Men’s Health – Medpods Medical
Men’s health is more than just fitness. Busy lifestyles, family pressure, and work can trigger other health issues, both mental and physical.
For these issues of men’s health, a “she’ll be right” attitude can be applied by some men. However, there are many health problems that can be avoided, through early detection and by the modifying of behaviour or risk factors. This proactive approach to men’s health means that anything of concern can be addressed by your doctor and given proper management before complications arise.
Men’s Health Check
A health check can be given at any stage, but for men over 40 years of age, it is wise to have a checkup from your GP. The reason being that risk factors for serious life-threatening disease begin to increase during this stage of life. A health check will generally involve a physical exam and discuss things such as alcohol intake and smoking. Based on your level of risk it may also involve further screening for conditions such as diabetes and cancer, particularly prostate, colon or skin cancer.
Mental Health
In recent times mental health of men has been given greater emphasis. Organisations such as Movember encourage men to be more open about discussing problems they are having, be that through a conversation with their friends or a consultation with a GP.
A free counselling service is available through organisations like MensLine Australia where topics such as relationships, fatherhood, anger, depression, and stress can be discussed.
Sexual and Reproductive Health
There are great resources available for physical health specific to men, in particular, those relating to male reproductive health. Seeing your GP about reproductive health problems can lead to seeking help for other related health issues such as heart disease. On the flip side, conditions such as diabetes can increase the chance of having sexual or reproductive health problems compared to those without the condition.
Some great information relating to reproductive health disorders and associated conditions can be found at Andrology Australia. The site covers topics such as infertility, low testosterone, and prostate related problems. Having access to these topics before and after seeing your GP can provide a better understanding of any conditions discussed in the consultation.
Men’s Health Initiative
Australia’s largest male based community development organisation, Men’s Shed runs a great men’s health initiative called ‘Spanner in the works?’. The website encourages men to apply a maintenance schedule for both physical and mental health. The analogy is that men should aim to run as optimally as the machinery they use. Especially as a fine-tuned body will also help avoid costly repairs down the track.