When you get to be 50 years old or so, it’s recommended that you get a colonoscopy every 5 years to make sure you’re not developing any bad tumors in your digestive system. A colonoscopy does a clean sweep of your digestive system, including all of your intestines, colon, anus, and upper GI tract.
All of these areas are susceptible to cancer, especially if your diet is not up to par. If you eat too much meat and not enough veggies, this is what you should do.
Even if you’re not 50, it’s a smart idea to go at least once every 10 years. It couldn’t hurt you, and it only takes a day of your time. Not eating kind of sucks, but you’ll live.
Besides, you get to enjoy a nice nap when you get the sedative to knock you out for your colonoscopy. What’s not to love? You don’t even know what’s going on!
Getting These Done Can Help You With Other Aspects Of Your Health Too
In addition to doing a colonoscopy, you’ll also usually get an endoscopy at the same time to see what is going on down your throat. For instance, an endoscopy will check to see if you’re having problems with heart burn or with tumors in your esophagus.
When you have constant heartburn, you burn your throat, making it weaker and weaker. In turn, this could also allow cancer cells to form in your throat, causing you severe distress.
If you got a regular checkup, you could prevent all of this.
The best part is that both of these procedures are completely free under most insurance plans.
Because it’s labeled as a preventative procedure, it’ll be free of copay!
Ensure No Blockages or Tears
Tears or blockages are very common in your GI tract, and you may not even know it. People who suffer from Crohn’s Disease suffer from scarring over time, and eventually, it could completely block off part of their intestines and colons. In addition, this disease could completely destroy the colon, and you wouldn’t know it until it was too late.
If your colon was damaged, waste would leak into your body, creating a septic situation. When your body goes septic, bad bacteria is floating all over the place, and it could eventually lead its way to your heart and other vital organs.
By getting regular checkups, you could have seen this tear before it completely opened up and poisoned your blood.
This is how important these checkups are. Don’t ignore them!
