Prevention banner

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What does prevention mean icon

If you want to prevent something from happening, you work to block it or stop it.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Teach this saying to others.

It is easier, cheaper and safer to prevent problems than to wait until they are bigger problems.

female doctor performing breast screening on female patient

Preventative health care

There are many things you and your doctor can do to prevent illness and help you stay healthy.

  • There are check-ups or tests you can do that look for early problems.
  • If you find a problem when it is still small, you may treat it so it doesn't grow to be bigger.

Heart disease and cancer are two kinds of health problems that make many people get sick and even die. If we look for early signs of these illnesses, we can prevent some big problems.

We may help a person get rid of the illness and live longer.

Video

What You Need to Know About Cancer

Watch our video to learn what you need to know about cancer and what you can do to prevent it.

Video

What is Heart Disease?

From Mayo Clinic - Learn about heart attacks and hardening of the arteries.

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Tests we do to prevent illness are

  • Shots or vaccines
    • Prevent infections or cancer
  • Pap smears
    • Look for cervix changes that can warn about cancer.
  • Colonoscopies
    • Looks for polyps, or little bumps, that can warn about colon cancer.

tests we do to find a health problem early

Height and weight: Look for healthy body size or growth.
Blood pressure: Look for high blood pressure.
Mental health screens: Look for warning signs of depression or anxiety.
Blood sugar and cholesterol tests: Look for diabetes or high fats.
Vision or hearing exams: Look for changes in how you see or hear.
Dental check-ups (video link): Keep your teeth healthy
Mammograms (video link): Look for breast changes or cancer.

tests we do just for people with higher risk of an illness

  • Thyroid blood tests and hearing tests if a person has Down syndrome
  • Lung CAT scan to look for early lung cancer if a person smokes cigarettes

How do you decide what tests to do?

  • Get correct info
  • Weigh the pros and cons
  • Ask the people you trust
  • Build trust with your doctor

Here is an example of pros and cons for colonoscopy.

  • Pro - Can prevent polyps, or small bumps, turning into cancer.
  • Cons - You have to clean out all of your poop from your colon with medicine you drink.
  • Other idea - You might be able to do a poop test instead (like Cologuard or FIT). This is an easier choice. But it does not give as much good info.

Another example is a Pap smear.

It is such a good test to save lives by stopping cervix cancer.

Some women have fears about this test.

Watch this video below for some info to help you with the pros and cons.

Video

Getting Ready for the Female Exam

If you need more help to decide if you want to get a female exam, watch this video to help you prepare.

If you are ready to get a female exam, click on the button to go to the What to Expect during a Female Exam video.

Female Exam: What to Expect
African American male getting a shot from a nurse

What are shots or vaccines?

  • Germs are viruses or bacteria that cause an illness.
  • Vaccines protect the body by blocking these germs.
  • Each vaccine has a part of a dead or weak germ. It is injected or shot into your body.
  • Inside your body, you make a reaction to the germ that was in the vaccine.
  • Your body makes an antibody against the germ. Antibodies are the body's memory of germs.
  • If that real live germ tries to enter the body in the future, the body remembers it. It sends an anti body to block the germ.
  • Your body is now immune to that infection.

Video

Why Do We Get Vaccines?

From Sci Show Kids.

Video

Info about vaccines: For people with a learning disability.

From National Health Service.