Past Illnesses

• During your physical exam, the doctor or nurse will want to know what illnesses or sickness you have had in the past. This includes both childhood and adult illnesses, including chickenpox, cancer, heart disease, hypertension or diabetes. Knowing what illnesses you have or have had will help the doctor to better treat you.
  
  

Past Surgeries

• The health care professional will also want to document if you've had any surgeries, such as an appendectomy. List all procedures, dates, the hospital the procedure was performed at, the surgeon's name (if known) and any complications, if any.
  
  

Drug Reactions/Allergies

• You also need to note what type of allergies you have, including all drug, food and environmental allergies. Include all types of reactions as well, including rash, itching or anaphylaxis. This will inform the health care professional to not provide you with a certain medication or food that you may be allergic to.
  
  

Social/Lifestyle History

• A part of taking a past medical history is learning what kind of social history you have. This includes whether or not you are married or single, if you have any children, whether you smoke or drink, education history, occupational information, if you have used any recreational drugs and your level of physical activity.
  
  

Family Medical History

• A full family medical history will also help the health care professional to determine a cause for any presenting problems. The professional will want to know your parents' age, health status and medical history. In addition, list any siblings or children you have and their ages, health status and medical history. Knowing this will give the doctor or nurse an appropriate way to identify any hereditary diseases or issues that may place you at risk.
  
  

Other Factors

• Your complete physical exam will also include a full review of your systems, including the eyes, ears, nose and throat; cardiovascular; respiratory; musculoskeletal; neurological; gastrointestinal; and other systems. Also included in a past medical history is a review of any hospitalizations for any medical, surgical or psychiatric reasons. A full medical history will also include any current medications you are taking. You will want to note the medication's name, dosage and frequency. And if you are female, the medical history will include a gynecological/obstetric history, which includes the menstruation pattern, number of pregnancies and whether those pregnancies were full-term, preterm, living or stillborn. Also list any miscarriages or abortions. Include a sexual history as well.