How screenings are part of self-care
In recent years, the idea of self-care has become tied to beauty treatments and pampering, or lazy Sundays spent indoors, with scented candles and soothing music playing in the background. While these can be part of nurturing your mental health and wellbeing, when it comes to your physical health, self-care looks different.
The key to good health
It’s quite simple, really: self-care helps you maintain your health, so you can enjoy a longer and better quality of life. By paying attention to what’s happening in your body (as well as your heart and mind), you’re able to better support it and provide the necessary interventions. In this regard, health screening and diagnostics are key to self-care.
According to Sharon Janse van Rensburg, Clicks’ National Clinic Service Manager, “By identifying the risks and some of the ways in which your lifestyle is affecting your overall wellness, health screenings can help a person to take positive steps that can have huge, long-term benefits on their overall health and wellness”. This could include dietary changes, daily exercise, smoking cessation, and stress-management approaches, which can, in combination, have a significantly positive impact.
“Clicks Clinics offer a variety of diagnostic screening tests for early detection of health risks like hypertension, high blood glucose and cholesterol. This can help to identify any underlying health issues. It’s important to know that early intervention can significantly reduce the risk and improve the prognosis of illness. Selected Clicks Clinics also offer prostate screening, breast examinations and pap smear screenings that can assist in the early – and very important – detection of cancer,” explains Sharon.
It's better to know
Medical test anxiety, or even a fear of doctors, can prevent you from scheduling that overdue medical visit and/or not take a test that your healthcare provider scheduled you for.
“Early detection and intervention on any health risk is not only life saving but can also save your bank balance in the long run. Getting tested for health risks should not create fearfulness in a person, but rather be seen as a way of self-empowerment to take control of your own health. Small steps can make a big difference when you are consciously focused to make healthier choices,” says Sharon.
“That’s why Clicks’ approach to clinic services is so effective, as it puts the power and agency in the hands of customers and facilitates diagnosis in a setting that’s familiar and comfortable to our everyday customers.”
The service includes virtual doctor consultations and a range of screening tests – such as cholesterol, diabetes, and basic health, which covers blood pressure, BMI and lifestyle checks – and prevention tools, i.e., family planning, and vaccinations, and more.
To book an appointment at a Clicks near you, visit bookings.clicks.co.za
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