A woman’s body undergoes incredible changes through stages like puberty, potential pregnancy, childbearing years, and menopause. Each phase presents unique health considerations, making a regular women’s health checkup absolutely essential for overall well-being throughout life in Nigeria and beyond.
Even if you feel perfectly fine, scheduling a routine women’s health checkup offers numerous benefits beyond addressing immediate concerns.
Why Regular Women’s Health Checkups Matter
Here’s why every woman should prioritize these regular checkups:
- Check for any underlying medical issues.
- Gauge your risk for future medical problems.
- Enable early detection of diseases when they are often most treatable.
- Receive personalized advice to encourage a healthy lifestyle.
- View it as an important act of self-care.
Whether you visit a hospital, a lab, or conveniently book an at-home women’s health checkup through HealthTracka, these appointments help establish health risks and inform lifestyle choices.
These general checkups double as preventative health screenings for women, offering the best chance to detect potential diseases early.
Key Components To Include in Women’s Health Checkup
Outlined below are a few key components to include in women’s health checkup, serving as a starting point for managing your health proactively.
1. Family and Personal History
Your personal and family medical history significantly influences your risk for certain diseases, both physical and mental.
For example, if a close female relative had breast cancer, your own risk might be higher. Similarly, conditions like depression can have familial links.
Knowing your history helps determine how frequently specific tests within your women’s health checkup are needed, especially if you fall into a higher-risk category.
2. Weight Management & BMI
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a standard measurement used to assess if your weight is within a healthy range (underweight, healthy, overweight, or obese). It’s calculated using your height and weight.
Checking your BMI, typically done during a women’s health checkup (recommended every 1-2 years), provides valuable health insights beyond just appearance.
Knowing your BMI can help guide your diet and exercise regime. Being significantly over or underweight can increase the risk for serious conditions, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain cancers.
3. STD Screening
Regular STD screening is a proactive and vital part of a comprehensive women’s health checkup for anyone who is sexually active, even if protection is always used. It’s generally recommended to screen at least once a year for common STDs like chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV, hepatitis B, and syphilis.
Conditions like chlamydia often present with no symptoms but can impact fertility. Gonorrhoea, known to be prevalent in Nigeria, can also affect fertility.
Confidential and convenient STD screenings are available through HealthTracka as part of, or in addition to, your regular women’s health checkup.
4. Prenatal Health Checkups
Pregnancy places unique demands on a woman’s body. Regular prenatal care is crucial, especially in Nigeria, where maternal mortality rates are concerningly high.
These checkups monitor both the mother’s and baby’s health and screen for conditions like pre-eclampsia. Women with pre-existing conditions like hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, or obesity are at higher risk.
Essential tests during pregnancy checkups (which are a specialized form of women’s health checkup) include blood pressure monitoring, urine tests, and screenings for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, and Syphilis at least once.
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Key Cardiovascular and Cancer Screenings for Women
While the following checks might not always be needed annually for everyone, they are critical components of long-term women’s health monitoring. Frequency depends on age, risk factors, and history.
- Blood Pressure: Hypertension (high blood pressure) often has no symptoms. Regular checks during your women’s health checkup are the only way to detect it. If you have risk factors (family history, obesity, etc.), check more often than annually.
- Blood Test (Cholesterol & Diabetes): Cholesterol levels are typically recommended for checking every 5 years, but more frequently (every 1-2 years) if you have a high risk for heart disease. Diabetes screening frequency (via blood test) is also risk-dependent, often recommended every 1-3 years. These are common tests within a women’s health checkup.
- Cancer Tests (Cervical & Breast): Cervical cancer screening (e.g., Pap smear/HPV test) recommendations generally start around age 21, continuing every 3-5 years until about age 65, depending on test type and results. Breast cancer screening (e.g., mammograms) frequency varies, often starting in the 40s or 50s and occurring every 1-2 years based on age and risk assessment. Discuss the appropriate schedule for your women’s health checkup with a healthcare provider.
Making Your Women’s Health Checkup Accessible
Sound like a lot to keep track of? Don’t worry! At HealthTracka, we provide individual tests and comprehensive women’s health checkup packages at affordable rates right here in Nigeria. These packages often cover the recommended annual tests and screenings relevant to women’s health needs.
You can easily book your convenient at-home women’s health checkup via our website. Take control of your health today!
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