Which preventive care does your age demand?

Preventive care is an ideal strategy to avoid ailments. A test beforehand can shield us from many problems which diseases bring with them. However, there are some critical points to remember before you take the tests.
The foremost one is, do you really know which test is best for your age? This is what most of us don’t know!
Well to clarify further certain test are ideally recommended by the specialist for a particular age group. As the health condition depends on the stage of growth and development of the body, everyone does not need to take up the same set of tests.

Tests for different Age groups:

Children: Through preventive care parents can keep an eye on their child’s health. They can make necessary corrections in diet or use supplementation if there is any deficiency.

• Anemia test: Screening for anemia between 9 to 12 month in an infant and from 1 to 5 years in children is usually recommended.
• Vitamin deficiency: Regular check-up and blood test for levels of essential vitamins enables to eliminate deficiency.
• Mineral and nutrient deficiency: Routine blood tests to measure nutrients and minerals help to maintain their levels in growing children.

Adult: Upsurge in conditions like obesity, diabetes, abnormal levels of cholesterol and lipids, deficiency of minerals and nutrients may occur in young adults. Some tests for them are-

• Diabetic screening test: The HbA1c, Fasting blood glucose and Fructosamine test tells about blood glucose levels.
• Lipid profile test: It reflects the lipid levels in the body and in turn cardiovascular health.
• Thyroid function test: This test checks the functioning of thyroid gland by measuring the level of thyroid hormones.

Elderly: The risk of diseases become high with aging. In addition to the above mentioned tests the below mentioned ones help to check the presence of diseases that might occur as one grows older.

1. Tests for diagnosis of arthritis: Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide, C reactive proteins and antinuclear antibody testing serves as biomarker to detect arthritis.

2. Heart diseases: Tests like Lipoprotein Associated Phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) Homocysteine and Lipoprotein a (Lp (a)) are sufficient to warn about the risk of heart diseases.

However, the frequency of testing varies depending on the type of illness one is suffering from.

One should always choose to go for tests beforehand rather than waiting for the symptoms to arises. Checking any imbalance would let you know about the exact status of your health. Thereby, allowing you to rectify them timely and wisely.