In this connection the HER (Health Enables Returns)) Project assumes great significance, which is a way for health care to reach working women who are not often the first priority for the health care systems of their countries. This project is aimed at 50,000 women in countries such as china, Egypt and India.

It is not just social empowerment that better health care for women can bring about; this also makes economic sense. According to statistics, among those companies who have invested in programs covering women’s health, many have noted significantly improved profit margins.

Targeting women’s health is a way for societies to bring about social and economic change, and even grow leaders. On this significant day, let us pause and give thought to health and other concerns of women less fortunate than us; and support initiatives such as HER and others.

Source: Huffington Post

Chlamydia

According to some estimates, as many as million individuals in the US alone are infected with Chlamydia, making this one of the most widespread and common of STDs.

If left untreated, Chlamydia can cause several complications and health problems in the long term as well as the short term. The chief Chlamydia causes are:

Sexual intercourse: Even those that practice ‘safe sex’ by using condoms are not certain not to get the disease from a sexual partner.

The use of condoms certainly reduces the risk of getting the disease but it is not guarantee against it. Chlamydia can spread by way of oral, vaginal or anal sex and so obviously a condom is not effective in every case.

The only way to completely avoid Chlamydia causes is of course abstinence from sexual intercourse. Failing this the next best thing is to be in a monogamous relationship with a healthy uninfected person who is also similarly monogamous. Chlamydia causes do not include things such as casual physical contact such as shaking hands etc.

From mother to baby: Since this is an infection of the genital area, Chlamydia can be passed on from a mother to her baby in the case of a vaginal delivery as the baby passes through the birth canal.

Chlamydia causes or can cause several complications for a new born, which may include life threatening conditions such as pneumonia or severe eye infection.

Chlamydia is known as the silent epidemic since as many as 70% of women infected with it show no signs or symptoms of having contracted it. Though this infection is largely asymptomatic, Chlamydia causes several other complications, which have to do with conjunctivitis of the eye, arthritis, urethritis (inflammation of the urethra).

In fact, conjunctivitis form of Chlamydia causes blindness. The infection can spread to the eyes by shared face towels, by the fingers and even due to coughing or sneezing.

Chlamydia causes and risk factors include:

• Sexually active individuals with multiple partners or new partners
• A history of sexually transmitted disease, particularly Chlamydia
• Inconsistent or irregular condom use

It is generally recommended that women who are sexually active and under the age of 25, who are at high risk of infection should be screened to detect Chlamydia particularly since it is typically asymptomatic.

Researchers have found several reasons why women live, on an average 5 years longer than their male counterparts:

• Women’s hearts are said to be the main reason for this. While men’s hearts lose 25% of their pumping power by the time they reach the age of 70 while women’s hearts remain as strong.
• The world’s major killers are said to be heart disease and stroke, which women develop in their 70’s and 80’s whereas men get these problems while still in their 50’s and 60’s.
• There is also a possible chromosomal reason for this disparity in longevity between men and women. In women, it is thought that cells can perhaps be protected by a slightly better variation of a gene on the second X chromosome. Men don’t have this luxury and don’t get this choice and perhaps suffer for it.
• Also men exhibit dangerous behavior in youth when they go through what is called a testosterone storm and this is another reason that they may die earlier.
• Also men, when they attempt suicide are more likely to succeed than women.

And as female hormones affect the endometrial membrane, so they also affect these cells growing outside of the uterus with a result that the symptoms of endometriosis tend to worsen in accordance with the menstrual cycle when the endometrial lining is shed.

While the endometrial lining inside the uterus is periodically shed during the monthly period, the cells that grow outside have to outlet leading to irritation.

One of the chief symptoms of endometriosis is pain in the pelvic region and this is a condition often noted in women who have problems getting pregnant.

Some women experience the growth of web like scar tissue, the extent of which may differ greatly among different women. Many women with endometriosis experience severe menstrual cramps and painful sexual intercourse, while many women remain asymptomatic in spite of the presence of the condition. Though there is no real cure for the condition, here are some endometriosis treatment options:

Symptomatic relief of pain: Pain is the most common symptom for this condition and often endometriosis treatment may be limited to pain relief in the form of simple or compound analgesics.

If pain is very severe, the treatment may require mild narcotics or narcotic analgesics and ibuprofen (non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).

Hormonal therapy: Sometimes in acute cases it may be necessary to adopt hormone therapy for endometriosis treatment. Sometimes the birth control pill is prescribed to give relief from the symptoms, or certain types of intra uterine contraceptives such as Mirena may be prescribed as endometriosis treatment.

These methods suppress the growth of the endometrium and consequently the misplaced growth also is suppressed. The hormone derivative Danazol is frequently prescribed which may produce effects that mimic natural menopause. Lupron and Synarel, analogues of the gonadotropin releasing hormone may also be prescribed.

Surgery: Sometimes endometriosis treatment may require surgery, particularly if there is the presence of lesions, adhesions, endometriomas or nodules noted.

In such cases laparoscopy is used for endometriosis treatment to free adhesions and drain fluid. Through laparoscopy, electric currents of lasers can be used to clear up the existing problems.

Most surgical procedures that form part of the treatment for endometriosis are done using a laparoscope, however sometimes abdominal incisions could be required. In some cases, a complete hysterectomy is advised though this is not proof against the reemergence of the disease.

Alternative therapies: Though these endometriosis treatments do not have a proven track record, they seem to work wonders for many women: homeopathy, herbs, osteopathy, traditional medicines etc do sometimes give great results.

Certain nutritional therapies which balance nutrients in one’s diet also prove to be effective endometriosis treatment for some women.

Certain exercises such as those involving the pelvic floor may also be useful in treating the symptoms. Yoga, meditation and relaxation techniques and Pilates could all prove to be useful by themselves or as an adjunct to conventional therapy.

According to a new study, if woman’s diet is rich in vegetables, fruit and grains, she has a better chance at surviving ovarian cancer.

The findings were made on the basis of questionnaires filled in by women who were diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer. They were asked to itemize what they ate in the years prior to when their diagnosis was made. In the categories and subcategories of meats, less healthy meat items included cured meats and red meat.

It was found that cruciferous vegetables (yellow vegetables and broccoli) were seen to be beneficial in improving ovarian cancer survival rates.

In contrast, unhealthy meats such as red meats and cured meats and milk and milk products were associated with shorter time of survival after diagnosis. Chicken and fish were not seen to make much of a difference either way.

Though not conclusive, what this study does is, it creates “a potential area for future research towards understanding disparities in the cancer survivorship experience”, one of the researchers was quoted as having said.

Source: latimes

Not only are female genital warts unsightly, in fact fairly disgusting to look at, they have the potential to cause several problems and complications such as certain cancers such as those of the vulva or vagina or the anus as well as penis among men.

Female genital warts are a manifestation or symptom of infection from the HP virus, however in many cases these may be absent; that is to say that there may be an infection but no warts present.

It is therefore possible to be infected but have no knowledge of the infection, thereby spreading the infection to a sexual partner unknowingly.

Female genital warts manifest themselves as pink, red or gray swellings or out – pouchings from the skin that may take on the aspect of a cauliflower. This site exhibits photos of female genital warts as well as male genital warts if one wants to get an idea of what they look like. These may occur in the area of the vulva, the anus and also in areas such as inside the vagina and inside the anus, which may not be able to be seen except by a medical examination.

Also some female genital warts may be present but not visible because of small size or the fact that they are not sufficiently raised to be noticeable. In this case, a medical practitioner using a certain solution may detect them.

Also, sometimes the reason why the warts may not be visible is due to the fact that in spite of the presence of the infection by the HP virus, the warts may not manifest themselves until what may even be years after the actual infection.

The infection of HPV spreads through sexual contact so the best way to steer clear of it is to avoid indiscriminate sex and be very careful of the partner that you choose.

The best way is to be in a safe monogamous relationship and if one is active, it is best to use a condom every time. This however is no guarantee against the spread of the infection unless all warts are covered since it can spread from skin contact.

Female genital warts are not able to be transmitted by shared toilets or through the water of a swimming pool or by sharing towels etc.

According to the study published in the American Journal of Public Health, breast cancer rates have been declining by about 2% per year since the year 1999. So what is responsible for this?

Well we are informed that this decrease may be linked to the decrease in use of menopause treatment or Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by women. According to a study conducted by Harvard researchers on 350,000 women with breast cancer it was found that this was the reason for the decline. The HRT treatment that uses progesterone and estrogen was seen to increase women’s risk of developing breast cancer and heart disease.

Another reason why this decline is seen to be connected with reducing HRT treatments is the fact that this decline is seen among the demographic of Caucasian women over the age of 50 from affluent back grounds. In other words, the same women who would be most likely to get hormone treatment done after menopause showed decline in breast cancer rates.

Source: newsweek

• Only overweight women need worry about cholesterol. Not true.  Overweight women may be more at risk but it does not follow that women with normal weight don’t have to worry about cholesterol; it can strike anyone.
• Sexually transmitted diseases happen only to younger women. Also not true. Even post menopausal women are at risk from STDs; in fact a recent study showed that the numbers of those diagnosed with STDs over the age of 45 has doubled in the past ten years.
• Colon cancer is a man’s disease. Again not true. Colon cancer is the third commonest form of cancer among women. Screening is therefore as important for women as it is for men.
• Heart attacks bring on chest pain. Not true for women. In fact women have very different symptoms of a heart attack than do men.
• If there is vaginal itching, over the counter medication will take care of it. Not necessarily. This could be the sign of an infection, or a sexually transmitted disease even and is required to be properly treated.

Source: coloradoan

There were so many concepts going out of fashion that we wondered whether in the end we would end up deciding that the sky needed a different color and the earth was not as hard as we would like it to be. With such revolutions in our every day, another aspect that we quickly found out was feminism.

Now, I do not hold feminism in bad light in anyway, but some ultra feminists back then decided not to marry, or at least not to get into the yoke of motherhood so soon in their lives. I being very much married and already having a child underway was in no mood to be part of their idea.

Most of them kept to their promises and had quite satisfying, entertaining lives till the age of thirty or thirty five. As they grew old, they felt the pangs of loneliness and felt the need to have children.

Most of them experienced motherhood after thirty. Since I was their coffee mate during those dreary days when James is off on some quaint business meeting and Martha and Roy have some ‘stuff’ as they put it, to take care of at the far end of town, I had an interesting insight into the lives of these forty something recent mothers.

Taking apart the reason why they became moms so late in life and adding the fertility drugs, the troubles of trying to get pregnant on the long run, the pregnancy depression that gets tougher with age, the fact that the hormones react differently and turn the maternal experience in a challenge, the reason why women decide to be older mothers seems a bit unclear.

Also the psychological impact of heaving to deal with a generation of children so far from the patterns they had as a child is quite big. And seriously, if I had not kept up with the times, which I had a lot of time to do because my children had already grown up as the times were changing, even I would not know that the ten year old child was chatting with her boyfriend in school about eloping!

Now a few decades ago, this conversation would have all of us in peals of laughter. With the changing of times, the peals of laughter have been changed into shivers of fright.

I also found my friends straining for almost everything. Motherhood takes its toll on all women, be it a single child or two, or even three. The toll is there for all to see. But motherhood after thirty did have some devastating effects on my friends.

Women tend to do it all, want to have it all, tend to obsess in being perfect moms, perfect employees, and perfect chairman of the board.

All these and so many more added became a huge amount of stress and that stress tends to overwhelm the joy of motherhood.

We all think it is better to work hard before we become parents so we can offer everything to out kids. But is this really a good idea?

Basically, it seemed like the case of taking painkillers to relieve the pain, but never looking at what actually causes the pain, and then the pain goes up one fine day just when it’s your big day in life. I would definitely suggest taking another close look at life for anyone who is looking at motherhood after thirty as an option.

For some it may be good, for some it may be just a challenge but oh…that challenge can be sometimes much more than was bargained for.

Bacterial Vaginosis

This is a very common infection and it is thought that approximately 16% of women develop bacterial vaginosis during pregnancy in the United States.

There are a number of different varieties of bacteria that grow and flourish in the vaginal area, however sometimes there is an over growth or overabundance of these bacteria resulting in an imbalance of vaginal bacteria.

This imbalance produces vaginal discharge with a foul odor much like fish, which is the chief symptom of this problem. Women may also experience a burning sensation when passing urine or itching outside the vagina.

Bacterial vaginosis causes are not clearly understood, reasons why this bacterial imbalance or overabundance of certain bacteria occurs, is not clear.

However, these are understood to be the chief causes for bacterial vaginosis or at any rate being responsible for increasing the risk of developing it:

• Vaginal douching is considered to be one of the bacterial vaginosis causes because douching gets rid of a lot of the bacteria present in the vaginal area. While it does get rid of some of the harmful bacteria it also does the same for friendly or desirable bacteria, thereby causing an imbalance.
• Having multiple partners is thought to increase risk although this is not considered to be one of the sexually transmitted diseases. However, on rare occasions, women who have not become sexually active have also been diagnosed as having or developing this problem. Having sex with female partners is also thought to increase a woman’s chance of having bacterial vaginosis. Having said this however it remains unclear as to how exactly sexual activity causes bacterial vaginosis.
• Smoking is also thought to increase risk
• Thongs are also thought to be one of the bacterial vaginosis causes since they rub against the vulva as well as the anus causing the bacteria travel
• Sometimes improper wiping after a bowel movement or fecal bacteria entering the vaginal area could also be a cause
• Mostly the chief Bacterial vaginosis causes are thought to be a biological and chemical imbalance of the flora that occurs normally in a healthy vagina
• Bacterial Vaginosis causes do not include shared surfaces such as chairs, mattresses or sheets, swimming pools or by touch.