Do you have questions men's health related?
Please send them!
If you have a question related to men's health, please fill the form bellow.
1. It is a must to provide a valid email, unless you want your questions to be ignored.
We won't make your email public, but we like to talk with live persons.
2. To protect
your identity, take care the name you fill. We make public your name exactly as it is.
|
Public release date: 25 February 2008
[
]
Male health screening
by Matthew Wall
It is a truism that when a man has a cold the whole world knows about it, but when the ailment is potentially
more serious he will avoid the doctor . . . like the plague. This is a problem the government hopes to tackle
with its recent announcement of comprehensive health MoTs targeted at groups such as middle-aged men.
The tests will reportedly be available through GPs’ surgeries and will include screenings to detect early stages
of heart problems, stroke or kidney disease.
For many health professionals these tests – if they materialise – will be long overdue, joining the established
health screening programmes for breast and cervical cancer in women and prostate and testicular cancer in men.
Your GP may already offer a free “well-man” (or well-woman) health screening service. While not as comprehensive
as the promised new checks, the screenings assess blood pressure and weight, and include blood and urine tests.
They can pick up signs of diabetes and kidney or liver infections.
Most well-man screenings also include a check for testicular cancer, and possibly for other cancers if you fall
within an at-risk age bracket or if your family history determines a need. But not all GPs offer this service, and
an NHS doctor is unlikely to book you in for more thorough tests on your heart – such as electrocardiograms or
echocardiograms – unless a specific problem is diagnosed.
However, there are checks you can carry out by yourself for problems such as high blood pressure, which is often
caused by bad diet, smoking and lack of exercise. It’s important to keep an eye on blood pressure as it can be a
main contributor to cardiovascular disease, the world’s biggest killer.
Also, for those aged 60-69, the NHS bowel-cancer screening programme, launched last year and now being rolled out
across the UK, offers regular screening to both men and women every two years.
source:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/men/article3416807.ece
|
|
