Early and Late Menopause
by Ada Ozoh
Most women expect to continue having a monthly period and be able to have children well into their 40s, though maybe with greater difficulty. So it can be a nasty shock for some women when they start having menopausal symptoms in their 30s. This can be devastating, and happens in about 1% of women.
What is early menopause?
Early (premature) menopause refers to a situation where a woman stops menstruating completely before the age of 35 years.
Causes of early menopause
1. Removal of the ovaries through surgery.
This is the commonest cause of early menopause. For menopause to occur, both ovaries must be removed completely. Possible reasons for surgical removal of both ovaries include:
-Ovarian cancer
-Severe pelvic infection which may damage the ovaries
-During a hysterectomy for other problems
The removal of the ovaries during hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) is attracting a lot of controversy. Some gynecologists do this routinely to avoid development of disease of the ovaries if they are left behind e.g. an ovarian cyst or cancer.
Others argue that most women will not develop these diseases in their lifetime. So women are subjected unnecessarily to the effects of menopause by removing ovaries that are still functional.
2. Radiation treatment
Some women may need radiation therapy for treatment of cancer in the abdomen or pelvis which damages the ovaries. Shielding the ovaries may help to prevent this.
Some women may opt to have some of their eggs removed and stored to stop them from being damaged during radiation treatment. These can be used later for in vitro fertilization.
Note that even routine x-rays of the pelvis may damage the ovaries.
3. Removal of the uterus (hysterectomy)
After a hysterectomy, you may experience menopause several years earlier than if your uterus was left intact. This is because the procedure inevitably damages the blood supply to the ovaries which eventually shrink and stop functioning.
4. Infections
Mumps in early childhood may damage the ovaries leading to early menopause.
5. Auto-immune diseases
These are diseases where your body�s defense system starts to attack organs and tissues of the body, thinking that they are foreign, meaning that they lose the ability to recognize self. This can lead to rheumatoid arthritis, some types of thyroid disease and SLE (lupus). The ovaries may also be attacked and destroyed.
6. Genetic abnormality
Some women who have incomplete chromosomes may experience early menopause.
Late Menopause
This is menopause which takes place after the age of 55 years. If you are overweight or have uterine fibroids, it would not be unusual for you to still be menstruating in your 50s.
Dangers of late menopause
1. Increased risk of breast cancer
2. Increased risk of uterine cancer
If you are still having periods in your 50s, have a medical check-up just to rule out any health problems. If your doctor gives you the all clear then assume this is your own normal pattern.
Ada Ozoh is a women's health expert. For up-to-date information and resources, especially related to menopause, visit MenopauseLifestyle.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ada_Ozoh
1 comment:
Many people feel that their title="acne" href="http://www.skinmed.co.uk" >acne< is overly
embarrassing and
unmanageable. I have read story after story of heartache, especially
from teens that endure heartless bullying from schoolmates. There are
so many different remedies and medications. What most people fail to
realise is that each individual has a different biological makeup and
what works for one person may not work for everyone. In some cases
certain acne treatment can adversely affect already irritated skin.
This further causes unnecessary embarrassment and frustration to an
already uncomfortable situation.
Propaganda fuels misconceptions about different so-called remedies and
even causes. The idea that chocolate and oily food causes acne. When in
truth, makeup, unhealthy skin and even perspiration can cause acne.
All of these factors affect the skin. But even your skin makeup can
affect your skin and create back acne, scalp acne, large assesses or
ingrown hair. There is an acne questionnaire done by a company called
Skinmed that will help to diagnose acne problems through a series of
questions, and then it n recommends the best acne treatment for each
individual.
Teen acne is typically the most difficult to diagnose because of
hormonal considerations, but there is a special area meant just for
teen acne that has a completely different set of rules when running the
formula that determines the best medications or treatments. In some
cases simple changes in hygiene and daily washing is all that it takes.
The site also has a title "free acne/rosacea cream" title="acne"
href="http://www.skinmed.co.uk" >free acne treatment/a that is made up
of a three step process. The primary reason most teens, especially boys
tend to have more problems with chronic acne is because of a lack of
simply washing their face regularly. So this treatment is free is a way
to create a healthy daily routine, while gently healing the skin to
prevent acne scarring brought on as a result of squeezing the sores.
Once daily cleaning is practices, and hormonal issues are taken into
consideration, a proper treatment regiment can be highly affective.
At the end of the day most acne, even teen acne , can be eliminated
quickly and permanently with the right motivation. After all, we all
want to be beautiful don’t we?
Susan Smith
Post a Comment