A century ago, a diagnosis of diabetes was considered a death sentence. In the 21st Century, having diabetes is a major inconvenience that must be closely regulated. However, diabetics can expect to live lengthy, healthy, relatively normal lives. A large part of the change for diabetics—in addition to advances in medicine and nutrition—is self-regulation. Today a person has the ability to observe changes in blood sugar instantaneously and use a wide variety of treatments to address any heightened or lowered result. Diabetes was the first major health concern to open the doors to self-screening and self-treatment. Now the doors have been opened wide for the testing and regulation of a number of other health conditions. While television and internet advertisements apprise consumers of some new home-screening tools, the reality is that a multitude of personal screening tests for a variety of health conditions are available. It is worth taking a look at what benefits these screening tests offer, beginning with a view to the advantages they grant over screening done in a clinic or doctor’s office.
What Are the Advantages of Home Screening?
When you visit your medical provider to have blood drawn or a sample taken, typically you have a feeling of confidence that you are in the hands of professionals and that you will accurately learn the results of these procedures. There are also downsides to visiting the clinic for tests. Many of these negatives are compensated for when you decide to self-test rather than going to the doctor. For example, self-screening happens in your own home, which precludes traveling, setting and keeping a time-value appointment, interacting with medical technicians and encountering other patients. Another benefit of self-screening is financial. The cost of a test administered in the clinic must pay for the added overhead of the clinic; plus transporting the data itself to a testing site and back; plus the money you will spend on gasoline, parking—and a secondary trip to the coffee shop. One of the greatest advantages of self-testing is privacy. Another is speed. Nothing is worse than waiting more than a week for the result of a simple procedure. Still, another benefit is consistency. If you are regularly self-administering tests, you will immediately recognize changes and trends. Finally, self-screening improves your ability to make your own determinations about your physical well-being as opposed to relying upon the discretion of a provider to whom you are simply another patient.
What Home Screening Tests Are Available?
Though the list of available self-screening tests continues to grow, here are some of the most popular tools for you to use at home:
- Allergy tests. From foodstuffs sensitivity to hay fever, it is possible now to discover those allergy-causing substances to which you react—lifesaving and life-changing information.
- Gender-specific tests. For men, these can measure a variety of hormones impacting health and well-being. For women, testing is available to measure fertility, antibodies and a multitude of hormonal conditions.
- Sexual issues tests. Home tests are available to determine whether or not bacterial or viral illnesses are present, as well as the relative health of the reproductive system.
- Body chemistry tests. Tests to determine the entire lipid and metabolic panels are readily available.
- Bio-hazard tests. If you are concerned about having been exposed to dangerous substances, a variety of screening tools can be obtained for self-screening as well.
- Drug and alcohol evaluation tests. The first line of defense against chemical abuse problems is in the home and the first step is definitive awareness of the problem.
How Trustworthy Is Self-Screening?
The difficulty in giving a definitive answer to this question is in part of the result of the very different sorts of conditions, chemicals and illnesses being tested. This is akin to the notion of finding “a cure for cancer.” Because there are over 100 types of cancer, there must be over 100 cures for cancer. Since hundreds of conditions are examined through self-screening, the accuracy of the results depends upon the condition itself. Though there are a multitude of tests, sensitivities and variables, the available evidence seems to indicate that, if at-home self-screening tests are administered properly, the results are quite accurate.
What Is the Next Step in At-Home Health Care?
Just as personal diabetes testing led to personal diabetes care—even up to peritoneal home dialysis—so the ability to conduct self-care treatments at home is rapidly growing. Forbes recently reported that three irreversible trends are expanding home health care. First is the advent of home health care nursing: health care professionals who regularly give professional oversight to the manner in which you administer your health care. Second is telemedicine: the use of internet technology to interact with your provider. Third is the reality that the population as a whole is aging. Folks want to stay home and get the necessary information to take care of themselves.
