It's up to us to keep an eye on our health. It is easier to deal with problems if they are caught early, so contact your surgery or take up the offers of screening programmes.
- High blood pressure (above 140/90mm Hg) is symptom-free. If you are over 40, get it checked at least every 5 years.
- Blood sugar levels. In non-diabetics, readings should be 4.0 to 5.9mmol/L before meals, rising to no more than 7.8mmol/L an hour and a half after eating.
- Cholesterol - measured with a simple finger prick. Total cholesterol should be below 5mmol/L if you are otherwise healthy, but also important is the ratio between total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol.
- Body mass index (BMI) is a useful general indicator of whether your weight is healthy for your height but has its limitations - muscles weigh more than fat, so very fit athletes can have a high BMI.
- Waist measurement: A high waist measurement is a risk factor for diabetes. Measure around your belly button, not where your trousers sit and don't suck in. Women should measure less than 31.5 inches, and men less than 37 inches.
- Changes in bowel habits (constipation, then diarrhoea and/or blood in your stools) should be investigated. An NHS screening programme for bowel cancer (the Faecal Occult Blood test) is available to anyone aged 60-74 (5--74 in Scotland); a home test kit is sent every 2 years through the post. Bowel scope screening is being introduced to those over 55.
Men
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm is a dangerous swelling of a blood vessel but usually causes no symptoms. NHS screening is offered when you are 65.
- Check testicles for lumps, increases in firmness or unusual difference between one testicle and the other. Report any worries to a GP.
- There is no prostate cancer screening, so keep an eye out for symptoms - going to the loo more often, feel a need to go urgently but little coming out, or blood in urine or semen.
Women
- Woman aged 50-70 are automatically invited for breast cancer screeening every 3 years, and the NHS is currently moving to screeening from 47 to 73.
- Keep an eye on your breasts and look for any changes in size, texture (puckering, dimpling or thickeningo f skin), nipple discharge or moist, red areas on a nipple that don't heal easily.
- Cervical cancer is symptomless at first. Cervical screeening is offered every three years for those aged 25-49, and every five years for those aged 50-64. Over 65s are only screened if they have not been screened since the age of 50 or have recently had abnormal test results.
Feature in
Good Housekeeping, August 2016
