Category: Blog

Despite the constant call from the physicians and doctors to have annual physical checkups, only a percentage of the population does that. Most people tend to visit the doctor when there is a problem.

This is not only dangerous but can increase the risk of you developing life-threatening conditions. Getting a physical examination near you offers more benefits for your overall wellness. Here are five reasons why you need to consider visiting a primary care physician in Germantown 20874.

1. Update Your Medical History 

Your medical history is important and it reveals details about your health that you may not even know you had. The doctor will ask you several questions in regards to your health and family history. This will make it easy for Dr. Lakhvinder Wadhwa to detect any hereditary problems that you may be at risk of developing.

Having an annual health assessment gives you a chance to talk to the doctor about any concerns you may have about your health. The doctor will probably inquire about your lifestyle habits. He will also check on your vaccination status.

2. Get A Comprehensive Assessment

On your routine physical exams, the doctor will do a series of tests to assess the condition of your health.

• Vital sign checks

As part of your examination, the doctor will take your blood pressure reading, heart and pulse rate, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels.

Some tests are specific to men and women. For women, a pap smear and mammogram may be done to check for any signs of cancer.

Other tests done on women include osteoporosis and pelvic exams.

In men, the doctor will do a testicular exam to check for lumps and tenderness and prostate cancer screening. 

• Visual exams 

The doctor will check for signs of any conditions. He will examine the different parts of the body like the head, eyes, chest, and abdomen.

It is important to have your eyes examined regularly, especially if you are above 60 years or have preexisting conditions like diabetes.

Most eye problems occur as we age like cataracts. Diabetic retinopathy is also a common occurrence among people who have diabetes.

• Laboratory tests 

The doctor will draw blood to conduct further tests. These include a complete blood cell count to check your blood count. Your red blood, white blood cells, and platelets are examined. The tests help the doctor to diagnose conditions like anemia, infection, or even cancer.

A complete metabolic panel is done to check your blood plasma. The test can indicate issues in your kidneys, liver, immune system, and blood chemistry.

The doctor can request a diabetes and thyroid screen. Your blood can also reveal your vitamin and mineral levels to determine if you have a deficiency.

3. Focuses on Prevention

Physical examination is a great way to detect health conditions early and begin treatment on time. After determining your risk level of any medical health conditions, the doctor will share information on how to prevent the disease or slow its progression.

4. Learn About Lifestyle and Chronic Disease 

According to statistics, three in five adults in the United States develop a chronic disease in their lifestyle. Some even have multiple conditions at once. Conditions like heart disease and diabetes can cause life-threatening complications. The good news is these diseases are preventable. If you get them, the doctor can help you manage them and prevent complications if they are detected early.

Having regular physical examination will enable the doctor to review your risk of developing chronic disease. He will also give you strategies to manage or mitigate the risk.

Lifestyle conditions are preventable with proper diet, exercise regimen, and habits.

5. It Helps You Build a Strong Relationship with Your Doctor

Regular examinations help you build a solid relationship and trust with your doctor. This makes it easy for the doctor to collect and store medical information for future reference. You will also be confident and easy to share your reservation or health preferences if you work with a doctor you know.

Schedule an Appointment

Visit Germantown Primary Healthcare for your physical examination procedure and other assessments.

Thus far, our generation is the unhealthiest, yet we live in the most advanced time known to man. Our lives are much faster and yet sedentary. Obesity is a prevalent condition that affects nearly half of the American population.

However, this Christmas, you can decide to put a smile on your face by undertaking a weight loss program that suits your needs. There are a ton of benefits when it comes to losing weight. Also, there are many “experts” who can lead you astray. It would be best to look for something customized to suit your circumstances since what worked for someone else might not necessarily work for you.

Hence, the reason why you should seek the help of our physician in Germantown, Dr.LakhvinderWadhwa, to get a customized plan based on the options available for weight loss.

Weight Loss Options

Non-Invasive

Non-invasive options are the foundation of losing and maintaining a healthy weight. These are interventions that can be used all through your journey, obviously done under our doctor’s guidance. These are:

Diet Modifications

Regardless of other interventions throughout your journey, your diet takes a central position. It is counterproductive to undergo surgery, then go for unhealthy options or revert to bad eating habits. In other words, you need to eat right.

The principle of eating right is quite simple. If what you consume is more than what you burn, then you will never lose weight. While planning for your intervention, we try to check the calories you consume to advise you on how and what you should eat.

In a nutshell, you need to reduce your starch and sugar intake. Hunger levels drop when you reduce your sugar intake. Consider eating more protein, healthy fat, plenty of fruits, and vegetables.

Water is very critical in your journey because it keeps you hydrated and aids in burning fat. So, drink plenty of water.

Exercise

Activity is always essential. Exercise helps with losing weight since it helps in burning calories. It strengthens your cardiovascular system, improves your posture, and keeps you fit. It also helps mitigate the issue of muscle loss that comes with depending solely on diet modifications.

Minimally Invasive

Some of the minimally invasive strategies we can employ are:

Gastric Balloons

Gastric balloons are designed to occu

 

py some space in your stomach and confuses the stomach so that you think that you are full. This will make you eat less. The procedure typically takes less than ten minutes to complete.

Aspire Assist

This is a reversible procedure, which means that any changes that have been made can be restored. The procedure is designed to help patients who have an issue chewing food properly, leading to weight and digestion issues.

Lap Band

This is also another minimally invasive procedure that is reversible. This is a very safe procedure that can help patients who have a BMI of over 30. An adjustable balloon is placed near the junction of the esophagus and stomach. The band is typically placed on the outer part of the upper stomach.

You can have the band for years, but you have to really what you eat for it to work as it should. You will notice that you have started shedding some weight.

Surgical

Stapling the Stomach

This is a common procedure that entails gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy. With sleeve gastrectomy, there is stapling off and then the removal of 80% of your stomach. What remains behind is a “sleeve” of the stomach that is nearly the size of a hot dog. The procedure is non-reversible.

On the other hand, the gastric bypass procedure bypasses the small intestine’s beginning by creating a stomach pouch the size of a golf ball.

These two procedures can be ineffective if you don’t take the diet modifications seriously since the sleeve and the bypass can stretch over the years.

What You Should Know When Considering a Weight Loss Procedure

Regardless of the options available for weight loss, there are things to check while choosing weight loss. You have to change your lifestyle so that the weight you lost doesn’t come creeping back on.

Weight loss surgeries are typically performed when you have lost some pounds rather than when you are at your highest weight. Many patients eat obsessively before the procedure, thinking that they might not eat again after the procedure. However, this is not true. You can eat, but not as much.

Regardless of your reasons for choosing to lose weight, it is always the healthier way to go. Contact us today if you need to schedule an appointment.