The new year is the perfect time to get a well-woman exam on your schedule. Why not resolve to take care of your health this year?
Scheduling the appointment now also prevents you from getting so preoccupied with your job, family, and social life that you forget about booking it altogether. Getting in for a well-woman exam is especially important if you skipped it last year, or can’t even remember the last time you had such a visit.
At Capital Women’s Care in Silver Spring and Laurel, Maryland, we recommend you schedule your well-woman appointment at the start of the year so it’s on your calendar as a non-negotiable appointment.
Here’s why this visit is so important to your health care.
Your well-woman exam includes a full checkup. This means we make sure your reproductive and sexual health are in order, your pelvic organs are OK, and that your general health is on track. Along with a pelvic exam, a clinical breast exam is an important part of your well-woman visit.
Your well-woman visit can be a time to make sure you’re up-to-date on important vaccines and health screenings, like your mammogram (for women older than 40) and Pap smears.
Also at this visit, we can provide you with education and counseling to help you make informed health decisions. This might include recommendations about nutrition, exercise, or other lifestyle habits.
We document your health history and record any changes that may have occurred in the past year. We can also answer questions about unusual symptoms, your period, birth control, or future pregnancies.
When you’re feeling healthy is a great time to schedule your well-woman exam. Oftentimes, patients don’t visit the doctor unless they have symptoms that need to be addressed. This means we never get to see a person’s true health or focus on preventive health care; we’re too busy diagnosing or treating a one-off condition.
A well-woman exam is a great time for us to get a baseline understanding of your reproductive and pelvic organ health so we can detect small changes over time that could indicate something is wrong before symptoms ever occur. Early detection means early treatment and less likelihood that you’ll experience a complication.
Many women don’t understand why a yearly pelvic exam is important. Simply put, it helps us ensure everything is working normally and that you don’t have any lumps or defects that would benefit from further screenings or evaluation.
A yearly exam can also put you at ease about your health. It’s reassuring to know you’re normal and healthy. This is especially true if you plan to try to conceive this year or are heading into another stage of sexual health like menopause.
We here at Capital Women’s Care are available year-round for your annual well-woman exam, but why wait? Even if it’s not due for months, contact us to schedule. Call or use this website to request your appointment.
