Staying healthy requires adhering to a schedule of vaccinations and examinations as a person grows up and grows older.

Here are some of the vaccinations and other medical examinations people either are required to receive or are recommended to get. These guidelines are provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the American Cancer Society.

This is just a partial list and it is best to discuss these medical milestones with your family doctor.

Vaccinations

• Children in all grades need these vaccines:

• 3 doses of tetanus

• 3 doses of diphtheria

• 3 doses of polio

• 2 doses of measles

• 1 dose of mumps

• 1 dose of rubella, German measles

• Children entering school in kindergarten or first grade need these vaccines:

• 4 doses of tetanus with 1 dose on or after the 4th birthday

• 4 doses of diphtheria with 1 dose on or after the 4th birthday

• 3 doses of polio

• 2 doses of measles

• 1 dose of mumps

• 1 dose of rubella

• 3 doses of hepatitis B

• 1 dose of varicella, chickenpox, vaccine or history of disease

• Children entering the 7th grade need these vaccines:

• 3 doses of tetanus

• 3 doses of diphtheria

• 3 doses of polio

• 2 doses of measles

• 1 dose of mumps

• 1 dose of rubella

• 3 doses of hepatitis B

• Age appropriate doses of varicella, chickenpox, vaccine or history of disease

Proof of immunization means a written record showing the dates your child was immunized.

The only exceptions to the school laws for immunization are medical reasons and religious beliefs. If your child is exempt from immunizations, your child may be removed from school during a disease outbreak.

Parents need to keep a record of their child's immunizations in a safe place. Your doctor's office, medical clinic or hospital may ask for this record.

As children become adults, they may need these records for college or for a job or if they travel out of the country.

Doctor visits

• Children should see a dentist by their first birthday

• Have children's hearing checked in their first month followed by normal check ups at the family doctor's office

• Have a baby's eyes checked as a newborn. Children should have their eyes checked again at 3½ and then at school at age 5. Continue check ups throughout life.

• Both adult men and women should get a colonoscopy at age 50.

Female health

• Girls should have their first gynecological check up between ages 13 and 15, or after becoming sexually active.

The American Cancer Society recommends:

• Self breast examinations with women reporting any breast change promptly to their physician.

• Clinical breast exams should be part of a periodic health exam, about every three years for women in their 20s and 30s and every year for women 40 and over.

• Women should start yearly mammograms at age 40 and continue for as long as they are in good health.

• Women at increased risk for breast cancer should talk with their physician about the benefits and limitations of starting mammography screening earlier, having additional tests or having more frequent examinations.

• Women should begin cervical cancer screening about three years after they become sexually active, but no later than 21 years old. Screening should be done every year with a regular Pap test or every two years using the newer liquid-based Pap test.

• Beginning at age 30, women who have had three normal Pap test results in a row may get screened every two to three years with either the conventional or liquid-based Pap test. Women at increased risk should continue to be screened annually.

• Women who have had a total hysterectomy, which is removal of the uterus and cervix, may choose to stop having cervical cancer screening, unless the surgery was done as treatment for cervical cancer or precancerous cells. Women who have had a hysterectomy without removal of the cervix should continue to follow the guidelines above.

Male health

• Beginning at age 50, men should have annual screenings for prostate cancer, including both the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and digital rectal examination (DRE) for men who have at least a 10-year life expectancy.

Men at high risk, such as African-American men and men with a strong family history of one or more first-degree relatives such as father and brothers diagnosed at an early age, should begin testing at age 45. Men at higher risk due to multiple first-degree relatives affected at an early age could begin testing at age 40.

Depending on the results of this initial test, no further testing may be needed until age 45.