Why Your Yearly Physical Exam is Important

We rely on our senses to do a lot for us. Sight is essential to see where we’re going or avoiding, smell for sniffing out what may be good or bad for the body, hearing to understand the language of everyone and everything around us, taste to distinguish between the nutritional and the poisonous, and touch to ensure our general safety. They not only protect, but also allow us to enjoy life as we feel our way around.

Given their importance, isn’t it even more crucial that we make sure they are all working properly? The answer: annual physical exam. Understandably, some of us get queasy when hearing the word “exam” and others run the other direction to anything physical, believe me when I say that your annual physical exam is fairly painless. Your internist will do most of the manual labor and all you have to do is follow his/her directions.

You’ll be tested for signs of vitality, from blood pressure (average is 120 over 80), heart rate (you want between 60 to 100), respiration rate (generally around 16 without lung or heart issues), and/or temperature (classic 98.6 degrees F). After that comes the exam for your general appearance. How is your heartbeat, breathing, immunity, dental work, abdomen, nerves, strength, reaction ability, balance, pulse, etc.? If you’ve done any smoking, drank alcohol in excess, or had poor diet, exercise, or sexual health, your walk in doctor will figure it out pretty quickly. It’s for the best, so stop worrying.

Depending on your doctor, you may also need to give a blood or urine sample to test for other potential afflictions. Of course, based on your gender you’ll be tested for different diseases or illnesses as well. Males generally are examined for hernia, any STIs, prostate, or testicular issues while women may receive breast or pelvic examinations, in case of cancer or other hazards. The fact remains though, in spite of how many tests there are, you’ll be glad to be safe than sorry. Not to mention, it’ll go by a lot faster than you’re expecting and it’s only once a year.

Annual physical exams are defenders of good health, because for all you know, your body may have long been giving off signals to being unwell before you felt them. Say that one of your five senses were out of tune or no longer the same as when you were young. Why do you think people wear glasses or contacts? Brilliant as a composer Beethoven considering he was deaf, I’ll bet he wished he could’ve had a hearing aid earlier in life. Those suffering from Alzheimer’s may often be a hazard to themselves because their bodies forget how to sense hot or cold.

That aside, as soon as your sense of smell goes, your sense of taste goes along with it. Our senses interact with one another, and oftentimes as one depreciates, another follows in suit. Why take the risk? Annual physical exams will provide that sense of safety you’ve been lacking.

Stop by the office today. We’ll make sure that your yearly physical exam NYC stays just that: once a year. Quick and painless, if you don’t trust us, you can find more information at urgent care clinic.

Driver’s Physical Exam—What, When, Where?

It’s been over a century since the first cars hit the streets across the Europe and the United States, and technology has undeniably come a long way from those first automobiles.  Now cars, trucks and buses are an integral part of our transportation system and economy, delivering people and goods across continents with greater comfort and speed than ever before. Still, with such great volume comes danger; in 2010, 32,885 people died in traffic crashes in the United States. It is obvious then, that the Department of Transportation would want to prevent as many accidents as possible, and one of the best ways to do it is to make sure that drivers, particularly of large vehicles, are in tip-top shape before hitting the road.  Enter the DOT physical exam, a prerequisite for certification of commercial drivers. Here’s what’s required:

A Department of Transportation (DOT) physical examination is required to obtain certain types of commercial driver’s licenses.  People who operate a commercial vehicle with a combination weight rating over 10,000 pounds, drivers operating a vehicle transporting sixteen or more passengers, and drivers operating vehicles for the transportation of hazardous materials all need to have a physical as a component of their DOT certification.

The Department of Transportation uses standardized forms to be filled out by a physician as proof of a physical exam, so it’s important that you print out the paperwork and bring it with you to your exam appointment. Additionally, the DOT form has a medical history section to be filled out by the patient prior to examination.  The medical history questionnaire addresses health issues like past injuries and diseases, psychological disorders, hearing or vision problems, and other undiagnosed symptoms like dizziness or lower back pain, that could affect your ability to operate a vehicle safely. Be prepared to discuss the information with your walk in clinic doctor NYC during the exam.

After you discuss your medical history with the doctor, he or she will perform vision and hearing tests. If you wear glasses or hearing aids you should use them during the tests. You must still be able to fulfill the requirements of the examination with your aids, though, so don’t forget to bring your glasses to your appointment! For the vision exam, a driver must have vision in both eyes, must be able to read traffic signs, and must not be colorblind.  For the hearing test, a driver must be able to hear a forced whisper at a distance of five feet or greater. If you pass the vision and hearing tests, the doctor will continue the examination with a routine physical, listening to the heart and lungs, and checking your blood pressure.  The results of your blood pressure test can directly affect the length of your certification, as blood pressure is an important indicator of heart and vascular health.  Patients with a blood pressure level over 140 mmHg can only be certified for one year; those with a pressure level greater than 160 can only be issued a three or six-month certification.  A urine test to check for illicit substances and kidney health is also a routine part of the DOT physical examination.

Assuming everything goes well, a DOT physical examination certification lasts for two years before it must be renewed. But the doctor can also issue a shorter certification with reservations.  The doctor can determine how long the certification is good for (usually three months, six months, or a year) before the driver must return to be evaluated due to a medical condition that must be monitored; the doctor must specify the specific condition on the certification form.

If you’re in New York City and need to DOT physical exam NYC, you can get same-day certification at the Physical Exam Center of New York.  At Physical Exam Center NYC, you can get your driver’s physical exam at an appointment time convenient for you, right in midtown Manhattan, with affordable rates, even if you don’t have insurance. Get cleared for safety, log onto Urgent Care NYC and get in the driver’s seat by calling (212) 686-5900 today!