The Importance of Annual Physical Examination

Dec 12
08:26

2012

slava fuzayloff

slava fuzayloff

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

I don’t know about you, but every time I receive a general physical examination I walk out of the doctor’s office feeling a heck of a lot better than when I walked in. This may be because I have been lucky enough to receive clean bills of health after all my physical examinations. Or maybe it’s because I know that I am doing all I can to keep healthy. Just embracing responsibility when it comes to your health can do a lot for it in a positive way.

mediaimage
I don’t know about you,The Importance of Annual Physical Examination Articles but every time I receive a general physical examination I walk out of the doctor’s office feeling a heck of a lot better than when I walked in. This may be because I have been lucky enough to receive clean bills of health after all my physical examinations. Or maybe it’s because I know that I am doing all I can to keep healthy. Just embracing responsibility when it comes to your health can do a lot for it in a positive way.

There are a lot of reasons to receive a general physical examination. I remember my first one was when I was getting ready to go to summer camp. I would have hated to fail that one! My summer camp memories are some of my most precious. Then there is the military and/or private school. Both of these institutions want to know what it is their dealing with when they accept someone into their ranks. The military does their own physical examinations, private schools require you to bring a doctor’s note indicting that you received a physical examination and are doing fine.

Then there are jobs. Many new jobs also require their employees to undergo a physical examination—especially if the job entails any type of physical work. Doctors generally go about their physicals in their own way, but they are all testing for basically the same thing.

What is that they’re testing for you may ask? Well, a general physical examination is a set of testing procedures designed to indicate your basic health in a baseline-sort of way. The doctor is making sure that your health is good—for you. Different people have differing abilities when it comes to everything, including their health. But the bottom line is that there needs to be a certain performance level on the basics.

The basics in this case are called a patient’s vitals. When undergoing a general physical examination, the doctor will test all your vital signs. These include the following four tests:

Temperature (Pt. one, physical examination)
Human beings have an average rate of normal temperature. To make sure you are in between these numbers a doctor will take your temperature. There are varied methods of doing this but more often than not the doctor will ask you to place an electronic monitoring device inside your mouth for a short time.A normal temperature rate in a healthy person is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit—or very close to it.

Pulse(Pt. two, physical examination)
The pulse is the measurement of your heartbeat. This is typically done by holding the patient’s wrist. While doing this, the doctor will be feeling your heartbeat via your radial artery. Pulse should be steady and fall between sixty and 100 beats per minute.

Respiration(Pt. three, physical examination)
Directly after the pulse is taken, and without letting go of the wrist, the doctor will check your respiration by listening to your breathing. Breathing in a healthy individual should be normal sounding and not labored. Average breathing rates are between fourteen and twenty breaths per minute.


Blood Pressure(Pt. four, physical examination)
This is accomplished by using a blood pressure cuff specifically made for this testing procedure. The cuff will be placed around the bicep and a stethoscope placed underneath and over the brachial artery. After the cuff is pumped the doctor will read your blood pressure and make sure that it falls in between the normal range.


Why is this all important? Besides needing a physical examination for entry to a camp or school, knowing that you are healthy helps relieve stress and we all know what an unhealthy thing stress can be! In addition, the doctor may find something during the physical examination that may require further testing. A physical examination is the best way to pinpoint a potential problem before it grows into something much worse.

Also From This Author

Poison Ivy Nightmare Disrupted: Concierge Calls House Call Doctor!

Poison Ivy Nightmare Disrupted: Concierge Calls House Call Doctor!

I love the outdoors. Give me a tree and some leaves and a babbling brook and I am a happy camper (literally)! I work hard like most of us do (at least the ones lucky enough to have a job in this seemingly insane economy), and I arrange my entire year around the two week vacation that my king, er, I mean… my boss grants me every year. What I usually do is find a beautiful rural area and take to the woods like an old time pioneer. This year was different from most. I did not expect to have my hotel concierge have to call me a doctor.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Urgent Care Clinic ExplainsThe Top Three Bed Bug Myths & Misunderstanding

Your Friendly Neighborhood Urgent Care Clinic ExplainsThe Top Three Bed Bug Myths & Misunderstanding

There’s a new gang of toughs to beware of. They travel in packs and are quite ugly. They have nothing on their minds but bad things and destruction. Like all bottom dwellers they attack when you are least expecting it. In this case, it is while you are asleep. They gang up on you as you lie in bed alone and ravage your body one drop of blood at a time. Of course we are speaking of bedbugs. Just read this article to learn more.
Typhoid Fever and Food—“Gimme One with Mustard and aa Immunization!”

Typhoid Fever and Food—“Gimme One with Mustard and aa Immunization!”

For those of us who enjoy world travel, we know just how exciting it is to sample the local cuisine. Aside from the museums and sunsets, tourist traps and photo ops—there is the local food. Many people even arrange their vacations according to the indigenous menu. Foie Gras in Paris, fresh sword fish in Indonesia, chocolate in Switzerland, well, you get the picture. Read more to get additional info.