Primary care physicians typically recommend getting routine health and physical exams annually. Each physical is different: It can be a brief or lengthy examination based on factors like your health complaints and risk factors.
Let us take a look at what typically goes on during routine health examinations.
Consultation: A annual physical examination allows a patient to discuss any health concerns that they have with the physician. The interview part of the examination often includes being quizzed about lifestyle habits like exercise, diet, sexual health, alcohol use, and tobacco use. The physician will also go over the patient’s vaccination status and update their medical history as needed.
Vital signs: The physician will check the patient’s vitals like their heart rate, respiration rate, temperature, and blood pressure to determine how well their body is functioning.
Overall appearance: The physician also gains valuable information by simply observing the patient and talking to them. The things that they observe include how good the patient’s memory is and how fast their brain processes information. Other things that doctors pay attention to are the patient’s posture, their mobility, and how healthy their skin looks.
Heart examination: The physician listens to the patient’s heartbeat with a stethoscope. This can be used to determine heart murmurs, irregular heartbeats, and other heart issues.
Lung examination: The physician looks for lung or heart disease signs with a stethoscope. They listen for abnormal sounds like decreased breath sounds, wheezes, or crackles.
Head and neck examination: This includes examining the patient’s teeth, gums, ears, nose, eyes, sinuses, lymph nodes, carotid arteries, and thyroid.
Abdominal examination: This includes using a stethoscope to listen to bowel sounds, looking for abnormalities.
Neurological exam: This includes checking the patient’s mental state, balance, reflexes, muscle strength, and nerves.
Dermatological examination: Abnormal tissues in a person’s nails or skin can signify a skin condition or chronic disease like cancer.
Extremities examination: This involves looking for sensory and physical changes. The patient’s legs, arms, and joints are evaluated for abnormalities.
Various tests are performed on men to assess their health. These include:
Tests for women include:
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Routine health exams give your physician a chance to detect abnormalities before they become more significant problems. Give us a call or visit our Aliso Viejo clinic to set up an appointment.
Request an appointment or call Orange County House Calls at 949-204-1334 for an appointment in our Aliso Viejo office.
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