My first encounter with a patient who came for a full medical check-up was in 2020 when the middle-aged man walked into my consulting room. I was impressed, especially as the man was willing to carry out every necessary test that would be needed to have his health checked. He spent a little around ₦30,000 then, and this is majorly because he could afford it. Unfortunately, not many people can afford medical checkups in these times.
A significant medical checkup goes beyond walking into a consulting clinic to have health talks to as much as carrying out specific and general investigations with the goal of detecting ailments, especially early enough such that prognosis would be improved.
Medical checkups are either done for established medical ailments or for routine checks on various organs in the body. The major fear of the populace in respect to medical checkups is the routine diagnosis of conditions they were not aware of before. Some patients have stated clearly that physicians diagnose patients with conditions they were not having symptoms of; thus, they'd rather remain in their ignorance.
The cost of a complete medical checkup in Nigeria may knock around ₦50,000 or more, and this is often dependent on the region. Common medical checkups include body mass index (BMI), intraocular pressure (IOP), blood pressure, and blood sugar (glucose) tests, respectively; chest X-ray and electrocardiogram (ECG); liver function test; fasting lipid profile; abdominopelvic ultrasound; kidney function test; etc., in addition to a physical general examination of the body by the physician. Some other investigations can be requested, which may be tailored to specific disease conditions. Patients diagnosed with elevated blood pressure or sugar may require monthly follow-up clinics.
An ophthalmologist had offered a free eye check-up in 2022, and when I visited the specialist, further investigations were requested so as to rule out glaucoma. My test results were fine, but the specialist advised I do an annual eye checkup. My first major encounter that encouraged me for a regular medical checkup was in July 2023 when I woke up on a Saturday morning with blurred vision. I had no eye symptoms before then, and hence, I became alarmed. I rinsed my eyes with clean water under the running tap and dashed to see the ophthalmologist. I was evaluated and diagnosed to have dry eyes, which was attributed to excessive screen time. I was counseled on measures to reduce screen time and advised to have a regular check-up on the eyes.
You will realize that medics occasionally are the worst patients, and since then, I have not visited the ophthalmologist again. With this prompt, I would make a stop at the ophthalmologist to check my eyes and hopefully stay faithful to the annual check.
Thank you for reading. I would love to have your comments and contributions.