Preventive Medicine Guidelines

Preventive medicine is very important.  Both Drs. Howlin and Page recommend the following schedule to stay healthy.  Even though these are up to date guidelines, insurances may not cover these services in all cases.  Please check with your insurer to be certain.

Vaccinations

• Tetanus booster every ten years.
• Pneumovax (pneumonia) once at age 65, earlier in diabetics or asthmatics.
• Zostavax (shingles vaccine) once from age 60 if the person has not had shingles.
• Gardasil vaccination is recommended for females from age 9-26.  It prevents infection with HPV (human papilloma virus), the virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer.  The vaccination also works in older age groups and in boys/men but is not yet FDA approved for them.

Mammograms

• Yearly mammograms are recommended starting at age 40 and continuing for as long as a woman is in good health. 

Clinical Breast Exam

• A clinical breast exam (CBE) should be part of a physical, about every 3 years for women in their 20’s and 30’s and every year for women 40 and over.

Colonoscopy

• Colonoscopy is recommended every ten years from age 50 but will be initiated at an earlier age if there are symptoms of colon disorders such as diarrhea, constipation, rectal bleeding or other problems or if there is a family history of colon cancer.

PSA (Prostate specific antigen)

• No current guidelines exist to recommend a screening at this time.  This is because of the concern of detecting prostate cancers that never would have made a man ill.  Instead, a man should discuss his own prostate risk with his physician to make an informed decision on whether or not he should choose prostate cancer screening.

Pap tests

• Pap tests are started at age 21 or three years after a woman becomes sexually active.  This allows them to obtain birth control at a younger age without the fear of having to have a pap test.

Complete physical examinations

• Physicals are recommended every three years until age 50, then annually therafter.  This doesn’t mean that patients should only be seen every three years.  If you are being treated for diabetes, high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol, please make an appointment every six months to keep well treated.

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