Why Your Yearly Physical Exam is Important

We rely on our senses to do a lot for us. Sight is essential to see where we’re going or avoiding, smell for sniffing out what may be good or bad for the body, hearing to understand the language of everyone and everything around us, taste to distinguish between the nutritional and the poisonous, and touch to ensure our general safety. They not only protect, but also allow us to enjoy life as we feel our way around.

Given their importance, isn’t it even more crucial that we make sure they are all working properly? The answer: annual physical exam. Understandably, some of us get queasy when hearing the word “exam” and others run the other direction to anything physical, believe me when I say that your annual physical exam is fairly painless. Your internal medicine doctor will do most of the manual labor and all you have to do is follow his/her directions.

You’ll be tested for signs of vitality, from blood pressure (average is 120 over 80), heart rate (you want between 60 to 100), respiration rate (generally around 16 without lung or heart issues), and/or temperature (classic 98.6 degrees F). After that comes the exam for your general appearance. How is your heartbeat, breathing, immunity, dental work, abdomen, nerves, strength, reaction ability, balance, pulse, etc.? If you’ve done any smoking, drank alcohol in excess, or had poor diet, exercise, or sexual health, your urgent care doctor will figure it out pretty quickly. It’s for the best, so stop worrying.

Depending on your doctor, you may also need to give a blood or urine sample to test for other potential afflictions. Of course, based on your gender you’ll be tested for different diseases or illnesses as well. Males generally are examined for hernia, any STIs, prostate, or testicular issues while women may receive breast or pelvic examinations, in case of cancer or other hazards. The fact remains though, in spite of how many tests there are, you’ll be glad to be safe than sorry. Not to mention, it’ll go by a lot faster than you’re expecting and it’s only once a year.

Annual physical exams are defenders of good health, because for all you know, your body may have long been giving off signals to being unwell before you felt them. Say that one of your five senses were out of tune or no longer the same as when you were young. Why do you think people wear glasses or contacts? Brilliant as a composer Beethoven considering he was deaf, I’ll bet he wished he could’ve had a hearing aid earlier in life. Those suffering from Alzheimer’s may often be a hazard to themselves because their bodies forget how to sense hot or cold.

That aside, as soon as your sense of smell goes, your sense of taste goes along with it. Our senses interact with one another, and oftentimes as one depreciates, another follows in suit. Why take the risk? Annual physical exams will provide that sense of safety you’ve been lacking.

Stop by the office today. We’ll make sure that your annual physical exam NYC stays just that: once a year. Quick and painless, if you don’t trust us, you can find more information at urgent care center.

Busy? Urgent care clinic is the solution

Remember the old days? White coats, bright lights, latex scented, listening to each time the clock hands moved. Someone would bring you to the doctor’s office for a checkup and afterwards you would be rewarded with a lollipop for your patience. That was the end of it. Nowadays it’s hard enough to just schedule an appointment. With all the things you have to do, why not try a walk in clinic?

Ever feel like childhood was so much easier? More space, more freedom, and more time. As adults, our schedules are crammed: wake up, shower, make breakfast, feed the dog, dress for work, take the kids to school, commute to work, commute to home, pick up the kids, buy groceries, make dinner, pack lunch, walk the dog, wash the dishes, take out the garbage, tuck in the kids, back to bed.

Add on the weekly laundry, house cleaning, phone calls, family visits, random friend hangouts, work emergencies, etc. and you’re officially booked. Now try to schedule in your next medical doctor’s appointment. Are you told that you need to wait a week, two, three, or even a month later? And once you’re there, how much more time do you need to wait to be seen?

Forget scheduling and remember leisure! Time is precious as it is and should not be wasted. As Doug Larson puts it, “For disappearing acts, it's hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work.”  Oftentimes, we work ourselves half to death trying to fit everything into the week and then end up sick for stressing about it. Yet there’s still no time for break and we chug down all the medicine we can find in the cold aisle. Thoughts are blurred, focus lost, and the temperature is rising. Before you know it, you can get into an accident more serious than the common cold. 

Urgent care center are essential for those sudden scrapes, scratches, or burns, and can even offer you something to take care of that cold faster. Availability and convenience are written into the definition and appointments can be scheduled on the same day with immediate care. No waiting for the secretary to schedule you two weeks later and no waiting at the ER for “immediate help” that comes two hours later.

In the past as kids, we didn’t have responsibilities. Everything was set up for us and all we had to do was follow what we were told. And for that we got a lollipop for a reward. As adults, we need to plan everything. Even our free time is taken up planning for our plans. By then, you know your schedule is definitely overloaded. Don’t let that carry through to your health as well.

Walk in clinics will save you both money and time, with the added bonus of friendly service. For those lighter injuries, burns, or illnesses, you can get that immediate care you’re desperate for without those frustrating delays.

So if you’re in Manhattan and feeling burdened down by your schedule, drop by Midtown Medical Group and find an internal medicine doctor, located at 274 Madison Avenue. Too busy to physically come? Take a look at our website NYC walk-in clinic for more information to schedule your appointment at our walk-in clinic today.