As summer arrives, prioritizing health becomes crucial. With rising temperatures, the risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke escalates, making hydration and proper nutrition essential. Additionally, it’s an opportune time for important medical checkups. Eva Nyarko, a licensed family nurse practitioner with over 19 years of experience, offers vital health tips for navigating the season’s heat.
Nyarko spoke with rolling out about the checkups people should be getting during the summer.
What would you tell people about medical checkups?
So during the summertime, you know, it’s a fun time. So everybody’s around and enjoying their time, and they tend to forget to even follow up with the regular physical. This is not a time for you to forget; you have to make sure that, if your physicals are due, you are following up and calling your doctor to make an appointment. A lot of our children are out of school, so this is the best time for you to bring them to have their physicals done. So, you’re going to want to follow up with your primary care doctor [for] your yearly physicals if you have to do that.
If you have to go visit your ophthalmologist, you want to do that. If you have specialized exams if you’re an older adult, you want to do that. If you live in neighborhoods with older adults, you want to make sure that you’re checking up on them. Give them a call or walk in there to see how you’re doing, especially with the heat. At times, it can become too much for them, especially those who have chronic diseases and stuff that they are not able to get out of. Make sure that you check up on [older adults] once in a while to make sure that they are doing well.
What specific checkups should people be getting during the summer?
Make sure that you take care of yourself. If you are not healthy, you cannot enjoy yourself. Make sure that you’re going to your doctor. If you are somebody who has allergies, make sure that you are getting your allergy medication. If you are due for your annual physical, make sure that you’re going to your doctor to get your annual physical. If you are due for your eye exam, make sure you go to the eye doctor. If you are a man, make sure you are checking your prostate as well and you’re doing a colonoscopy. Same with the women [and gynecological exams]. So every checkup that you have to do, make sure you’re doing that during the summertime, if you’re free. If you have children, make sure that you’re getting them to their annual visits as well now that they’re out of school.
Above all, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. That’s the most important thing.
