Women's Physicals in Iowa | American Family Care

Prioritize Your Health

Although women are often better about visiting the doctor than men are, women are often so busy taking care of everyone else that they forget to take care of themselves. Think you’re too busy for your women’s annual exam? AFC locations in Iowa offers morning, evening, and weekend hours. Come in at a time that’s convenient for you. You don’t need a primary doctor’s referral or an appointment. Plus, we accept major forms of insurance and offer on-site lab testing.

Regular female physical exams are the best way to detect and treat any illnesses early. Getting your physical or annual gynecological exam keeps your health goals on track. You can talk to our well-qualified doctors about everything from STDs to birth control to hormone therapy.

What Is A Woman’s Physical?

There are three kinds of physicals for women: the well-woman exam, the basic physical and a combination of the two. Regular women’s wellness checks and physical exams are the best way to detect and treat any illnesses as early as possible. Having a physical and annual gynecological exam helps you to keep your health on track. The well-qualified providers at AFC can help you with everything from birth control to hormone therapy.

Bring any current medications and medical records you have with you to AFC locations in Iowa for your appointment so your provider can have the best picture of your past health.

Types Of Female Exams

1. Basic Physical - The basic physical exam is based upon your individual health needs. It includes a routine check of vitals like blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, and temperature. Your AFC provider may also examine your abdomen, extremities, and skin for any signs of health changes. The goal of a standard physical is to detect any health changes before they become serious, as well as check your overall health.

Your provider will ask you questions and do the following:

• Medical History – This is your chance to mention any complaints or concerns about your health. We will ask you about lifestyle behaviors like smoking, excessive alcohol use, sexual health, diet, and exercise. Your AFC provider will also check your vaccination status and update your personal and family medical history.
• Pulse – We’ll measure your pulse to help detect any heart conditions.
• Weight, Height, BMI – These tests help us determine if you’re at a healthy weight. Taking your height, gender and age into account, your AFC provider can determine if you are at a healthy weight with a calculation of body mass index (BMI). Overweight and obesity are serious health concerns that can lead to a number of obesity-related health conditions, such as Type 2 diabetes.
• Blood Pressure – Screening for high blood pressure, also called hypertension, is vital to ensure overall health. Frequently, hypertension has no visible symptoms yet can cause serious health conditions if left untreated.
• O2 Saturation – We’ll measure the oxygen-saturated hemoglobin in your blood. While this measurement can vary depending on your current altitude and activity level, these tests can inform us whether you’re in a safe range.
• General Appearance – Your AFC locations in Iowa gather a large amount of information about you and your health just by watching and talking to you. How are your memory and mental quickness? Does your skin appear healthy? Can you easily stand and walk?
• Heart and Lung Exam – Listening to your heart and lungs with a stethoscope, a doctor might detect an irregular heartbeat, a heart murmur, or other clues to heart disease. The doctor will listen for crackles, wheezes, or decreased breath sounds, all clues to the presence of heart or lung disease.
• Head and Neck Exam – Opening up and saying "ah" shows off your throat and tonsils. The quality of your teeth and gums also provides information about your overall health. Ears, nose, sinuses, eyes, lymph nodes, thyroid, and carotid arteries may also be examined.
• Blood panel testing – Blood testing measures fatty substances, lipid fats, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides, cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), as well as blood sugar levels to check for signs of diabetes. Since AFC has a lab onsite, we can take your blood right there in the clinic.


2. Well Woman Exam - Different from a basic physical because it focuses on the reproductive process. This exam at AFC:


• Breast exam – Your doctor will both visually and physically exam your breasts, looking for any lumps, bumps, or skin abnormalities that could indicate breast cancer or non-threatening breast issues.
• Pelvic exam – Your provider will both visually and physically examine your vagina, vulva, and cervix, checking for any abnormalities that may be indicative of cancer, sexually transmitted disease or other benign conditions.
• Pap smear – By swabbing your cervix, your provider can collect cells for testing. Analysis of these cells can indicate the presence of cervical cancer and help assess risk.
• Contraception and/or Hormone Therapy counseling – Whether you are not ready to be pregnant and need more information on birth control or are going through menopause and are interested in hormone replacement, your AFC provider can help.
3. Women’s Physical Exam - A combination of a basic physical and a well-woman exam, the women’s wellness exam gives you the most solid picture of your health. Your AFC provider has expertise in this type of exam.