How visiting your family medicine doctors in Brandon, FL, can help you stay healthy
Eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise are great ways to help you stay healthy. You also need to visit your doctor regularly. Your doctor is an expert at preventing illness and disease, so you can maintain excellent health.
Drs. Joel and Elizabeth Biggers at Biggers Family Medicine in Brandon, FL, offer comprehensive medical services, including regular wellness visits to help you stay healthy.
Regular wellness visits at least once each year are great preventive medicine. At your regular wellness visit, your doctor will:
Perform a comprehensive physical examination to check for any outward signs of illness or disease
Record any recent illnesses, hospitalizations, signs, or symptoms, to provide a baseline for future appointments
Record your vital signs including blood pressure, pulse, height, and weight
Order any laboratory testing to check for:
- Elevated cholesterol levels, which can cause clogged arteries
- Elevated blood sugar levels, which could indicate borderline diabetes
- Elevated white cell count, which could indicate infection
Your doctor may also recommend x-rays and other imaging to check for any structural abnormalities, masses, tumors, or other indications of disease
Another important benefit of regular wellness visits is lifestyle modification. Your doctor may recommend:
- Changes to your diet
- Increasing your level of exercise
- Quitting tobacco use
Your wellness visit is also an excellent time to catch you up on recommended vaccinations including:
- Flu
- Pneumonia
- Shingles
- Covid
For women, the wellness visit may also include a pap smear and breast exam. For men, a yearly prostate check is an excellent way to help prevent prostate cancer.
Your family medicine doctor may also recommend additional testing, depending on your age. Tests may include:
- A colonoscopy, to check for colorectal cancer
- A stool test, to check for GI conditions
- A bone density scan, to check for osteoporosis
- A cardiac stress test, to check how well your heart is working
To learn more about the importance of regular wellness visits and how they can help you stay healthy, call Drs. Joel and Elizabeth Biggers at Biggers Family Medicine in Brandon, FL. You can reach them in the office by calling (813) 655-4646, so call now!