Disease prevention

Even if you feel fine, you should still see your provider for regular checkups. These visits can help you avoid problems in the future. For example, the only way to find out if you have high blood pressure is to have it checked regularly.

Blood Pressure Screening

Have your blood pressure checked at least once every year. Ask your doctor if you need your blood pressure checked more often if:

• You have diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, kidney problems, or are overweight or have certain other health conditions
• You have a first-degree relative with high blood pressure
• You are African-American
• Your blood pressure top number is from 120 to 129 mm Hg, or the bottom number is from 70 to 79 mm Hg

High blood sugar and cholesterol level also may not have any symptoms in the early stages. Simple blood tests can check for these conditions.

High Blood Sugar (Diabetes Screening)

• All adults who do not have risk factors for diabetes should be screened starting at age 35 and repeated every 3 years.
• If you have other risk factors for diabetes, such as a first degree relative with diabetes, overweight or obesity, high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, or a history of heart disease, you may be tested more often.
• If you are overweight and have other risk factors such as high blood pressure and are planning to become pregnant, screening is recommended.

Cholesterol Screening

Screening should begin at age 35 for men with no known risk factors for coronary heart disease.

Repeat cholesterol screening should take place:

• Every 5 years for men with normal cholesterol levels
• More often if changes occur in lifestyle (including weight gain and diet)
• More often if you have diabetes, heart disease, kidney problems, or certain other conditions

Dental Exam

Go to the dentist once or twice every year for an exam and cleaning. Your dentist will evaluate if you have a need for more frequent visits.

Eye Exam

If you have vision problems, have an eye exam every 2 years, or more often if recommended by your provider.

Have an eye exam that includes an examination of your retina (back of your eye) at least every year if you have diabetes.

Immunizations

Commonly needed vaccines include:

• Flu shot: get one every year.
• Tetanus-diphtheria and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine: have one at or after age 19 as one of your tetanus-diphtheria vaccines if you did not receive it as an adolescent.
• Tetanus-diphtheria: have a booster (or Tdap) every 10 years.
• Varicella vaccine: receive two doses if you never had chickenpox or the varicella vaccine.
• Hepatitis B vaccine: receive 2, 3, or 4 doses, depending on your exact circumstances.
• Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine: receive one to two doses if you are not already immune to MMR. Your doctor can tell you if you are immune
• Hepatitis B vaccine: receive 2, 3, or 4 doses, depending on your exact circumstances, if you did not receive these as a child or adolescent, until age 59
• Shingles (herpes zoster) vaccine: at or after age 50
• Pneumococcal vaccine: you should receive this vaccine if your are 65 years of age or older, or are immunocompromised.

Ask your provider about the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine if you have:

• Not received the HPV vaccine in the past
• Not completed the full vaccine series (you should catch up on this shot)

Ask your provider if you should receive other immunizations if you have certain medical conditions, such as diabetes or are at increased risk for some diseases such as pneumonia.

Infectious Disease Screening

• All adults ages 18 to 79 should get a one-time test for hepatitis C.
• All people ages 15 to 65 should get a one-time test for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
• Depending on your lifestyle and medical history, you may need to be screened for infections such as syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea and other infections.

Colorectal Cancer Screening

If you are under age 45, talk to your provider about getting screened. You may need to be screened if you have a strong family history of colon cancer or polyps. Screening may also be considered if you have risk factors such as a history of inflammatory bowel disease or polyps.

If you are age 45 to 75, you should be screened for colorectal cancer. There are several screening tests available:

• A stool-based fecal occult blood (gFOBT) or fecal immunochemical test (FIT) every year
• A stool sDNA test every 1 to 3 years
• Flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years or every 10 years with stool testing FIT done every year
• CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) every 5 years
• Colonoscopy every 10 years

You may need a colonoscopy more often if you have risk factors for colorectal cancer, such as:

• Ulcerative colitis
• A personal or family history of colorectal cancer
• A history of growths in your colon called adenomatous polyps.

Lung Cancer Screening

You should have an annual screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) if:

• You are age 50 to 80 years, AND
• You have a 20 pack-year smoking history, AND
• You currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years

Osteoporosis Screening

• If you are age 50 to 70 and have risk factors for osteoporosis, you should discuss screening with your provider.
• Risk factors can include long-term steroid use, low body weight, smoking, heavy alcohol use, having a fracture after age 50, or a family history of hip fracture or osteoporosis.

Prostate Cancer Screening

If you’re 55 through 69 years old, before having the test, talk to your provider about the pros and cons of having a PSA test. Ask about:

• Whether screening decreases your chance of dying from prostate cancer.
• Whether there is any harm from prostate cancer screening, such as side effects from testing or over-treatment of cancer when discovered.
• Whether you have a higher risk of prostate cancer than others.

If you are age 55 or younger, screening is not generally recommended. You should talk with your provider about if you have a higher risk for prostate cancer. Risk factors include:

• Having a family history of prostate cancer (especially a brother or father)
• Being African American
• If you choose to be tested, the PSA blood test is repeated over time (yearly or less often), though the best frequency is not known.
• Prostate examinations are no longer routinely done on men with no symptoms.

Cervical Cancer Screening

Cervical cancer screening should start at age 21.

After the first test:

• Women ages 30 through 65 should be screened with either a Pap test every 3 years or the HPV test every 5 years or both tests every 5 years (called “cotesting”).
• Women who have been treated for precancer (cervical dysplasia) should continue to have Pap tests for 20 years after treatment or until age 65, whichever is longer.

If you have had your uterus and cervix removed (total hysterectomy), and you have not been diagnosed with cervical cancer, you do not need to have Pap smears.

Breast Cancer Screening

Screening mammogram is recommended for:

• Women ages 40 to 49 every 1 to 2 years. However, not all experts agree about the benefits of having a mammogram when women are in their 40s. Talk to your provider about what is best for you.
• Women ages 50 to 75 every 1 to 2 years, depending on their risk factors, to check for breast cancer.
• Women with a mother or sister who had breast cancer at a younger age should consider yearly mammograms. They should begin screening earlier than the age at which their youngest family member was diagnosed.

If you have other risk factors for breast cancer, your provider may recommend a MRI scan for screening.

Hearing Test

Have your hearing tested if you have symptoms of hearing loss.

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening

If you are age 65 to 75 and have smoked, you should have an ultrasound to screen for abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Other men should discuss this screening with their provider.

Skin Self-Exam

Your provider may check your skin for signs of skin cancer, especially if you’re at high risk, such as if you:

• Have had skin cancer before
• Have close relatives with skin cancer
• Have a weakened immune system

Other Screening

• Talk with your provider about colon cancer screening if you have a strong family history of colon cancer or polyps, or if you have had inflammatory bowel disease or polyps yourself.
• Routine bone density screening of women under 40 is not recommended.

Hormone Evaluation And Treatment

• Thyroid, TSH, T4, T3
• Parathyroid (PTH)
• Testosterone
• Estradiol
• Estrogen
• Progesterone
• FSH and LH
• Prolactin

PrEP

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) is medicine taken to prevent getting HIV. PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV when taken as prescribed. PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99%. PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from injection drug use by at least 74%.

STD/STI Prevention

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), or sexually transmitted infections (STIs), are infections that are passed from one person to another through sexual contact. The contact is usually vaginal, oral, or anal sex. But sometimes they can spread through other intimate physical contact. This is because some STDs, like herpes and HPV, are spread by skin-to-skin contact.

The best way of preventing STI it’s by sexual abstinence, other options include the use of condoms or
prep which will only offer protection against HIV.

If you are sexually active, you should talk to your health care provider about your risk for STDs and whether you need to be tested. This is especially important since many STDs do not usually cause symptoms.

Treatment available for the following STI’S: chlamydial, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV are offered at our clinic.

Hormone Replacement

We offer hormonal testing and treatment as clinically indicated. Hormone replacement therapy is a treatment that introduces synthetic hormones into the body to resolve deficiencies.

Allergy Testing

Both blood and skin allergy tests can detect a patient’s sensitivity to common inhalants like pollen and dust mites or to medicines, certain foods, latex, venom, or other substances.

STD/STI Prevention

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), or sexually transmitted infections (STIs), are infections that are passed from one person to another through sexual contact. The contact is usually vaginal, oral, or anal sex. But sometimes they can spread through other intimate physical contact. This is because some STDs, like herpes and HPV, are spread by skin-to-skin contact.

The best way of preventing STI it’s by sexual abstinence, other options include the use of condoms or
prep which will only offer protection against HIV.

If you are sexually active, you should talk to your health care provider about your risk for STDs and whether you need to be tested. This is especially important since many STDs do not usually cause symptoms.

Treatment available for the following STI’S: chlamydial, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV are offered at our clinic.

Skin Conditions

We offer evaluation and treatment of several skin conditions; Some of the most common skin diseases include: acne, alopecia areata, Atopic dermatitis (eczema), psoriasis, Raynaud’s phenomenon, rosacea, skin cancer, and vitiligo, among others.