What are the things that you do to keep yourself healthy? Your mind might jump straight to the run you do a couple of times a week, or the choices you make about what to eat, the amount of sleep you manage to get each night or the friends who make you feel seen and heard. And you’d be right. These are all things that keep us healthy.
But what about noticing when something might not be quite right with your health? What can we do to help identify problems early and get the help we might need?
You may have heard about screening tests to detect certain conditions, for example, the PSA blood test (prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by the prostate gland which, if high, may be a sign of prostate cancer), or a mammogram scan which can detect breast cancers that may be too small to feel.
Going for screening tests when you’re invited by the NHS is one of the most important things you can do; picking up and diagnosing certain health conditions or diseases at an early stage, like cancer, means that they are more likely to be treated successfully.
Another way that we can take some control over our health is to learn how to equip ourselves with the right knowledge about what to look out for and what home health checks we can do. This can make an enormous difference.
As a GP, I have seen many patients who have come in because they have noticed that something has changed, or doesn’t feel right – or because they have picked up on something while doing one of these essential home health checks. This has meant that I can then assess them and refer them on, if needed, to have more investigations, and to be diagnosed and treated if anything is found.
So, here are five vital health checks that you can do at home that might just keep you healthier for longer, and even potentially save your life.
Pulse rate
The average normal heart rate when we are at rest is between 60-100 beats per minute (Photo: Kinga Krzeminska/Getty)This is one of the simplest health checks you can do at home, and it can have a big impact. Your heart or pulse rate is the number of times your heart beats every minute. It can vary from minute to minute; it can increase when we exercise, if we have an infection or we are feeling excited or anxious; and it can decrease if we are sleeping or resting.
The average normal heart rate when we are at rest is between 60-100 beats per minute, and what is normal for each one of us is different according to our age, gender and health.
To measure your heart rate, all you need to do is to use your index and middle finger to find your radial pulse – which is most easily felt on the inside of your wrist – get a timer on your phone and count how many beats there are in one minute. Make sure you sit still for five to 10 minutes before you start so you are sure it is an accurate resting heart rate.
There are lots of things you can pick up from this simple check; an arrythmia where the heart is beating too fast (tachycardia, above 100bpm) or too slow (bradycardia, less than 60bpm) or irregularly, like atrial fibrillation, all of which can cause dizziness, fainting, problems breathing and may increase the risk of having a stroke. It may also be a sign of anaemia (low blood count), an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism) or infection.
Inspecting your skin
Getting to know your body is essential because it is only when we know what is normal for us, that we can pick up when things change. Our skin – being our largest and most visible organ – is a key thing to check.
Aim to check yourself about once a month, choose a well-lit room and stand in front of a full-length mirror. Use a hand-held mirror to help you see, or use your phone camera to take a photo if something has changed or doesn’t look right, and also measure it.
There are two main types of skin cancer; melanoma and non-melanoma. Melanomas develop from freckles or moles and you can use the “ABCDE” steps to help you detect them. A – is there Asymmetry where one side of the mole looks different to the other?; B – are Borders or edges of the mole irregular, blurred, notched or ragged?; C – has the mole got an uneven Colour?; D – is the Diameter of the mole bigger than 0.5cm across?; and E – is the mole Evolving with a change in colour, size or shape?
Also inspect your skin for any signs of non-melanoma skin cancers; basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. Look at your skin for any abnormal areas like a raised patch, lump or sore, for any itchy, painful scabs which are crusting or bleeding, any brown, blue or black areas, any pearl-coloured, shiny, red, pink or see-through areas.
Are there any skin patches that are flat, firm, pale or yellow, that have pink growth with raised edges? Or open sores that crust or ooze but don’t heal, or recur after they have healed? See your doctor or healthcare professional if you have any skin concerns.
Have a glance in the toilet
Monitoring your toilet behaviour could save your life (Photo: Antonio Hugo/Getty)Doing a poo and wee is a daily occurrence for all of us, and yet how often do any of us actually take a look in the toilet bowl or look at what comes out? This simple act could save your life in terms of bowel or bladder cancer.
So, what are the signs to look out for? Blood in your poo which can look red or black, if you bleed from your bottom, if you need to poo more or less often than is normal for you, or you have changes to your poo like having constipation, diarrhoea or softer poo, or you feel like you need to do a poo, even if you have just opened your bowels, may all be potential signs of bowel cancer.
And then there is your wee; the main symptom of bladder cancer is blood in your wee, but you can also get a feeling you need to wee more often, or very suddenly, getting recurrent urine infections, or pain or stinging or itching when you wee. Some of these symptoms for both your poo and wee can be very common and can also be caused by other medical conditions, but it is really important to get checked by your GP just to be sure.
Breasts or testicles
Try to check your breasts about once per month. It is important to get to know how your breasts feel throughout your menstrual cycle because they will naturally look and feel different at different stages of your cycle – and the same goes for you if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or post-menopause.
Stand in front of a mirror with your arms by your sides and then lift them above your head to look for any changes. It may be easier to lie down to feel your breasts; feel around each breast with a mix of light and firm pressure in a circular motion and include the areas under your armpit and up to your collarbone, and then feel around and over each nipple. Things to look out for include; any lumps or swellings, a change in the breast skin like dimpling, a change in size of your breasts, any nipple discharge or bloody discharge, a change in the look or shape of your nipple, like a rash or it turning inwards, or any sores or ulcers.
Some of these symptoms can be caused by other conditions but it is important to get them checked by a GP.
Check your testicles regularly. Do it about once per month and typically it is best done during or just after a warm shower or bath. Hold the skin that covers your testicles (scrotum) in the palm of your hand, and use the other hand to gently roll one testicle at a time between your fingers and thumb. Then go on to feel behind both testicles around the epididymis, which are the soft small tubes at the back of the testicles.
Signs to look out for include any lumps or swelling on your testicles, or if your testicle feels hard, any changes to the shape, weight or size of your testicles and anything else that isn’t normal for you. You can get testicle lumps and swelling that are caused by other conditions rather than cancer, but it is important to get checked out by your GP.
Face and body
Windows to the soul? Eyes can tell us a surprising amount about our health (Photo: supersizer/Getty)You may not realise this but your face and body can sometimes reflect health conditions or be a sign of a problem with our health.
If we have a low blood count from low iron levels, the inner lining of our lower eyelids can look pale when we pull it down gently. If the whites of our eyes or skin are yellowish in colour we may have a gall bladder, liver or blood condition. If the corners of our mouths are cracked or our tongue is swollen, we may have a deficiency of vitamin B12, or if we have bleeding or gum disease, we may be deficient in vitamin C.
Rounded and widened finger tips or curved nails may be a sign of lung or heart disease. If we have dark patches in body folds like our neck or armpits that could be a sign of pre-diabetes or insulin resistance, and if we have persistent puffiness or swelling in our ankles it may reflect a problem with our liver, kidneys or heart. Sudden hair loss or thinning hair may be a sign of thyroid hormone imbalance, or of low iron.
Get to know what is normal for you and what isn’t – and if you are worried, make a GP appointment.
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