Wellness and Preventive Care

Wellness and preventive care are two different things that play an important role in achieving whole-body health.

Wellness

Wellness is the practice of implementing healthy habits in your daily life. That includes getting plenty of sleep, managing your stress levels, maintaining good relationships with friends and family, and eating nutritious meals. By practicing wellness, you can achieve a state of complete well-being.

Preventive care

Preventive care refers to screening measures and exams that can alert you to potentially serious health problems early on. Many ailments, including Type 2 diabetes and hypertension, present with few obvious symptoms, meaning you might be at risk but not realize it. Preventive care works to catch these and other issues early when they respond best to treatment or may be reversible.

Dominion Health Family Wellness Center provides an array of wellness and preventive care services, including:

Nutritional counseling

The foods and beverages that you consume directly influence your energy levels, focus, and quality of life. If you struggle to maintain a healthy weight or eat a diet consisting primarily of junk food, nutritional counseling can help. Your physician can make recommendations for meals, vitamins, and nutritional supplements.

Care for chronic illness

Chronic illnesses like diabetes and hypertension require lifelong care. To achieve wellness, it’s crucial to keep these and other ailments in check. Scheduling routine visits to manage your condition with your primary care physician.

Prostate exam

A prostate exam is a screening measure to check for an enlarged or inflamed prostate. Typically, prostate exams include two separate features –– a digital rectal exam (DRE) and a blood test that measures your prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels.

Pap smear

Pap smears are a type of preventive screening that detects cervical cancer. During a Pap smear, your provider collects a sample of cells from the surface of your cervix. They send your swab to a laboratory that assesses it for cancerous cells.

Mammogram

A mammogram is a preventive screening measure to diagnose breast cancer. Women aged 45 and older should undergo a mammogram at least once a year until they’re 64. You will be referred to a breast imaging center for this test.

Colonoscopy

Colonoscopies help detect colon cancer, tumors, and polyps. During this type of preventive screening, the physician inserts a thin tube called a colonoscope into your anus. The colonoscope has a camera on the end that provides real-time images. If there are any abnormalities, they can take a biopsy (tissue sample).  This makes the colonoscopy both prevention and treatment.  You should get your first colonoscopy done by the time you are 45 unless it is determined that you need earlier screening.

MS Family Medicine Healthcare PC doesn’t perform colonoscopies in-office, but they can refer you to a specialist.

Wellness and preventive care are important for everyone. Even if you feel healthy, it’s important to schedule regular check-ups. Routine appointments with your primary care provider are an easy and effective way to detect potential problems and preserve your health.