Menopause (climacteric): symptoms, why it appears and treatment
The menopause It is a moment that every woman must pass at a certain stage of her life. In this sense, the woman must have clear from the outset that it is not a sudden physiological phenomenon, which tends to appear overnight.
It is a period that can even last for years, when the characteristic symptoms of estrogen descent begin to be noticed and menstrual cycles are altered.
The word menopause is the combination of two words, "meno" meaning month in Latin and "pausi" a word that comes from the Greek and means cessation or cessation. Therefore, menopause is the stage in a woman's life when the cessation or termination of menstruation occurs.
In a previous post we have provided information to our readers about what is known as early menopause, discovering in turn those symptoms that precede menopause and we have also facilitated a series of healthy tips and habits to face this stage of life in good shape and enjoying good health.
What is menopause? What is the female climacteric?
First of all we must emphasize that menopause is not a disease, it is only the appearance of a series of alterations both organic and psychological and that little by little when the woman's organism is adapted, it reestablishes the balance and with it the return to normality.
But what differences exist between the different phases that the woman goes through when this moment arrives? And above all, why does menopause arise? What causes it?
All this stage of transition and changes is known by the name of climacteric, and while you are going through the climacteric you go through three different stages. These stages are: premenopause, menopause and postmenopause.
During the premenopause stage, estrogen levels gradually decrease With which the first symptoms begin to be noticed, the ovaries are still secreting estrogen although that activity begins to reduce, causing menstruations to be irregular, cycles can sometimes be reduced up to 21 days, the rules are more abundant and also more durable
The second stage that corresponds to menopause is when the definitive cessation of menstruation occurs.
To consider menstruation, gynecologists consider waiting for a whole year without menstruation and as of that year it is already considered that the woman already has the menopause.
The third phase is postmenopause, the woman is in this stage when they have completed ten years of the last rule.
Symptoms of menopause
Between the symptoms of menopause most prominent and habitual, we find the following:
- Hot flushes and sudden heat without real justification.
- Abrupt reddening of the skin.
- Sweating accompanied by a sensation of heat (usually at night).
- Atrophy of the mucous membranes of the skin.
- Humor changes.
Generally menopause also produces an estrogenic deficit that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, or accelerated bone loss, which is called osteoporosis.
In fact, one of the disorders that begins to appear in the premenopausal phase and that we can consider quite annoying are the hot flushes, which begin to appear first at night and then during the day.
To calm and better cross these moments is advisable to consult with the gynecologist, if you need the prescription of some treatment and try to calm down, be patient and think that little by little it will happen since the nerves contribute to accentuate the hot flashes.
And what about the vaginal dryness typical of menopause?
The vaginal dryness in menopause It appears mainly as a consequence of the fact that the estrogens cause the mucosa not only to lose its moisture capacity or lubrication, but to lose weight.
For this reason, it is possible that they occur problems in sexual relationships, since during intercourse, pain may appear in women, and a sensation of discomfort or roughness in men.
The ideal is to use a good lubricant, which has been made from water.
It is the best treatment when it comes to keeping the woman's area moist as elastic, thus favoring sexual relations.
Treatment of menopause
Although the menopause It is common and common that does not generate risks in women (although certain physiological changes), the hormone replacement therapy It can be interesting when the decrease in estrogen affects the quality of life of the woman in excess, not being able to alleviate it in another way.
As we explained to you at an earlier time, the soy isoflavones they may be ideal in this same sense, given that, thanks to their virtues, they are a totally natural alternative to correct the estrogen deficit observed in both premenopausal and menopausal women.
How is the hormonal treatment for menopause?
The hormone replacement therapy (also know as THS), is a treatment focused on trying to relieve or reduce the symptoms of menopause.
This treatment is usually based on estrogen, or estrogen combined with a progestogen.
Although in the first years of treatment does not pose a risk to the health of women, the fact is that after 10 years it can become a serious problem, since it can cause strokes and heart attack, clot formation in the blood or breast or endometrial cancer, among others.
For this reason, experts recommend that the hormone replacement therapy last only the necessary time.
If you want to discover a little more we encourage you to visualize the following instructional video, where they explain what menopause is and why it occurs: ThemesMenopause
