Sunday, April 27, 2008
Time to Focus on YOU!! - May Is Women’s Health Month
Yes, women are different from men and so are women’s needs. Your health is important all the time; but during Women’s Health Month, the doctors and staff at Ocean Health Initiatives (OHI) want you to focus even more on your health and well-being so you can prevent health problems. Your family needs you to be healthy and strong.
One way to help prevent problems or catch health problems early enough to avoid life-threatening complications is to have an annual routine examination that includes a pap smear, a breast exam, and a measurement of your blood pressure. Pick a month—maybe the month you were born—and schedule a women’s wellness exam during that month every single year. These three exams are very, very important.
Some women may be embarrassed to discuss sex and sexual intercourse with anyone, but the doctors at OHI are trained to help you and give you information. If you are interested in birth control, the doctors will discuss such birth control methods as the pill, IUDs, or Depo Provera shots.
Do you know how to protect yourself from HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, and Chlamydia? You can get these diseases, called STDs or Sexually Transmitted Diseases, during intercourse. You can feel free to discuss with your doctors at OHI how you can protect yourself from STDs.
We are lucky that medical discoveries are helping women to live longer, healthier lives. One such recent discovery is a vaccine that can prevent Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a virus that leads to cervical cancer. This vaccine called Gardasil is being recommended for women between the ages of 11 and 26. You can get more information about Gardasil or receive the vaccine to protect you against HPV at OHI.
A mammography is another one of those extremely important tests women should have because its use has greatly reduced the risk of breast cancer. A mammography is a very low-dose X-ray that helps doctors determine what is going on inside a woman’s breast. Doctors use a mammography to look for tumors, cysts, and any other abnormalities.
It is essential that women also do a monthly self-breast examination even if they have had a mammography. If you are not sure how to do a self-breast examination, your doctor can explain how to do one. All women should have a mammography every year, starting at age 40. Be sure to tell your doctor if there is a family history of breast cancer or other problems.
Although you can’t see your bones, they are aging too. When bones age, they can lose their mineral density, making them very brittle. This condition is called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis can affect a woman’s life expectancy and disrupt her quality of life because bones can fracture or break very easily when people have osteoporosis.
Your doctor can help you keep your bones healthy and strong, but you must have a bone density test to measure the health of your bones. Women should get a bone density test at age 60 if there is a family history of osteoporosis. Otherwise, get a bone density test if you are 65 years of age or older. After that, women should get a bone density test every three years.
Another change in women that occurs as they age is called menopause, the natural end of a woman’s ability to have a baby because the ovaries are no longer producing eggs. This stage of life usually has a big impact on a woman’s body and her life in general.
The beginning of menopause can happen as early as age 30 and last about four years. Some of the symptoms may include hot flashes, breast tenderness, worsening of premenstrual symptoms, decreased desire for sex, irregular periods, mood swings, vaginal dryness, or difficulty sleeping. Through a blood test, doctors can determine if a woman is starting menopause by checking hormone levels.
Women between the ages of 40 and 60 who have not had a period for at least 12 months are probably experiencing menopause. Some of the symptoms may include headaches, difficulty sleeping, tiredness, depression, irritability, bladder control problems, hot flashes, breast tenderness, worsening of premenstrual symptoms, decreased desire for sex, irregular periods, mood swings, and vaginal dryness.
Your doctor is the one who can help you if you are experiencing these symptoms. Women who are post menopausal must be especially mindful of certain health risks. The health risks that should be monitored by you and your doctor are osteoporosis, heart disease, poor bladder control, alzheimer’s, poor skin elasticity, poor muscle tone, and deteriorating vision.
Women who take good care of themselves, who eat healthy foods, exercise, and visit their doctors regularly should enjoy a happy, productive life. It’s important to take care of yourself, and the doctors at OHI are here to help you. Here’s to your health!
About Ocean Health Initiatives: OHI, a federally qualified health center (FQHC), with locations at 101 Second Street, Lakewood and 301 Lakehurst Road, Toms River, provides comprehensive preventative and primary care, including pediatrics, maternal and child health, prenatal, WIC, universal immunizations, and dental health to the area's uninsured, underinsured, and undocumented residents on a sliding-fee scale, based on an individual's or family's ability to pay. OHI has a bilingual staff available to assist patients and callers. To become a patient of OHI, call a representative in the Call Center at either 732-552-0377, Toms River, or 732-363-6655, Lakewood. Visit www.ohinj.org. for further information.
Submitted by Fran Kirschner, Frantasy Enterprises
One way to help prevent problems or catch health problems early enough to avoid life-threatening complications is to have an annual routine examination that includes a pap smear, a breast exam, and a measurement of your blood pressure. Pick a month—maybe the month you were born—and schedule a women’s wellness exam during that month every single year. These three exams are very, very important.
Some women may be embarrassed to discuss sex and sexual intercourse with anyone, but the doctors at OHI are trained to help you and give you information. If you are interested in birth control, the doctors will discuss such birth control methods as the pill, IUDs, or Depo Provera shots.
Do you know how to protect yourself from HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, and Chlamydia? You can get these diseases, called STDs or Sexually Transmitted Diseases, during intercourse. You can feel free to discuss with your doctors at OHI how you can protect yourself from STDs.
We are lucky that medical discoveries are helping women to live longer, healthier lives. One such recent discovery is a vaccine that can prevent Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a virus that leads to cervical cancer. This vaccine called Gardasil is being recommended for women between the ages of 11 and 26. You can get more information about Gardasil or receive the vaccine to protect you against HPV at OHI.
A mammography is another one of those extremely important tests women should have because its use has greatly reduced the risk of breast cancer. A mammography is a very low-dose X-ray that helps doctors determine what is going on inside a woman’s breast. Doctors use a mammography to look for tumors, cysts, and any other abnormalities.
It is essential that women also do a monthly self-breast examination even if they have had a mammography. If you are not sure how to do a self-breast examination, your doctor can explain how to do one. All women should have a mammography every year, starting at age 40. Be sure to tell your doctor if there is a family history of breast cancer or other problems.
Although you can’t see your bones, they are aging too. When bones age, they can lose their mineral density, making them very brittle. This condition is called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis can affect a woman’s life expectancy and disrupt her quality of life because bones can fracture or break very easily when people have osteoporosis.
Your doctor can help you keep your bones healthy and strong, but you must have a bone density test to measure the health of your bones. Women should get a bone density test at age 60 if there is a family history of osteoporosis. Otherwise, get a bone density test if you are 65 years of age or older. After that, women should get a bone density test every three years.
Another change in women that occurs as they age is called menopause, the natural end of a woman’s ability to have a baby because the ovaries are no longer producing eggs. This stage of life usually has a big impact on a woman’s body and her life in general.
The beginning of menopause can happen as early as age 30 and last about four years. Some of the symptoms may include hot flashes, breast tenderness, worsening of premenstrual symptoms, decreased desire for sex, irregular periods, mood swings, vaginal dryness, or difficulty sleeping. Through a blood test, doctors can determine if a woman is starting menopause by checking hormone levels.
Women between the ages of 40 and 60 who have not had a period for at least 12 months are probably experiencing menopause. Some of the symptoms may include headaches, difficulty sleeping, tiredness, depression, irritability, bladder control problems, hot flashes, breast tenderness, worsening of premenstrual symptoms, decreased desire for sex, irregular periods, mood swings, and vaginal dryness.
Your doctor is the one who can help you if you are experiencing these symptoms. Women who are post menopausal must be especially mindful of certain health risks. The health risks that should be monitored by you and your doctor are osteoporosis, heart disease, poor bladder control, alzheimer’s, poor skin elasticity, poor muscle tone, and deteriorating vision.
Women who take good care of themselves, who eat healthy foods, exercise, and visit their doctors regularly should enjoy a happy, productive life. It’s important to take care of yourself, and the doctors at OHI are here to help you. Here’s to your health!
About Ocean Health Initiatives: OHI, a federally qualified health center (FQHC), with locations at 101 Second Street, Lakewood and 301 Lakehurst Road, Toms River, provides comprehensive preventative and primary care, including pediatrics, maternal and child health, prenatal, WIC, universal immunizations, and dental health to the area's uninsured, underinsured, and undocumented residents on a sliding-fee scale, based on an individual's or family's ability to pay. OHI has a bilingual staff available to assist patients and callers. To become a patient of OHI, call a representative in the Call Center at either 732-552-0377, Toms River, or 732-363-6655, Lakewood. Visit www.ohinj.org. for further information.
Submitted by Fran Kirschner, Frantasy Enterprises
