All you need to know about Menopause: Causes, symptoms and treatment

Menopause occurs when a woman has gone 12 months without a menstrual period. It usually happens when you’re in your 40s or 50s. It is a natural biological process and is not considered a disease or a condition. 

What are the symptoms of Menopause?
 While menopause is not a disease or disorder, it may lead to severe changes in a woman’s body. In the months or years leading up to menopause, the symptoms include:

Irregular periods
• Vaginal dryness
• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Urinary problems
• Reduced muscle mass
• Increased hair growth on other areas of the body
• Memory problems 
• Racing heart
• Lower fertility 
• Dry skin
• Sleep problems 
• Mood swings
• Loss of breast fullness
• Headaches
Other symptoms of Menopause include:
• Developing of fat in the abdomen, sometimes leading to overweight and obesity
• Hair loss and thinning hair
• Breast shrinkage
For every woman, the symptoms are different. Irregular periods are the first sign of Menopause. Some women get periods every 2-3 weeks whereas others don’t menstruate for months. When you begin to notice such changes in your body, you must definitely go and consult a doctor. 
What are the causes of Menopause? 
Menopause occurs when the ovaries age and produce less reproductive hormones. There are lower levels of:
• Estrogen
• Progesterone
• Testosterone
• Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
• Luteinizing hormone (LH)

During Menopause, there is loss of ovarian follicles. They are the structures that produce and release eggs from the ovary wall, allowing menstruation and fertility.

Home remedies and lifestyle changes:
Here are some tips for managing menopause symptoms:Wear loose clothes, especially during the night and during warm or unpredictable weather. 
• Maintain a cool and comfortable temperature in the bedroom at night to minimize night sweats.
• Stay sexually active to reduce vaginal dryness.
• It is important to manage your weight during menopause. So, exercise daily. 
• Take calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium supplements to help reduce your risk for osteoporosis and improve energy levels and sleep.
• Practice yoga or meditation 
• Apply moisturizer frequently and take care of your skin. 


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Head and Neck Cancers Are on the Rise— Young Men Are at Risk

You’ve probably heard of human papilloma virus/ HPV,  which is the most common sexually transmitted infection .

For a long time, experts knew that HPV could raise a woman’s risk for cervical cancer. But there didn’t appear to be much risk for HPV-infected men. That’s changed. New research shows HPV is fueling a massive spike in oropharyngeal (head and neck) cancer among men. And surprisingly, some doctors say this form of cancer is showing up more and more among guys in their 20s and 30s.

“Traditionally, we thought of head and neck cancers as mostly due to excessive smoking and drinking,” says  an assistant professor of otolaryngology, as well as a surgeon.

Dr.  says that in the past, these cancers tended to show up during a man’s 50s, 60s, and beyond. “But for the past 20 years, we’ve seen those smoking- and drinking-related cancers go down, while HPV-related cancers have gone up,” he says.

At the same time, he says his patient population has shifted. “We’re seeing a lot of men in their 30s, and some even in their 20s, coming in with cancer at the base of their tongue, on their tonsils, and in their throat,” he says.

One recent study found the incidence of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer jumped 225% between 1988 and 2004. In fact, this type of head and neck cancer is now the fastest growing form of cancer in young men. Another concerning study from 2014 points to a big jump in oropharyngeal cancers among men in their 30s and early 40s.

So how does HPV cause cancer? In a nutshell, some strains of the HPV virus can shut down genes in the cells of your head and neck that suppress the growth of cancer cells, Dr. explains.

“The human body, all the time, is trying to make cancer, but usually there are genetic safety mechanisms in place to keep cancer cells from proliferating,” he explains. “When you get a virus like HPV, it can turn off some of those mechanisms, and so allow cancer to proliferate.”

Signs of Cancer

The cancer is often diagnosed when "someone will come in with a big neck mass or mass on their tonsils or pain in the throat,” Dr.  says. Once other causes are eliminated—common stuff like mono or tonsillitis, or enflamed lymph nodes due to a cold—a doctor can take a biopsy from the guy’s throat or tongue to check for cancer cells. If cancer is identified, the treatment could involve surgery, radiation, chemotherapy—or all three, Dr.  says.

The good news: “The young men we treat usually respond really well,” he says. There may be some chronic after-effects—stuff like dry mouth, sore throat, or issues swallowing—but the disease isn’t typically fatal, he adds.

Roughly 43 percent of men aged 18 to 59 are infected with some form of HPV,says a report. “HPV is so common that nearly all sexually active people get it at some point in their lives,” .

Dr.  says rates of HPV infections have been rising for decades, partly because there’s no way to tell if you’re infected. There are no obvious symptoms or red flags, so people spread it without realizing it.
But just because you may be infected with HPV doesn’t mean you have to freak out about cancer. 

Again, there are different forms of the HPV virus, and only a few of them seem to promote head and neck cancers, Dr.  says.

“About 7 percent of people carry the HPV virus that causes these cancers, but only 1% of those carriers develop cancer,” he adds.

It’s the fastest growing cancer, but your relative odds of contracting lung cancer or prostate cancer are still far greater, a report says.

There’s an effective vaccine against HPV, and taking it can cut a young person’s risk for oral HPV infections by 88 percent, according to a recent study.

But if you’re over 21 or have been sexually active for a while, the study doesn't recommend the vaccine. “It tends not to work as well if you’re older,” Dr. says. “It’s usually recommended for kids prior to age 12.”

Using a dental dam or a condom during oral sex may be one way to limit your risks. “We think oral sex raises the likelihood you’ll get it,” he says. “If semen or vaginal fluids are going in the throat and touching those tissues, that could lead to the infection.” If your partner is female, you could ask them to get an HPV test. But a negative test doesn't ensure your partner isn't carrying the virus, and there is no HPV test for men, according to researchers.

4 Things Most Guys Get Wrong About Skin Cancer:
As of right now, there’s no way to have yourself screened for head and neck cancers in order to identify them early. “That would be incredibly painful, and we would never do it unless there was a mass or pain, or something to indicate the presence of existing cancer,” Dr.  says.

“I wish I had a better solution, but there’s really nothing you can do right now to protect yourself, other than limiting your number of sexual partners, which is easier said than done,” he adds.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.   
 
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