Exposed to Asbestos Means Time For a Medical Check-up
If you think you’ve been exposed to asbestos, the time to call your doctor for a check-up is now.
Use Before You Lose Your 2014 Benefits
It’s the holiday season, the most wonderful time of the year. But it is also the end of the year. Whatever health insurance benefits you did not use this year will be gone when the clock strike midnight on December 31. You begin the New Year with a new allotment of health insurance benefits. Your health insurance entitles you to a free full physical exam every year. You paid for it through your health insurance premiums, so use it before you lose it. With most people busy shopping and celebrating, you may be pleasantly surprised to find how easy it is to get scheduled now for an appointment with your doctor.
Get a Baseline Now
Another reason to hurry into the doctor’s office now before the end of the year if you’ve been exposed to asbestos, is to get a baseline of information about your health. Most asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma have a latency period of 20 to 50 years. This means that people who develop asbestos-related diseases generally don’t become ill until several decades after they have been exposed to asbestos. Although you do not have symptoms now, you should remain vigilant. Talk to your physician about your asbestos exposure. Ask about asbestos-related disease testing. Request a pulmonary function test. These tests results will provide you with a baseline or starting point against which any changes can be measured in the following years. These simple, inexpensive tests should be done every year. Start now so any declines after you’ve been exposed to asbestos can be documented if you should need to initiate an asbestos lawsuit down the road.
Annual Check-ups Are Important
Regular health exams and tests can help find problems before they start, whether it is a disease caused by being exposed to asbestos or a different health issue. It is just part of taking good care of yourself. A medical check-up can help find problems early, when your chances for treatment are better. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, “By getting the right health services, screenings, and treatments, you are taking steps that help your chances for living a longer, healthier life.”
Try to take the time to get in to see your doctor this week or next week if you can. You’ll be glad you did.