Current Guidelines for Well Woman Check-ups

When and how often should women get a well-woman checkup?

Women should start getting well-woman checkups at 21.

What are some of the health concerns you are looking for?

The biggest concern is breast cancer.  Unfortunately, 1 in 8 women will contract breast cancer in the United States. Big health concerns with breast cancer is any changes in the breasts that women haven’t noticed in the past; any nipple discharge; pain that hasn’t been there; any change in size; any symptoms out of the ordinary should never be ignored.  Other symptoms include irregular periods or bleeding, absence of a period, a period that lasts more than 10 days, pelvic pain that’s unexplained, pain during sexual activity, any change in bowel habits or urinating and any symptoms that can’t be explained by your primary care doctor. 

With regard to how often to get a well woman checkup, new guidelines are saying every 3-5 years instead of every year, which is hard for a lot of people to accept because that’s pretty new.

So pay attention to your body and don’t ignore symptoms.

Yes, I always tell my patients if you have something that you’re not normally feeling, I’d rather you call your provider than sit at home worrying about it or use WebMD.

If there is one thing women can do to maintain their health, what would it be?

I would say back to the basics: a healthy diet, staying within the good carb-protein-fat ratio, staying within a healthy BMI - 25 or below for women and being active.  I tell women to do 20-30 minutes of some sort of cardiovascular or weight-training activity every single day, whether they are walking their dog, lifting groceries or going to the gym or yoga class. And stress release is huge – women take on a lot and wear a lot of hats. No matter what kind of healthy options stress release can come in, it’s important to make sure you have options to relieve stress.

This is why it’s important to see a women’s health practitioner.

Yes, there are lots of different things that are specialized to women.  I take care of that whole spectrum of women’s issues, whether it’s anxiety, problems with intimacy, partner domestic violence or a lump in the breast.