Women’s Guide to Preventive Care

December 15, 2023

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What is preventive women’s care?

It is important for women to take an active approach to health care, especially as they enter adulthood. This includes scheduling routine exams and services. Preventive care includes vaccines, testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), other blood tests, cancer screenings, and more.

Taking a preventative approach to your health can help you stay healthy and receive early treatment for medical problems that arise. Detecting a problem earlier can result in easier and more effective treatment. It can also mean less costs in the long run. Regular preventive care can even help identify the possibility of illness before it occurs.

Path to better health

General health exams

Every woman should have a routine visit at least once a year. A well-woman visit is an annual preventive care appointment. It allows her doctor to review her medical history, assess her risk for certain diseases, suggest vaccinations, and discuss healthy lifestyle changes. Many also take an exam, if necessary. You may also discuss birth control during this visit.

During your appointment, your doctor will assess your risk for conditions such as heart disease and ask you about exercise, diet, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Blood tests to check your cholesterol levels may also be helpful. If you are found to be at increased risk for heart disease, early intervention could help prevent or delay its onset.

Breast health

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) recommends mammograms every two years for women ages 50 to 74. Starting mammograms earlier (for women ages 40 to 49) is a personal choice that should be discussed with your doctor.

Reproductive and sexual health

Starting at age 21, women should be screened for cervical cancer. The type of test and the frequency of testing depend on age and other risk factors. A Pap smear, or Papanicolaou test, is a medical examination performed by a doctor. This is usually part of a pelvic exam during a well-woman visit. Transgender men should also talk to their doctors about pelvic exams and Pap tests.

During a Pap test, your doctor will collect cells from the cervix, which is located at the bottom of the uterus. These cells are analyzed for anything unusual to detect cancer or even precancerous cells.

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) does not recommend Pap testing for women under 21 years of age. Women ages 21 to 29 should have a Pap test every 3 years. Women ages 30 to 65 should have a Pap test every 5 years with the HPV test, or every 3 years if the test is done with the Pap test alone, or every 5 years if the test is done with the HPV test alone. HPV test. At age 65, women who have had appropriate screening and are not at high risk for cervical cancer do not need Pap tests. If she had a total hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus, ovaries, and cervix), she no longer needs reproductive cancer screening.

Depending on your age and risk of infection, your doctor may also test for STIs during your well-woman exam. If you are 25 years old or younger and sexually active, you should be examined periodically by a doctor. Older women should get tested if they have symptoms or when they have new or multiple sexual partners.

Vaccines

Your annual well-child visit is also a good time to review vaccination needs with your doctor. They can recommend and provide you with the vaccines you need.

Each year, the AAFP and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) collaborate to develop recommendations for the routine use of vaccines in children, adolescents, and adults in the United States.

The AAFP recommends vaccines for adults who meet age requirements, lack documentation of prior vaccinations, or have no evidence of past infection, including an annual flu and COVID-19 vaccine, a tetanus booster every 10 years, the human papilloma (2 or 3 doses depending on age at onset). vaccination) and more. Women age 50 and older should receive both shingles vaccines. Pregnant women and women 60 years of age or older should receive the RSV vaccine.

Women should also be screened for diabetes starting at age 35 and then repeated every 3 years if they have no risk factors for diabetes. You may need to start earlier and repeat screening tests more frequently if you have other risk factors for diabetesas:

Have a first-degree relative with diabetes
Being overweight or obese.
Have high blood pressure, prediabetes, or a history of heart disease or gestational (pregnancy-related) diabetes

You should be screened for diabetes if you plan to become pregnant and are overweight and have other risk factors, such as high blood pressure.

Emotional health

Your doctor should also ask you questions about your emotional health. If you have feelings of hopelessness, have had changes in your sleep (sleeping too much or too little), changes in your appetite, or are not interested in things you were interested in before, talk to your doctor. Even if you don’t feel like yourself, talk to your doctor. And be honest. If you are having suicidal thoughts, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline immediately.

Your doctor’s office is also a safe place to talk about domestic abuse. In fact, your doctor may ask if you feel safe at home. If you feel trapped in an abusive relationship, tell your doctor.

When to see a doctor

You should see your doctor every year for a well-woman visit. Your doctor’s office should usually remind you when your next annual exam is due. It may also be helpful to plan it around the same time each year.

If you have had sex with a new partner, it is important to talk to your doctor about additional STI testing.