Health varies with age, occupation and gender. It is better to be female, rich and with a good job, although some jobs have specific problems.

Age             Gender (M or F)  
Occupation      

Physical Health Questions

Do you have medical problems ?     
Do you take prescription drugs?     
If you or your family take regular medication regularly then you need to get a copy of the British National Formulary. This lists the indications for each drug, it side effects and which medicines are safe to take together and lists alternative preparations. 

Do any illnesses run in your family?     
Some families are predisposed to certain illnesses, even though a specific genetic cause has not been found, this includes heart disease, diabetes, thyroid problems and some allergy problems. Rarely a specific gene is responsible a condition, for example one form of breast cancer or cystic fibrosis. 

Are you allergic to anything?   

Height (Please indicate feet or metres)       
Weight (please indicate kg, lbs or stones)   
The dangers of being overweight are well known. As people get older they need fewer calories, it also gets harder to lose weight. Weight normally only changes in proportion to diet and exercise. An unexplained weight change of more than a few pounds may indicate thyroid problems, severe stress and anxiety or, very rarely, a serious underlying illness.

What is your blood pressure?      
Do you know your cholesterol? 
Have you gained or lost any weight recently?    

Do you get short of breath walking or after climbing one flight of stairs? 
Yes No    
Just about everyone should be able to climb a flight of stairs without getting short of breath. Climbing stairs is a measure of fitness. Your breathing reflects how hard your heart and lungs are working to provide your body with oxygen, and how used they are to such work. If in addition you also get short of breath during ordinary activities and cannot keep up with other people your age then you may have a problem with your lungs or heart and this should be checked out. 

Do you get chest pain?        Yes No 
If yes, can you describe it? is dull, aching, related meals or does it go into your arm?
 
The commonest cause of chest pain is indigestion. This is typically related to food, relieved by belching, by indigestion remedies, food or cold water. The most serious cause of chest pain is heart disease. Typically felt in the centre of the chest, it is severe, 'crushing' and makes someone feel ill, faint, sweaty, and sometimes with diarrhoea. It may also be felt in the arms or neck. This is an emergency, it is advisable to seek urgent medical attention and take one aspirin to thin the blood. Chest pain that comes on with exercise and goes away with rest is called 'angina'. This needs further medical attention. If you are worried that you might develop heart disease you may find Fighting Heart Disease worth reading 

Are your bowels regular?  Yes No
Only under exceptional circumstances are the size and shape of your motions of interest to your doctor. Bowel actions are directly related to your diet, the more fibre you eat, the more your bowels will work. A high fibre diet, that is five portions or more of fruit and vegetables a day, protects against bowel cancer, diverticulitis and other problems.  
Bleeding from the gut, indicated either by black, tarry motions or frank blood needs urgent medical attention. It may indicate anything from mild gastritis, an ulcer, a bowel polyp, diverticulitis or more rarely cancer.  
Acute diarrhoea rarely indicates more than an infection of the gut that will get better on its own. Small children, babies and old people are at risk of dehydration. 
Irritable bowel syndrome is the commonest cause of ongoing abdominal pain, bloating and explosive diarrhoea. Get the diagnosis checked with your own doctor but, beyond that, orthodox medicine has little to offer, so check up on your lifestyle and diet.  
Importantly, a change from your normal pattern of your bowel activity needs further investigation, particularly in the over 50 age group. Here, there is no escaping a face to face consultation. 

Do you have difficulty swallowing? Yes No
This is a significant symptom and always requires further investigation. 

Do you have indigestion or stomach pains? Yes No
If you do have indigestion, what makes better or worse, and whereabouts you feel it most.          

Do you ever suffer from any stiffness in your back, legs, neck or arms? 
Yes No

Are you more stiff in the morning or evening? Is it related to work?  made worse or better by exercise?           

Do you have headaches? Yes No
What are your headaches like? What starts them off ? Are they related to food or work?  
Headaches may relate to stress, eyestrain or migraine. Severe headaches, not helped by paracetamol or aspirin, that are worse in the morning, that come on suddenly should be discussed with a doctor. Migraines are often related to foods such as cheese, red wine and caffeine.

Do you have difficulty passing urine? Yes No 
Do you have pain on passing urine?  Yes No
Have you ever had blood in your urine? Yes No
These symptoms most commonly indicate a urinary tract infection but may point to a problem with the kidneys. For the most part the colour of your urine reflects how much you have been drinking. Beetroot will dye your urine pink.  

Men 
Do you have a sensation of not emptying your bladder completely?
Yes No 
Do you often need to empty your bladder frequently or feel you have to pass water urgently? Yes No
Do you often have to stop and start during urination? Yes No
Do you have to strain to pass urine?  Yes No
Do you have to get up more than once in the night to pass urine? 
Yes No
In younger men, under the age of 50, these symptoms suggest that there is either an infection of the prostate (prostatis) or other problem within the urethra (the outflow tube of the bladder) which is blocking the flow of urine. In older men (over 60) these symptoms suggest that the prostate may be enlarged. If the urine cannot flow freely out of the urethra this puts back pressure on the kidneys which may eventually damage them. Urine left in an incompletely empty bladder after passing uring may become infected.

Women
Do you ever pass urine when you sneeze, cough or laugh? Yes No 
Do you ever have to rush to the toilet or else lose control of your urine? 
Yes No
Do you ever lose control of your urine completely? Yes No 
Many people are too embarrassed to even to tell their doctor about their incontinence. It is a specialised field and treatment is available.
These symptoms are common after childbirth or the menopause. In the first instance pelvic floor exercises are most useful; rarely an operation will help

Mental Health
Do you sleep well? Yes No 
Sleep is perhaps the most important measures of mental health. If you sleep well and wake refreshed, your mental health is almost certainly good. Most people need between six and ten hours sleep a night. Almost all sleep problems relate to mental health problems. Severe anxiety and stress make it difficult to sleep, as do depression and hypomania.  
Very few physical illnesses cause sleep problems. Severe pain may disrupt sleep as may too much caffeine and alcohol. 
Snoring: If you snore, both you and your partner will sleep badly and feel tired the next day. Simple measures, such as reducing alcohol consumption losing weight and stopping smoking may help. If these are not successful, ask for a referral to an ENT surgeon with an interest in snoring.

Do you have enough energy? Yes No 
Energy levels are a measure mental health and lifestyle. Although a recent survey of health screen data showed that complaints of low energy were largely confined to smokers (80% of people who smoked more than 10 cigarettes a day complained of low energy levels). Modern lifestyles are extremely demanding. Most tiredness is the natural response to trying to do too much work in a given time and is rarely a physical health problem. Stress, anxiety and depression may present as tiredness, it may even indicate boredom. All these drain your mental energy. Few physical problems, apart from low thyroid function and anaemia, cause tiredness alone. 

Do you have at least one close friend you can confide in? Yes No
Do you have a good relationship with at least one member of your family?
Yes No
Do you have a sense of control in at least one area of your life such as work or the home? Yes No
Do you have a group which you feel you most belong to? work family friends club none  
How many days holiday have you taken in the last three months? 
How many days have you taken off in the last three months for minor illnesses?    
Do you feel you are working at  50% , 70% , 90% , 100% of your capacity most of the time?
Do you have to spend most of your weekend recovering from your week?
 Yes No

Lifestyle 
How many times do you exercise each week?   
Regular exercise helps tone the body, lower the blood pressure, keep weight under control and improve mood. Start gently, aiming for twenty minutes of moderate exercise, 5 or 6 times a week.
How many units of alcohol do you drink each week?  
(one unit is approximately a small glass of wine or 1/2 pint of beer) 

The government recommends no more than 14 units alcohol per week for women and 21 for men. However even this much can seriously affect your performance at work. Moreover many people drink well in excess of these levels. Alcohol damages the brain, particularly memory, the liver, pancreas and other organs. It is also a depressant and anaesthetic, it makes people feel dopey and depressed. However there is some evidence that small amounts of alcohol may help prevent heart disease.

Do you pay attention to what you eat? Yes No 
Diet affects health and energy. Different foods contain different vitamins. Processed foods (instant meals) tend to contain large amounts of salt and few nutrients while sugars (check the contents) are most easily converted by the body to fat. The best diet book I have found which combines sensible advice with sound theory is Montignac's Dine Out and Lose Weight . 
Losing weight is often not just a matter of eating a healthy diet, there are often psychological issues as well. Susie Orbach's 'Fat is a Feminist Issue' looks at these problems. It is relevant to both men and women who have a problem with their weight.

If you smoke, how many cigarettes or cigars do you smoke a day?      
There is almost nothing worse for your body. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug. Although nicotine substitutes may be a little help for some people, try reading Alan Carr's The Easy Way to Stop Smoking. Stop from conviction!

Do you take  recreational drugs?          
Do you do any activities outside of work?   

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