Female Care

According to a new study, most of the menopausal women with low sexual desire are more likely to develop various physical symptoms like back pain and mental health problems like depression and memory loss.

According to the research, women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder are diagnosed with worse health related quality of life and poorer health conditions when compared with other healthy women.

Women with this hypoactive sexual disorder were more than twice likely to develop poor health conditions including memory problems, back pain and fatigue.

Researchers also show that women with low sexual desire have certain degree of mental and physical impairment that is equivalent to other chronic health conditions like diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure and osteoarthritis.

According to Andrea K. Biddle, Ph.D., associate professor of health policy and management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, “research shows that the problem of low sexual desire in menopausal women is significant and relevant clinical problem, rather than normal or unavoidable part of normal aging process.

Women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder encounter similar health burdens like other individuals with serious chronic health conditions”.

Studies have shown that, depending on women’s existing menopausal status and current age, almost 9 to 26 percent of women in United States suffer with hypoactive sexual desire disorder.

Survey has concluded that women with low sexual desire are more likely to develop depression and express dissatisfaction to their sexual partners and also with their home lives.

According to researchers, a study tracking heart disease in women doubts the value of genetic testing in identifying the genes responsible for heart disease and predicting a person’s risk of developing illness.

Diagnosing woman with chromosome 9 abnormalities did not help much in predicting heart disease when compared with other risk factors associated with heart disease like smoking, diabetes, C-reactive protein, bad cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and family history.

It has been shown that this common genetic trait can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular conditions. According to Nina Paynter of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, who led the study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, once if you are aware of risk factors of heart disease, the extra information on genetic variation in your body is helpless. It will not improve your ability to predict heart disease.

For helping people to measure their risk of various health problems, genetic tests are being developed increasingly. However, the effectiveness of these genetic testing (not all, but few) and how far they are helpful in predicting health ailments is still unclear.

Several studies had previously suggested that regular physical exercise reduces the breast cancer risk of women.

However, it had been unknown just how much exercise women should take in which period in life in order to benefit from this protective effect.

Moreover, little was known about which particular type of breast cancer is influenced by physical activity.

Answers to these questions are now provided by the results of the MARIE study, in which 3,464 breast cancer patients and 6,657 healthy women between the ages of 50 and 74 years were questioned in order to explore the connections between life style and breast cancer risk.

Participants of the study, which was headed by Professor Dr. Jenny Chang-Claude and conducted at the German Cancer Research Center and the University Hospitals of Hamburg-Eppendorf, were questioned about their physical activity during two periods in life: from 30 to 49 years of age and after 50.

A comparison between control subjects and breast cancer patients showed that women in the control group had been physically more active than patients.

The scientists calculated the relative breast cancer risks taking account of the effect of other risk factors.

Premenstrual syndrome is most common problem for many menstruating females and every one of you can experience it once in your entire menstrual years.

Some of you can experience worst effects including depression and lack of energy while others can have routine menstrual cramps and bloating.

Despite of intensity of the pain and other PMS symptoms, you need to cope up with PMS to get better relief from the problem. Here are few successful ways that can help you long way.

Successful ways to cope up with PMS

Get better relaxation

Explore different ways to relax yourself and implement them in your regular periods. Deep breathing techniques and developing positivity in mind are best ways to train your mind and body for better relaxation.

Get enough sleep at night

Always remember the more you are tired, the harder will be PMS symptoms. When you are tired extremely, get good night sleep because sleep is one of the best ways to relax your body.

Get balanced diet

Diet always plays a major role in the treatment of various health concerns including PMS. Consult any diet  specialist and follow the diet accordingly to get better relief.

Get enough physical activity

Don’t allow PMS to rule your daily routine and your periods must not be an excuse to practice exercise. However, don’t try to practice excessively, rather go for low intensity exercises like walking.

Women are being warned they could damage their health with ‘unproven’ herbal remedies to treat menopausal symptoms.

Hundreds of thousands stopped HRT after health scares in favour of alternative therapies but there is ‘no strong evidence’ of their effectiveness, according to an independent review by experts.

Remedies such as black cohosh, red clover, Dong quai and ginseng are taken to ease hot flushes, sleeplessness and low sex drive because they are perceived as natural products without risk, says a report in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin.

But editor Dr Ike Iheanacho warns they may not necessarily be safe.

He said: ‘In reality, however, herbal medicines have pharmacological actions, and so can cause unwanted side effects and have potentially dangerous interactions with other medicines, both herbal and conventional.’

The safety of such products has been ‘generally under-researched, and information on potentially significant herb-drug interactions is limited’, he added.

More than 200 alternative remedies exist, yet the review of 26 published studies found little good quality evidence of their effectiveness and safety when used through the menopause.

About 40 per cent of women seeking treatment for the menopause are estimated to use complementary therapies alongside – or instead of – Hormone Replacement Therapy.

Among those used are wild yam extract, chaste tree, hops, sage leaf, and kava kava which was banned in the UK after reports of liver damage.

Being a woman, it is very essential for you to know right information about health and make wise decisions in health issues.

Most of you would tend to make health decisions based on incorrect or outdated information, which is absolutely wrong way of dealing with health problems.

However, here are some of the most common myths related to women’s health that every woman must be aware of.

1. You can’t lose weight caused due to menopause

One important thing that every woman must know is losing weight before or after menopause will not make you healthier. Many of you can gain weight during menopause and certainly it will not be permanent. Actually, it significantly depends on your lifestyle after menopause.

2. Sex drive reduces with age

This is absolutely false impression on low libido in older women. Actually, age is no way related to sex drive in women. In fact most of the women report that they enjoy their sexual life as they become older. However, at times, fluctuations in female hormones that take place during menopause can have certain effect on your sexual desire.

3. STDs are not concerns for younger women

Never think that STDs are not probable for younger women. It is very essential for every woman who is sexually active to take necessary measures to prevent STDs.

4. You need 30-60 minutes exercise every day

Being responsible towards family and work, every day exercises are quite challenging task for many of you. But, it is not true that you should get 30-60 minutes exercise every day compulsorily. But, be sure that you spend at least 15-20 minutes every day for exercises.

Always remember, it is very essential for you to consult experienced doctors and your personal health care provider before making any decision regarding your health.

Do you know that menopausal women are at high risk of experiencing hair loss?

Menopause brings lot of changes in your body and for some women it can become quite challenging task to handle menopause effects.

Usually, it is believed that sudden decline in estrogen levels in your body can lead to various effects including hair loss.

Hair loss and estrogen level

Thinning hair or hair loss is most common problem for menopausal women.

Estrogen, the most important female hormone, is significantly responsible for various functions in your body including hair growth or hair loss. So, any disturbances to its normal level can affect your hair growth.

During menopause or as you get older there will be a sure decline in the estrogen levels. As a result, you can experience hair loss during or after menopause.

Treatment for hair loss

If you are seriously concerned about hair loss, try to make changes in your diet and eat foods that can help you to balance estrogen levels. Consider eating balanced food including apples, wheat and other soy products.

Regular exercises and dosages of certain herbs can be helpful for you to keep proper balance of estrogen levels. Take necessary suggestions from your doctor before taking herbs and avoid harmful side effects.

Dry eyes are most common health problem in women, particularly in menopausal women.

The main cause for dry eyes is due to fluctuations in most important hormones estrogen and androgens.

Not only post menopausal women, even pregnant women who use birth control pills and women undergoing hormone replacement therapy are frequently diagnosed with dry eyes.

If you are the one among those suffering with dry eyes, here are few effective ways to get better relief.

Optimize your diet

Be sure to eat 3 balanced meals every day that includes whole foods and all important nutrients essential for your body. If you notice any nutritional gap in your diet routine, fill it with multivitamin doses.

Stay hydrated always

Dry eyes can lead to loss of essential fluids in your eyes and can increase intensity of the problem. So, always stay hydrated by drinking enough water. Herbal teas, pure fruit and vegetable juices, milk and other non-diuretic juices also helps you long way to stay healthy.

Take proper care with contact lens

Improper use of contact lens is also one of the reasons for dry eyes. So, ensure that you take proper care with your contact lens and always keep them clean. If possible, try to avoid wearing them and go for other alternatives.

Get enough sleep

Good quality night sleep is extremely important to get better relief from dry eyes. Beyond giving enough rest and refreshment to eyes, quality night sleep can help you to reduce stress that is linked with hormonal imbalances.

Are you thinking about birth control options after child birth? It is quite common for new mothers to think about birth control options immediately after pregnancy, particularly if it is your first pregnancy.

Even if you are a breast feeding mother there is no guarantee that you are not probable to get an unexpected pregnancy. However, if you want to make it simple, here are few ways to prevent pregnancy after child birth.

4 Birth Control Options For New Mothers

1. Go for something that can be less burdensome to your sexual life. However, it can be quite tough to have enough energy and desire in sexual activity, particularly in post partum period. So, go for a birth control option that can be less difficult for you.
2. If you are breast feeding mother, don’t use combination of birth control pills, monthly shots and also vaginal rings. Take necessary suggestions from your health care provider and prefer better option to prevent unexpected pregnancy.
3. If you are planning to not have children after pregnancy, you can look permanent birth control choices like male sterilization such as vasectomy or female sterilization that involves tying of tubes.
4. When you are planning for children very soon after child birth, don’t use hormonal methods for birth control like using pills or shot, rather you can prefer other birth control options like female condoms, IUD device , etc.

Abdominal pain is most common problem for women. Some of you can experience frequent abdominal pain and for some it can be a very rare but debilitating issue.

Before you go for appropriate treatment for abdominal pain, you have to know the cause behind it.

Here are few most common causes for abdominal pain.

• Many of you can experience pain in both sides of lower abdomen, particularly during your regular ovulation period.
• Regular menstrual periods or premenstrual syndrome can also cause severe abdominal pain for some of you.
• If you are experiencing pain in lower abdomen during pregnancy, it can be a natural sign of pregnancy loss.
• Presence of cysts or fluid filled structures in ovaries also makes you to experience debilitating abdominal pain during menstrual periods.
• Parasitic infections and other gastrointestinal problems can trigger severe abdominal pain.
• Unusual or abnormal production of mucus due to damage of certain organs of your body can also cause abdominal pain.
• Urinary tract infections are most common problem among women and this could be one of the main reasons for abdominal pain in women.
• Other than these, stress, tearing of abdominal muscles, peptic ulcers, and overdose of drugs or medications can lead to abdominal pain.