Upon the arrival of the first day of spring comes the national pastime of “spring-cleaning.” We get the pleasure of changing out the heavy winter clothes for the fun spring and summer clothes. We scrub the house from top to bottom and remove the last of the salt from our cars. So when does the body get its spring cleaning? How many of us actually take the time at any part of the year to look at ourselves and clean out the crud that has been collecting over the past few months or even years?

In the office, patients bring in their most recent blood work so that we can go over it together and discuss the findings. If blood work has not been done in a while, we recommend a panel and a place have it completed. A good blood panel is like a map. It can provide direction to where problems may be developing, whether it is an infection in the digestive tract, signs of anemia, thyroid dysfunction, stress on the liver or something else entirely. It is concerning that a number of people have not had blood work completed in the past year, two, or even three years. To take the initiative and be preventative in healthcare is the best way to avoid major health problems. By identifying problems early and treating them immediately, they do not have the opportunity to develop into larger, more dangerous, and many times life threatening problems. 

Take a second and think about all that has gone on since the last time you have had a proper blood panel done. Have you changed your diet? Had children? Moved to a new area? Increased or decreased your amount of exercise? Has your job changed? How about the amount of stress you deal with on a daily basis? All of these factors, and many others, can change our body chemistry, which can be found through blood work. Even if you are feeling healthy, over time those factors mentioned above can take their toll on the body. The human body is an amazing machine that can  be very resilient to stress and change. But if it is not checked regularly and taken care of it will start to break down. 

I hope that this post has made you stop and think about doing some “spring-cleaning” for yourself. As I tell my patients, if there is one thing to be selfish about it is your health. Without health, you can’t work, enjoy your family, spend your money, or play with your toys.