Women's health disorders are caused by a variety of factors. Individual lifestyle, genetics, hormonal imbalances, age and ethnicity can all play a role in which women's health disorders affect an individual woman. An official website of the United States government. does gov mean it's official.
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Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if you have a medical emergency. Enter a city, zip code (such as 2000), address, state, or location A federal government website administered by the Office of Women's Health in the Office of the U.S. UU. Department of Health and Human Services.
Symptoms of a heart attack include chest pain, shortness of breath, and weakness in the arms. Women are also likely to experience shortness of breath and nausea or vomiting. However, women may not recognize their symptoms as a heart attack and rule it out for exercising too much or having heartburn. And while menopause doesn't cause heart disease, certain risk factors are more common after menopause, such as higher blood pressure and cholesterol, and decreased estrogen.
Women's health involves a variety of gender-specific problems, such as estrogen production, mental health, sexual health, and fertility problems. Women undergo dramatic mental and physical changes as their reproductive systems undergo major changes. Women can take charge of their health by eating the right diet, looking for the right tests and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Board-certified physicians medically review Drugwatch content to ensure accuracy and quality.
Reviewers' specialties include internal medicine, gastroenterology, oncology, orthopedic surgery, and psychiatry. Women's bodies undergo major changes throughout their lives, leading to differences in health problems for different age groups. During times of physiological change, women are more susceptible to mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and eating disorders. In adulthood, sexual health problems such as fertility, avoiding STDs and practicing safe contraception become important.
After menopause, some women experience health problems caused by changes in hormone levels. Fortunately, most diseases affecting women can be treated if caught early, and women can live long and happy lives by following simple health advice. Women's Health Quick Facts The reproductive cycle greatly affects many stages of a woman's life. Estrogen levels directly affect many of the physical changes women experience during adolescence, adulthood, and old age.
At conception, girls immediately begin to show physiological differences from boys. They express genes in the placenta differently, improving placental development and maintaining pregnancy. Girls begin developing breasts while they are still in the womb and are born with the milk duct system already in place. During childhood and adolescence, girls begin to develop identities through repeated interactions, conflicts and disappointments.
From the age of six, girls begin to worry about their weight. Around the age of eight, the ovaries begin to produce estrogen, which causes the breasts and areolas to enlarge and sprouts appear around the nipple. Pubic hair and hair under the arms also begin to grow. Menopause begins in your late 40s and early 50s in most.
It officially begins when a woman goes a full year without menstruating. During this time, estrogen and progesterone levels fluctuate. As estrogen levels decline, many tissues in the body, including the breasts, lose hydration and elasticity. Around this time of life, children often leave home, elderly parents begin to need care, and marriages are often affected by the couple's medical problems or changes in life goals.
All of these factors lead to a high rate of depression and physical fatigue in many women. As life expectancy increased, so did the number of postmenopausal diseases. Many women are affected by physical conditions such as urinary incontinence, chronic migraines and breast cancer. Osteoporosis, hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol), and atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in the arteries) also begin to affect many women after menopause.
In their older years, many women experience the loss of friends and family. Their physical strength and memory weaken, and many women end up living alone for the remaining years, contributing to mental health problems. The risk of vascular, heart and brain diseases also increases in old age. Women are affected by many of the same conditions and diseases as men, but diseases affect them differently and at different times.
There are also many gender-specific diseases that only affect women. Throughout their lives, women are at greater risk for metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome causes high blood pressure, high glucose levels, abnormal lipid levels, and increased waist size. Women with metabolic syndrome have a higher risk of heart attack and stroke.
Autoimmune Disease Lupus also affects more women than men. People with lupus die more often from cancer and infections than healthy people. The leading cause of death for women, cardiovascular disease, is responsible for one-third of all women's deaths each year. Women often overlook it because experts once thought it was a “man's disease”.
Cardiovascular disease outcomes include heart attacks, heart valve problems, strokes, and arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats). Heart disease is a type of cardiovascular disease. Women are more likely to suffer heart disease 10 years later than men, and about 42 percent of women who have a heart attack die within a year. Comparatively, only 24 percent of men die within a year from a heart attack.
Heart disease accounts for about 25 percent of all deaths among women. An estimated 64 percent of women who die suddenly from heart disease never reported having symptoms. Cancer kills more than a quarter of a million women each year in the U.S. The types of cancer that affect most women are skin cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer.
Breast cancer affects approximately 12 percent of American women, but survival rate is high if caught early. It is the second highest cause of death from cancer among women, accounting for about 40,000 deaths of women per year. However, vaccines can often prevent HPV contraction. Millions of people have osteoporosis, a disease that causes bones to weaken.
It affects older women more, which causes their bones to break more easily. The hip, spine and wrist are more susceptible to fractures or tears in people with osteoporosis. More women than men suffer from depression. It affects women's ability to work, sleep, eat and feel happiness, leading more women to attempt suicide each year than men.
Factors that contribute to depression include genes, hormones, and stress. When women's hormones change, their brain chemistry also changes. Many women suffer from depression during puberty, after having a baby, and during or after menopause. Women who feel sad for more than two weeks should talk to a doctor or therapist.
Therapy can often treat depression, and in some cases, medications can also help. However, many antidepressants carry serious side effects, and the benefits must be weighed against the risks. Millions of men and women are affected by eating disorders, but women make up the vast majority of those diagnosed. Women account for approximately 85 percent of the total number of people with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.
Eating disorders are mental and physical illnesses. Culture, family history, stress, and genes contribute to the likelihood of developing an eating disorder. People with anorexia are afraid of gaining weight. Strictly limit the amount of food they eat.
Anorexics often starve to relieve feelings of anxiety, anger, and tension. They often feel that they are overweight, even if they have a lower than normal body weight. People with bulimia also fear gaining weight. However, they often binge eat before trying to purge their body of food by vomiting or taking laxatives.
Bulimics often feel like they can't control their food intake. Unlike anorexics, they can have a normal body weight. Sexual health refers to a state of well-being in which a woman can fully participate in and enjoy sexual activity. Physical, Psychological, Social, and Interpersonal Factors Affect Sexual Health.
Sex organs, hormone-producing glands, brain, and the rest of the body make sex possible. But mental factors such as experiences, expectations, and emotions also contribute to sexual health. Sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs, are a major concern in women's sexual health. Common STDs include HPV, HIV, syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and genital herpes.
Women can avoid many STDs by using latex condoms, knowing their partner's history, and getting vaccinated. Some people with STDs feel healthy and don't realize they are infected, which worries women who plan to become pregnant. Can pregnant women transmit STDs to the fetus. There are many treatments available for women who test positive for an STD.
Doctors can often cure gonorrhea or chlamydia if caught early. HIV treatment can help women live longer lives. Endometriosis occurs when endometrial tissue that is normally found inside the uterus grows in other parts of the body. It can grow on the ovaries, the outer surface of the uterus, the fallopian tubes, and the bladder, causing severe pain.
The endometrium thickens, breaks down, and bleeds during the menstrual cycle. Women suffering from endometriosis have painful periods, low back pain, pain during sex, and digestive problems. Half of women with this condition have problems getting pregnant. Doctors often treat endometriosis with pain relievers, anti-inflammatory drugs, fertility treatments, surgery, or hormonal medications such as birth control.
Nearly all women practice birth control at some point in life. More than 98 percent of women in the U.S. Have used birth control and it is estimated that 62 percent use it regularly. For most women, the primary purpose of contraception is to prevent pregnancy.
However, some women use it to prevent the spread of STDs or to regulate hormones. Women should seriously consider all available birth control options and determine which is best for them. Popular birth control methods include hormonal methods, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and other barrier methods. Women should always see a doctor to determine the best method of birth control for them.
The best-known hormonal method of contraception is the daily pill. Other hormonal methods include patches, rings, injections, hormonal IUDs, and implants. Women should take pills every day, but hormonal IUDs can last up to five years. The “morning-after” pill can be taken in emergency situations, such as if a condom breaks or if a woman forgets to take her daily pill.
Unlike other hormonal methods, the morning-after pill doesn't require a doctor's prescription. Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills can cause extreme side effects such as upper respiratory tract infections, itching, hives, high cholesterol, gallbladder disease, blood clots, heart attack, and stroke. NuvaRing Hormonal Device May Increase a Woman's Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke, and Blood Clots. IUDs are small T-shaped devices made of plastic and copper or hormones.
Doctors or nurses place the device inside the uterus. They are one of the most effective forms of contraception and cannot be felt during sexual intercourse if properly installed. Hormonal IUDs release small amounts of hormones for up to five years to prevent pregnancy. Copper IUDs release a small amount of copper to prevent fertilization for up to 10 years.
In emergency situations, copper IUDs can be used to prevent pregnancy. The Mirena IUD can migrate and pierce the uterus, enter the abdominal cavity, pelvis, bladder, and blood vessels, and cause septic abortion, ectopic pregnancy, and inflammatory disease. Women use Natural Family Planning (NFP) when they don't want to get pregnant, but other birth control methods aren't an option. It's not as effective at preventing pregnancy as other forms of birth control, and women should have regular periods to use it.
In NFP, women learn when they are most likely to get pregnant and avoid having sex on those days. Women trying to get pregnant can increase their chances of getting pregnant if they have sex on the days when they are most likely to conceive. Barrier methods prevent sperm from reaching. The most popular method is the male condom, which is worn over the penis during sexual intercourse.
Other methods include the female condom and the cervical cap. Male condoms are effective in preventing transmission of HIV and some other STDs. Many conditions and diseases affecting women can be treated or prevented. Eating a healthy diet can lower a woman's risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, some types of cancer, and osteoporosis.
There are several medications and medical devices that could pose a range of risks to women's health. In addition, talcum powder is linked to an increased risk of ovarian cancer. Changes in the reproductive cycle cause drastic changes in women's lives, making them susceptible to gender-specific diseases and conditions. Women can take charge of their health care if they are aware of the changes their bodies are undergoing and understand their risks for diseases or conditions.
With a healthy diet, exercise and proper screenings, women can live happily into old age. One of our content team members will contact you shortly. Calling this number connects you to a Drugwatch representative. We will direct you to one of our trusted legal partners to review your case free of charge.
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Update your browser for more security, speed and compatibility. If you would like to speak with a Drugwatch representative, call 888-645-1617.And some of the health problems that affect both men and women can affect women differently. Two important factors influencing women's health, namely, girls' school enrolment rates and increased political participation by women, have increased in many parts of the world. That is why WHO is working so hard to strengthen health systems and ensure that countries have strong funding systems and a sufficient number of well-trained and motivated health workers.
Too many women continue to miss the opportunity to receive education, support themselves, and get the health services they need, when they need them. Issues related to women's overall health and well-being include violence against women, women with disabilities and their unique challenges, osteoporosis and bone health, and menopause. Gynecological health and disorders affecting women include menstruation and menstrual irregularities; urinary tract health, including urinary incontinence and pelvic floor disorders; and disorders such as bacterial vaginosis, vaginitis, uterine fibroids, and vulvodynia. Scientists are increasing their understanding of the difference between men's and women's health needs.
This means not only setting goals and indicators, but catalyzing commitments in terms of policies, funding and action, to ensure that the future brings health to all women and girls, whoever they are, wherever they live. Because women's health is so broad, these health topics include links to access more information within the NICHD website. Women experience unique health problems and conditions, from pregnancy and menopause to gynecological conditions, such as uterine fibroids and pelvic floor disorders. Helping to sensitize women to mental health issues and giving them the confidence to seek help is vital.
Women tend to have a lower risk of high blood pressure than men until age 45, genders have approximately the same risk between 45 and 65 years of age, and women have a higher risk of having high blood pressure after age 65. .
