Annual Medical Checkup

[zetta]

I've never done an annual medical checkup as a regular thing, although of course I've always done my yearly ob/gyn visit & pap smear.

I'm just wondering what is done at an annual exam, and whether it's worth starting -- or if I should be on some other preventive schedule like every 5 years or something. I'm 37 and in good health, and when I've had a chance to do a free cholesterol screening the results were in normal ranges. The closest thing to a primary care doctor that I have is an internal medicine guy who also does travel medicine -- I liked him when I needed to get some vaccines, and have been back one other time for a minor complaint.

[disneysteve]

Exactly what gets done at an annual exam will vary somewhat from doctor to doctor and is also partly based on your age, personal health history and family history.

In general, there would be a review of systems to identify any symptoms you may be having or any specific concerns. That would be followed by a physical exam. Some labwork including things like sugar, cholesterol, liver, kidneys, blood count, thyroid and urine test would be done.

At 37, that would probably be about it unless there were specific concerns or you were at increased risk for something particular due to family history, occupational exposure, etc.

[zetta]

So as a doctor do you think it needs to be done yearly, or is every 2 or 5 years good enough for someone with no specific concerns and no troubling family history?

[disneysteve]

every 2 or 5 years good enough for someone with no specific concerns and no troubling family history?

I think that's fine until you hit about 45 or so. Then it should be annual.