Health Checks

Health Checks

July 02, 2025โ€ข2 min read

๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ข๐—ณ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ฆ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—” ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜๐—ต ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ธ?

You donโ€™t need to wait until something goes wrong!

A quick reminder: basic medical health monitoring can prevent serious illness. But many of us have no idea what to check or when.

Hereโ€™s a quick age-based guide for Australians (based on RACGP & Heart Foundation recommendations):

๐—ก๐—ผ๐˜๐—ฒ: ๐—”๐—ฑ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐˜€ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜† ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜†, ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€, ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€, ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐˜†๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€. ๐—”๐—น๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ธ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—š๐—ฃ ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚.

๐—”๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿดโ€“3๐Ÿต

โ€ข Blood pressure: every 2 years

โ€ข Cholesterol & diabetes risk: start earlier if you have risk factors (e.g., family history, โ€ข Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander background)

โ€ข Mental health & STI screening: as needed, especially for those who are LGBTQ+ or sexually active

โ€ข HPV vaccine (if not already received)

๐—”๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฌโ€“4๐Ÿต

โ€ข Heart Health Check: from 45 (or from 30 for Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander peoples)

โ€ข Diabetes screening: every 3โ€“5 years

โ€ข Cervical screening: every 5 years (25โ€“74, even if vaccinated)

โ€ข Breast checks: regular clinical checks; mammograms usually start at 50 but discuss earlier if needed

โ€ข Vaccinations: annual flu shot, COVID boosters, catch-ups

๐—”๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฌโ€“7๐Ÿฐ

โ€ข Bowel cancer test: every 2 years (free kit from age 50)

โ€ข BreastScreen mammograms: every 2 years (50โ€“74)

โ€ข Bone density scan: especially for postmenopausal women

โ€ข Heart, diabetes, blood pressure checks: every 1โ€“2 years

โ€ข Shingles vaccine: from age 65 (now free for eligible people)

๐—”๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐Ÿณ๐Ÿฑ+

โ€ข Falls & mobility checks

โ€ข Medication review

โ€ข Cognitive screening

โ€ข Vision/hearing checks

โ€ข Continued heart, diabetes, cancer screening where appropriate

๐—ง๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚

โ€ข Men: prostate screening no one-size-fits-all; talk to your GP

โ€ข Women & people with a cervix: cervical screening every 5 years

โ€ข Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples: earlier heart and diabetes checks; free annual health assessment

โ€ข LGBTQ+ and gender-diverse people: speak to inclusive GPs about relevant STI checks, cervical/breast/testicular screening, and mental health support

๐—ฉ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—–๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฐ๐—ต-๐—จ๐—ฝ๐˜€

Keep up to date with:

โ€ข Flu shots (annually)

โ€ข COVID-19 boosters (especially if 65+ or with chronic illness)

โ€ข Shingles & pneumococcal (from 65)

โ€ข Travel vaccines if going abroad

๐—™๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต๐˜

Tests are helpful but lifestyle change is powerful. Movement, connection, good sleep, nutritious food, and emotional wellbeing are your best health allies.

Health Psychologist and Fellow of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine

Mark Anns

Health Psychologist and Fellow of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine

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