Archive for July, 2008

Every month, it is quite common for each and every woman across the world to deal with the most uncomfortable effects of menstruation.

So, you should be pretty conscious regarding all those certain unexpected or major changes in your body during your regular menstruation cycle.

Toxic shock syndrome is one of the most dangerous yet rare kinds of bacterial infection, which can potentially affect your skin and also the other organs of your body.

Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is quite rare but potentially dangerous bacterial infection which is mainly caused by toxins released by certain bacteria. This toxic shock syndrome is usually associated with the use of super absorbent tampons during your normal menstruation periods. These toxins which are quite potential to cause infection, typically circulates in your blood stream and affects your skin and other organs of your body.

A person with toxic shock syndrome usually develops sudden fever, low blood pressure and also rashes on their skin which can resemble like sunburn. Vomiting or diarrhea, muscle aches, seizures, redness of eyes, throat or mouth and also confusion while making decisions are certain manifestations which are generally associated with this life threatening bacterial infection.

Women with gestational diabetes are at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, with almost 20% of women developing the condition within 9 years of pregnancy, found a large, population-based study of 659,000 women published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The study, conducted by a group of researchers from the University of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital and the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences, looked at 21,823 women diagnosed with gestational diabetes and examined follow up records up to 9 years.

They found the rate of diabetes increased rapidly in the first 9 months after delivery, peaking at 9 years.

“In this large, population-based study, we found that diabetes developed within 9 years after the index pregnancy in 18.9% of women with previous gestational diabetes; this rate was much higher than the rate among women without gestational diabetes (2%),” state Dr. Denice Feig and coauthors.

As well, they note that the rate of gestational diabetes in Ontario, the study province, seems to be increasing and is linked to older mothers.

Living in low-income neighborhoods and in urban areas were also risk factors for gestational diabetes.

Are you thinking about trying various fertility treatments for your infertility problem?

Then it is very important for you to ensure good health before you start trying to become pregnant successfully.

It is also important for you to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

This makes you to ensure that the off spring, to which you are going to give new life, will be free from all kinds of dangerous infections caused due to STDs.

Be aware of all potential causes of STDs!

Sexually transmitted diseases are potentially dangerous infections which can be easily transmitted from one person to other through sexual, oral or anal intercourse.

They can also be transmitted through sharing needles, direct contact with infected body fluids or even due to mutual masturbation.

These sexually transmitted diseases can cause various symptoms of infections in your body and potentially leads you to many health complications, including infertility.

Even constant remainders which mainly insist you to engage yourself only in safe sex have not eliminated the prevalence of these sexually transmitted diseases. Apart from life-threatening medical conditions, these STDs play a critical role in causing infertility problems in both women as well as men.

A higher body mass index (BMI) is associated with lower survival rates in women with breast cancer, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

BMI is the ratio of weight to height, which is often used to see if a patient’s weight is outside normal parameters.

“We have found strong evidence that high BMI and a recent pregnancy are associated with a poorer prognosis after a diagnosis of breast cancer,” Dr. Gillian C. Barnett told Reuters Health. “Our study suggests that advice on weight loss should be given to all obese patients with breast cancer.”

Dr. Barnett from Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK and colleagues investigated the impact of established risk factors for incident breast cancer on overall survival after a diagnosis of breast cancer, using data from the Studies of Epidemiology and Risk Factors in Cancer Heredity.

Women with the highest BMIs were 52 percent more likely to die than women with the lowest BMIs, the investigators report.

“The Women’s Interventional Nutritional Study reported improved event-free survival in women randomly assigned to a reduced fat diet (associated with weight loss),” Barnett pointed out. “Further definitive clinical weight loss intervention trials in breast cancer populations are required to further clarify the relationship between breast cancer mortality and BMI.”

Uterus is the main reproductive organ in females which will mainly help in the development of fetus and also helps the fetus to grow normally.

It is usually present in a straight vertical position inside your pelvis.

However, some females can unfortunately have a uterus that usually tilts backwards, positioning towards spine.

This abnormal positioning of uterus is normally termed as tilted or retroverted uterus.

If you are confirmed with this condition of retroverted uterus then don’t get depressed that you are the only one with this condition.

This unusual condition of retroverted uterus considerably affects more than 20% of all women.

Sexual illness associated with retroverted uterus!

Retroverted uterus doesn’t cause any severe health problem. But in some women, this particular condition of tilted uterus can make them to experience certain disturbing manifestations, including painful sex. At times, retroverted uterus can also make you experience certain abnormal pain during your periods.

In women with retroverted uterus, certain essential reproductive organs like ovaries and fallopian tubes are typically tilted backwards. Due to this abnormal positioning, all these pelvic structures in your body can be stressed by the head of penis and as a result you can experience pain during intercourse.

According to a study, the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra has proven effective at combating sexual dysfunction in depressed women.

Sexual dysfunction is a common side effect of antidepressants and a major reason why people stop taking medication for their depression.

This is particularly problematic given that twice as many women as men are prescribed antidepressants but the most effective drugs used to combat sexual dysfunction in men are not approved for use in women, the authors wrote.

Researchers tested Viagra on 98 women whose depression was in remission but were still experiencing sexual dysfunction such as lack of arousal or pain during sex.

The women were told to take a pill one to two hours before sex for eight weeks. Half were given placebos pills which had no pharmacological effects.

Some 73 percent of the women given placebos reported no improvement with treatment while only 28 percent of the women taking Viagra said they did not notice an improvement.

Some of the women experienced headaches, flushing and indigestion but none of them withdrew from the trial because of side effects.

Do you repeatedly experience unpleasant, disturbing, emotional symptoms before your regular menstrual periods?

Then you might be suffering with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

If you think that you are the only person suffering with this disgusting condition, then just try to throw away such kind of thinking.

It has been estimated that almost 75% of all menstruating women can experience mild to moderate premenstrual symptoms.

But, at least 2- 10% among these can repeatedly experience this kind of depressive mood swings, before their regular menstrual periods.

Role of hormones!

This premenstrual dysphoric disorder doesn’t appear to happen just simply because of an imbalance in your ovarian hormones. Many researches have found that there is no difference in the levels of estrogen and progesterone hormones across the menstrual cycle of females with PMDD and those without any symptoms of PMDD.

On the other hand, some of the researches assertively declared that these changes in the hormone levels must play a crucial role in the functioning of ovaries. This is due to the reason that the symptoms, which are especially responsible for PMDD, actually disappear when the ovaries do not function properly or even when they are completely removed.

Most of the women, who are actually fortunate, usually experience their monthly menstrual periods effortlessly with few or no concerns.

Your periods can just come and go like a clockwork, starting and ending at precisely the same time every month.

Even though they can cause a very little more than a minor inconvenience, they might not create many complications in your life.

However, some of you can repeatedly experience a host of physical or emotional signs of menstruation, just before or during your regular monthly periods.

From heavy menstrual bleeding to missed periods or certain unmanageable mood swings can interrupt your life in major ways.

A menstrual disorder is actually referred to a physical or emotional problem which can mainly interfere with your normal menstrual cycle. Due to this interference, you can experience pain, abnormally heavy or light bleeding, missed periods or even delayed menarche.

In fact, the menstruation process in women mainly involves numerous structures and organs including your hypothalamus and pituitary glands. Most of the menstrual disorders can instinctively takes place, when certain health conditions or diseases typically interrupt the regular functioning of the reproductive structures and organs of your body.