According to Institute for Social and Economic Change, about one in five women residing in India is likely to experience menopause by the age of 41. This means that one fifth of the Indian women will experience menopause very early. These women fear that menopause would heartlessly kill their wonderful life. They perceive menopause as a grave threat to their love life.
What is Menopause?
Menopause is defined as the culmination of woman's monthly menstrual periods and ovulation. It marks the time when she stops her menstruation and is no longer fertile. Technically, a woman enters menopause when she goes for 12 consecutive months without a period. The ovarian supply of follicles and eggs declines sharply as a woman approaches menopause.
What are the Causes of Menopause?
Menopause is a part of the natural aging process. The female body has a finite number of eggs in its ovaries that it releases them on monthly basis. Eventually, no more eggs are left in the ovaries for fertilization. Then, the woman no longer has periods and she enters the menopausal phase of her life.
Most women enter menopause when they are between 45 and 55. However, menopause can occur as early as 35 or as late as 60.
Although Menopause is a natural process, surgery and certain medications or treatments can also force a woman's body to enter menopause. Menopause after hysterectomies, radiation treatment, and chemotherapy has been known to occur.
What are the Symptoms of Menopause?
Changes and symptoms can start several years earlier. They include:
- Irregular menstrual periods with excessive or scanty bleeding
- Hot flashes and/or night sweats
- Anemia
- Burning and increased frequency of urination
- Less hair on head, more on face
- Feeling of intense heat in the body on some occasions
- Irritable nature
- Trouble focusing
- Joint pain
- Mood swings
- Sleeplessness
- Vaginal dryness and itching
- Weakness
What are the Stages of Menopause?
Normally menopause progresses in two stages:
- Perimenopause: In this stage, the woman experiences the symptoms of menopause but she is still experiencing ovulation and having menstrual periods.
- Postmenopause: In this stage, twelve months have passed and the women experiences no menstrual periods. This is a stage when the woman has reached full menopause.
Will it have Any Effect on My Health?
There are two common health problems that are witnessed more in menopausal women:
- Osteoporosis: Menopause is marked by a decrease in the levels of estrogen, a hormone which helps control bone loss. Lack of estrogen causes women to lose more bone than is replaced resulting in Osteoporosis.
- Heart Disease: Loss of estrogen may play a role for heart disease after menopause. As you get older, you put on more weight and generally develop high blood pressure. These risk factors eventually lead to a heart disease.
What can I do About it?
Staying healthy while going through menopause may mean that you will have to make a few changes:
- Take adequate calcium in your food. Foods rich in calcium include milk and milk products, cheese, beans and peas.
- A few medium pace exercises such as walking, jogging and swimming are good for menopausal women.
- Menopausal women should drink at least 8 to 10 glass of water and other fluids.
- Soy foods and sunflower seed help in increasing the amount of estrogen levels in the body.Almond oil together with geranium oil is also good for relief from menopausal pain.
Finally, it only depends upon the woman herself to consider menopause as an eventful phase of life and grow a positive outlook towards it.
