*Contributed post
A yearly checkup is fundamental to maintaining the health of your kids. Throughout their lives, many factors can change or influence their wellbeing, some remediable and some not. Still, an annual physical exam provides your doctor with a chance to realize any deviations from the standard for your children.
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Here Are 6 Common Parts Of a Physical Exam
Hearing Checkup
A crucial part of diagnosing hearing loss is actually testing your child's hearing during regular visits and to learn more about his or her hearing ability. The test usually starts with low tones being played through headphones while they are wearing earphones themselves. Then, it can progress up to higher pitches until they cannot hear it anymore.
The best time to test your child's hearing is during their first year of life. Any problems detected at this time are typically easy to correct.
Eye Checkup
A standard eye exam may include testing your child's visual acuity or the sharpness of their vision. This simple test requires them to pick out specific letters or objects from a line of similar shapes and figures. The results are then used to compare with the normal range for the age group, which should chart out any possible abnormalities.
Another important part of an eye examination is coordination between both eyes, also known as binocular vision. If one eye turns in or out more than necessary while viewing, it can affect depth perception that can be tested using pictures on a screen.
Blood Sugar Level Checkup
Your doctor should check your child's blood sugar levels annually in order to see if they are exhibiting any signs of either having diabetes or of being at risk for developing it in the future. This blood test also helps to diagnose any other problems that could result from elevated or lowered blood sugar levels.
Cholesterol Checkup
Cholesterol is a fatty substance present in both the body and food, and it's important not to have too much of it in your blood.
Your pediatrician will check for high cholesterol levels at every visit until the age of ten years or later if risk factors such as obesity or family history exist.
The screening is usually done in the form of a simple blood test that measures total cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, and LDL (bad) cholesterol.
Your doctor may also use an ultrasound to measure the size of your child's heart arteries to look for any possible narrowing or blockage.
Dental Checkup
Dental hygiene should be taught early on in life by parents, and this includes brushing their teeth at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, using dental floss, and having regular appointments with the dentist.
Frequent trips to the dentist will help your child avoid unnecessary pain and damage to their teeth. Your dentist will examine the alignment of both arches of teeth (the upper and lower jaw) as well as any potential misalignment in the bite, which could lead to future orthodontic problems.
Vital Signs Checkup
This checkup includes taking your child's blood pressure, height and weight, checking their heart rate & respiratory rate, along with asking personal questions about your child's mood, the way they eat, and sleep patterns.
All of these factors can indicate any signs of potential future issues for them, such as asthma or depression. If you have been concerned about your children's emotional wellbeing, then this is a yearly must-do for you and your doctor together.
In Conclusion
Early detection of problems is key to preventing them from becoming worse or life-threatening. Sometimes children develop medical issues that are not apparent until they have grown up - for instance, some cardiac conditions do not present themselves until adulthood even though they are genetic.
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that all children should go through annual physicals in order to maintain their overall health.
Annual physicals are important not only for knowing about these medical conditions but also because they help to create a relationship with your child's pediatrician, who will be watching out for their health as they grow up.
These tests should be a significant part of that yearly visit, and all parents should ensure that their children receive them as well as any other necessary tests in order to lead a healthy, happy life.
Annual checkups should be taken very seriously by all parents because the doctor's office is the only place where you can find out what might be going wrong with your child before it becomes a much more difficult problem to solve.
