult lives, and you may need to continue screening into retirement. Some recommendations are that women can stop screening or have less frequent screening if they haven't had irregular results within the past decade and don't have any history of cervical cancer.
Generally, this cancer screening starts around age 50. However, men who have certain risk factors may need to begin this screening earlier. How often the screening is done depends on your health, risk factors and the results of past screening. Typical recommendations are for every 2 years unless there are risk factors present.
If you wear corrective lenses, you may already get your vision checked every year or so. Even if you think you have 20/20 vision, you may want to have a vision exam every few years after you turn 65, as this screening can also look for signs of issues such as glaucoma.
General recommendations are that adults aged 65 and older have a hearing screening every year. This may be done as part of your annual physical. Hearing exams can help catch auditory issues early so you can talk to your doctor about interventions that can help.
You may want to get an annual screening for skin cancer from a general practitioner or dermatologist. However, you should also perform periodic self-examinations of your skin to identify any changes in freckles, moles or other spots that are suspicious in nature. If you see any, you can speak to a doctor about them sooner.
