A biological and hormonal process that occurs when ovaries stop releasing the ovum (eggs) in a female’s body is menstruation. It’s a natural process that begins between 40 to 60 years of age. Clinically, menopause is confirmed after 12 months without menstrual bleeding or periods. It’s crucial to seek professional help and advice to reduce the impacts of bothersome symptoms caused during menopause.
Symptoms Of Menopause
The initial period where symptoms of menopause are visible is perimenopause. This phase includes thinning of hairs, night sweats, vaginal dryness, dryness of the skin, hot flashes, mood swings, slowed metabolism, reduced sexual drive, irregular periods, and sudden weight gain. In the perimenopause phase, many women experience a lack of periods for a month. In most cases, menopause is self-diagnosed. However, it’s essential to seek professional advice and confirm it with the doctors to reduce the bothersome symptoms.
Physical Examination For Screening Menopause
Detect all the symptoms experienced by you before going to the doctor. Track the duration and severity of the symptoms. For instance, keep a track of any irregularities in your periods or occurrence of hot flashes. In addition, prepare a list of all the medications and supplements taken by you.
Don’t be ashamed or afraid of discussing the symptoms with the health care professional. If you’re facing mood swings, hot flashes, spotting, or trouble in sleeping/ concentrating, let your doctor know about the same. Your doctor can make you take a swab test to detect the pH levels of the vagina. During the reproductive years, the pH of the vagina is around 4.5. However, menopause causes pH to rise to 6. In addition, the doctor can advise you to take a blood test, thyroid function test, and lipid profile. These tests help to check the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and conditions such as ovarian failure.
Hormone Tests For Screening Menopause
Blood tests are used by doctors to examine the levels of hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinising hormone. The levels of FSH and estrogen decrease during menopause. Furthermore, blood tests can be helpful to detect the signs of pituitary disorders and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). FDA has also approved the PicoAMH Elisa test that detects the amount of anti-Mullerian hormone that helps the doctors to determine the presence of early menopause.
Follow-up Post Diagnosis And Ways To Cope-Up
Treatment depends on the severity of symptoms. Discuss all the possible treatment options with your health care professionals. Not every female needs treatment after menopause. Doctors recommend hormonal therapies and certain medications to reduce the bothersome symptoms. Menopause can make females experience difficulty while concentrating, sleeping, or relaxing. Following are some ways that can help in managing the symptoms of menopause.
- To overcome the problems of vaginal dryness, vaginal lubricants can be used during coitus. However, choosing a product that lacks glycerin may cause buying or irritation.
- Talk to a health care professional and prepare a diet plan. The diet plan must include enough nutrition and vitamins to keep the body healthy. Limit the intake of saturated fats, oils, and sugar.
- It’s advisable to avoid alcohol, smoking, and caffeine to reduce the problems of hots flashes.
- Drink cold water and sit in an air-conditioned room to manage the problems of hot flashes. In addition, avoid hot drinks, alcohol, caffeine, stress, and spicy foods.
- Exercise serves as a great way to boost blood circulation and mood helping females to reduce the effect of symptoms. Regular exercise will also help in protecting against heart diseases, osteoporosis, hyperthyroidism, and diabetes.
- Practice relaxation techniques such as paced breathing, guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation, and deep breathing to relax the muscle of your body
- Pelvic floor muscles exercises (Kegel exercises) are advised by health care professionals to strengthen the pelvic floor.
- Ensure you’re resting well. Get seven to nine hours of sound sleep. Regular exercise and avoiding caffeine and alcohol help in maintaining the sleep cycle.
Conclusion
Menopause is the biological process that occurs when ovaries stop releasing the ovum (eggs) in a female’s body. It confirms after 12 months without menstrual bleeding or periods. The signs and symptoms associated with menopause include thinning of hairs, night sweats, vaginal dryness, dryness of the skin, hot flashes, mood swings, slowed metabolism, reduced sexual drive, irregular periods, and sudden weight gain. It’s essential to seek medical advice and confirm menopause with the doctors to reduce the bothersome and severe symptoms. Openly discuss all the symptoms with your doctor. A swab test can detect vaginal pH changes. In addition, doctors prescribe blood tests are to examine the levels of hormones such as estrogen and follicle-stimulating hormone. To conclude, females need to follow proper methods to cope with menopause and its symptoms.
