September is Pick Your Path to Health's (PYPTH) Prevention Month
Prevention is key to living long and living well. Steps to a healthy life include eating a balanced diet, getting daily recommended nutrition such as calcium and vitamin, engaging in regular exercise, quitting smoking, and reliving stress. Various screenings and tests are also important. The basic screenings for adults may include physical exam, height, weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, bone density test, and colon cancer. Also, remember to have your eyes checked and your teeth cleaned and examined.
It is recommended that women ages 18 or older should be screened regularly for high blood pressure. If you are over age 20, you should have cholesterol measured once every five years. It is also necessary to get blood pressure checks every year. The National Cancer Institute recommends that a woman 40 years or older should get a mammogram every other year,, and a pap smear test every year starting at age 20.
- Find an immunization program by calling the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Immunization Information Hotline at
1-800-232-2522 (English) or 1-800-232-0233 (Spanish).
- Call the CDC National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program at 1-888-842-6355 to find somewhere near you that provides a free or low-cost mammogram and pap test.
- Make an appointment with your doctor to talk about necessary immunizations and screenings you need.
Additional Resources:
September National Health Observances
- Baby Safety Month
- Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month
- Healthy Aging Month
- Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month
- National Cholesterol Education Month
- National Food Safety Education Month
- National 5 A Day Month
- Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
- Children's Eye Health and Safety Month
- National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month
- Prostate Cancer Awareness Week (19-25)
- Take A Loved One to the Doctor Day (21)
- National Women's Health and Fitness Day (24)
- National Adult Immunization Awareness Week
(26-2)
- Family Health and Fitness Day USA (27)
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