Do I Need a Physical Exam Every Year?
How often should you see a medical professional to ensure you’re in good health? Find out how often you should get a physical based on your age and medical history.
What's Included in Family Medicine Care?
Family physicians treat a variety of conditions, from colds and infections to diabetes. The education of family physicians includes training in emergency care, gynecology, obstetrics, and urology, to name a few fields.
Family physicians are often the first point of contact with a medical expert, and they’re trained to care for patients of all ages. If you need further testing, a family physician can make recommendations to a specialist.
To help you get a better understanding of what family medicine care entails, we asked our experts at Casa de Salud to explain what services they provide and in what situations a family physician can help.
Conditions and injuries treated by a family physician
A family physician can help you with the following:
- Skin breakouts and allergies
- Cuts and scrapes
- Infections
- Colds and the flu
- Respiratory conditions such as asthma
- Chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease
Family physicians also provide annual checkups, immunizations, and screenings for various diseases. If you or a loved one are pregnant, a family physician can run tests to ensure the mother and the baby are healthy throughout the pregnancy.
What to expect from a checkup with a family physician
During your first visit or your annual checkup, our experts review your medical history and your current prescriptions. They check your vitals, perform a physical exam, and may draw some blood.
For women in their reproductive years, our experts may recommend pap smears and screening for various sexually transmitted diseases.
For women above the age of 40, our experts may recommend mammogram tests to identify abnormal growths in the breasts, and for menopausal women, osteoporosis screenings may be recommended.
Men’s screenings often include prostate exams and testing for sexually transmitted diseases.
Family doctors can also treat hormone imbalances in men and women that come with age.
In children, family physicians look for growth abnormalities, and in the elderly, our experts can help with the management of various diseases associated with aging.
Family physicians can also help if you need urgent care, meaning you have a mild to moderate injury, a rash, an allergic reaction, a high fever, or an infection.
Learn more about family medicine care
If you are experiencing unusual symptoms, have an injury, or simply want to find out if you’re well, call or message us to schedule an appointment. Our experts provide a wide variety of medical services to their patients located in Downtown & Adams Normandie, Los Angeles, California, and the surrounding areas.
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