TOP REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE AN ANNUAL WELL-WOMAN EXAM
by Ngozi Osuagwu, MD | January 22nd, 2017
Ever since the recommendations changed regarding how often to get a pap smear, I have more and more women asking me why they should continue to see their gynecologists every year. Well the good news is that The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) came out with an infographic listing the top reasons why you should see your gynecologists at least once a year. Please click here to download the PDF version of the list. This list will serve as the template for our Gynecology 110 course for this semester.
As you recall we had a five weeks Gynecology 101 series last year to correlate with the fall semester of college and those blogs were well read. We are moving to the next series. With Gynecology 110, we will discuss each of the reasons you should have the Annual Well-Woman Examination. This will be 10-weeks instead of five to correlate with the list that you have downloaded. We might not go in the order listed, but all topics will be covered – birth control, cancer screening, vaccinations, health screening, depression screening, sexually transmitted infection screening, concerns about sex, weight control, issues with your menstrual period and preconception counseling. And yes, the course is completely free.
The purpose of the Annual Well-Woman visit is to promote health over the course of a woman’s lifetime through disease prevention and preventative health care. It is all about wellness. Use the infographics as a way of generating questions so that you can get the most of out of your visit. If it has been over a year since you have seen your gynecologist, use this as a reminder to schedule an appointment.
Some women do use a nurse practitioner, a family doctor, or an internist to provide these services and that is reasonable. It does not matter who is providing the services as far as you are getting the services. Click here to know what services you need based on your age.
Let us review Gynecology 101 as a refresher and will start our series next week.
Gynecology 101: Pap smear, Pelvic exam and the Well Woman Exam – Is There a Difference? – Reviewed the definition of each component with the understanding you do not necessarily need a pap smear or a pelvic exam when you have a Well Woman Exam. Age plays a role.
Gynecology 101: Does A Hysterectomy Cause You To Go Into Menopause? – A hysterectomy is removal of the uterus. To go into menopause, you would have to have your ovaries removed at the same time.
Gynecology 101: What is the Best Birth Control for Me? – It is the one that you will use consistently. We now have Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARC) that are extremely effective and does not require much effort to use.
Gynecology 101: Is My Vaginal Discharge Normal? – Hormones play a role and your discharge can change over the menstrual cycle. It is not normal to have itching, odor or an abnormal color.
Gynecology 101: What is the “Inside Scoop”? This was the most popular. There are some things that we just do not talk about in books.
