Maybe you have just hit the 50-years-old mark, and you feel pretty bad about it. Getting older is scary for all of us. However, it doesn’t have to be. Instead of ignoring the gradual changes in your body, you should pay sharp attention to them. Give yourself some TLC by giving your body a fine-tuned checkup.
Our 50’s are not a death sentence. It is the prime of your life! However, you want to be conscientious of everything going on in your body and making sure everything is in tip-top shape. If you do this, you can look forward to being around in another 50 years. Here are some health factors to keep an eye out for once you cross that threshold into your 50’s:
Diabetes or Blood Pressure
You could be highly aware of your high blood pressure levels, or you can be utterly oblivious to your increasing hypertension. By the time you hit your 50’s, you want to be vigilant about your heart health because a stroke, kidney failure or a heart attack could be well on its way.
A blood pressure check is an easy solution to a preventable death. You need to find out if you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or unchecked diabetes. If gone untreated, any of these deadly health risks can act fast in deteriorating your health. If you haven’t been very conscientious of your health in your 20’s, 30’s or 40’s, it’s about time you were now.
Skin Examination
Maybe you have collected a mural of brown or black spots across your body over the years. Moles, while very common, can be a signifier of more nefarious changes in your body. Skin cancer is far more common in our later years because of deadly exposure to harmful UV rays.
If you have any questionable bumps or marks on your skin, you should have a dermatologist examine them for anything suspicious. Thankfully, when caught in the early stages, melanoma can be detected and treated quickly. You don’t want to take a chance this late in the game when you could have had an easy checkup.
Teeth Checkup
Our teeth are incredible! Our molars can bear down with 200 pounds of pressure behind them, but a lifetime of gnawing, chewing, and grinding can have severe effects on them. Untreated and built-up gum disease can easily lead to implant dentures, significantly when easing into your 50’s.
Our teeth’ surface is expected to be far more weakened by exposure to acid in the fruit, sugary foods, and soft drinks—the chances of having extreme tooth damage triples in our 50’s, leading to extensive oral care. Book an appointment with your dentist to determine the scale, if any, of your tooth and gum damage.
Pelvic Exam & Mammogram or Colonoscopy & Prostate Check
Our 50’s bring with them menopause, bone mineral loss (osteoporosis), and more significant prostate cancer and cervical cancer risk. To prevent these health risks, you should be regularly screened by your doctor with special tests.
All women should have routine mammograms starting at age 20 for any signs of breast cancer and pelvic exams and pap smears for cervical cancer risk. By 50, all men should be discussing with their doctor’s potential screenings for prostate cancer (the prostate gland within men can enlarge with age), especially if there’s a history of cancer in your family.
It might not be fun, especially if you don’t regularly have to go to your doctor, but any number of these indicators can keep you happy, healthy and moving on to your 60’s.
