While your doctor is the first port of call when anything feels not quite right, there are a lot of checks that you can do at home. Many of the most serious illnesses like cancer are first highlighted from a simple at-home check. It is important that you take the time to check yourself and become familiar with your moles, lumps, and bumps. You can make the difference in speed to get to your doctor and specialists like an oncologist.
Try to make time to do these checks at least once a week yourself.
Moles
It can be tough to check your whole body for new moles or moles that have changed - but it is important that you try. You can ask a partner to check your body too.
We can get moles all over the body, and sometimes they might present differently. Do a full-body check, including your groin, in between fingers and toes, under breasts, and on the palms of hands and feet.
If you notice any moles that appear to be different or seem to have changed, take a photo and compare it for a week or two.
Anything that looks different can be spotted quickly, and you can head to the Drs.
Breasts
It is important that you get familiar with how your breasts change over the span of the month. During the monthly cycle, the breast tissue can feel different and even lumpy for some. While many doctors discourage people from performing in-depth examinations of the breasts, regular checks have saved many lives.
Get familiar with how the skin on the breasts looks and the position of the nipples. Any new bruises, pulling of the skin, puckering, rashes, or anything else can be an indicator that there are other things going on.
Temperature
When we are feeling under the weather, our temperature can be an indicator of what might be going on. If you check your temperature and see a temperature around 98.6 F or 37C, most often, there is nothing to be worried about.
Checking when you are in good health (or checking your children) will mean you know what your regular temperature is and can be more aware of what a slightly raised temperature looks like.
Blood pressure
High blood pressure is one of the leading risk factors for heart attacks, kidney disease, heart failure, and strokes. Most of the time, there are very few other indicators that these will happen, aside from blood pressure.
An at-home blood pressure monitor can help you to find out how your blood pressure is. You can also use a heart monitor via a smartwatch. However, these aren’t a replacement for actual medical care.
Make sure that you do any monitoring when you are in a calm state, after working out, and a range of other times so that you can get your baseline and can see if there are any changes that you need to be aware of.
If you notice that after resting, your blood pressure is high more than once, it is time to get in touch with your doctor for some advice.
These checks can help you take care of your physical health, but you might want to take that further with these tips: Marrying Physical and Mental Health - ChitChatMom.
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