Author: The Beauty Nation

Molluscum Contagiosum: There are two kinds of warts, simple and genital. Both can infect the genitals; it is crucial to recognize the difference. Simple warts are the kind that appears in the hands of children. They are small, dimpled papules, which look like spots with a drop of pearly fluid inside and are highly contagious. They can be transmitted to the genitals by self or partner from warts on the hands and elsewhere. The virus enters the skin through invisible lesions that occur during sexual activity. Warts appear some 30 days after contact. Attacks of simple warts on the genitals are rare, being most likely in the teens and 20 to 30 age group.

If the penis is infected with genital warts, some men try self-therapy. This is not advisable for women. Simple warts can be painful if rubbed, otherwise, a woman is unaware of them. They are not life-threatening, nor do untold damage, but they are highly contagious. Visit the physician or clinic. Therapy varies.

Human Papilloma Virus: HPV is specific to the genital area. It is transmitted by direct sexual contact. Warts appear 3 weeks to 3 months after contact, but the incubation time can be up to 8 months, even more. Warts can be single; usually, they grow in clusters like grapes. With their raised, bumpy tops, they look like miniature cauliflowers. They grow on the labia lips or anus, inside the vagina, or on the cervix. In many cases, they are asymptomatic, and the woman is unaware that she is infected.

The warts are painless, but easily irritated by rubbing, and sometimes they itch. If there has been anal contact, they can grow inside the rectum and around the anus. More rarely with oral contact, they infect the linings of the mouth. If warts breed in colonies on the cervix, the disease may not be detected until a Pap smear is done. Women with HPV have a five times higher risk of cancer of the cervix.

Larger warts, especially on the cervix, maybe vaporized by laser therapy, but it is difficult to know if they have all been destroyed. The healing process takes 6 weeks. Repeat therapy is necessary if they flare up again; avoid losing patience as laser therapy usually works. Other therapies include burning warts off by electric cautery or freezing them with dry ice. The physician then snips them off. External warts can be painted with the drug podophyllin. It takes 3 or 4 weekly treatments for warts to dry up and drop off.

HPV infection is also called condyloma. The prescription drug Condylox has just been made available for home treatment, which means that patients no longer need to have a physician apply the therapy. At least 56 different types of the virus have been identified.

How you care for your breast will tell how they looked? Spend a minute and looked at yourself in the mirror every day. How does the breast appear to you is what your friends will see?

Correct Your Posture

If by chance you faced a mirror or window display while walking, check yourself sideways from the reflections. Are you walking with your back straight, shoulders open apart? Or you see yourself hunching with dropping shoulders? If you are slouching your way, perhaps it’s time you correct it. Good posture helps to lift up the breast, giving it the right support. A good poster can also make the breasts look bigger and larger.

Weight Control

Weight fluctuations affect the breasts probably more than anything else. Avoid miracle slimming diets. Instead, be ‘slim smart’ and eat a sensible diet and exercise regime helps.

Exercise With The Right Bra

It is important to wear a bra that fits you and gives adequate support for the breast when exercises are being performed. Bra manufacturer did researches on sportswomen. The bras that they wear have to allow maximum stretching, comfort and yet gave the wearer very good frontal support. By wearing a good sports bra, it minimizes breast movement, the breast is held in place, and is less bouncy. Constant breast movement without a bra can result in permanent droopy breasts.

Breast and Bath

Shower the breast with warm or lukewarm water. Use circular and upward motions when bathing the breasts. If you shower with hot water, remember to give a run with cold water. This is to avoid rashes or acne outbreaks at the breast and chest area (open pores at breast area are exposed to dirt settled after bath). A hot bath also dehydrates our skin easily.

Moisturize Your Breasts

The breast area is often more delicate than our facial skin. During the hot season, it is the best time to head down to the beach and get a good tan. We put on layers of suntan lotions and thereafter we apply body lotions. And in harsh winter, our skin dehydrates even faster! The breast skin, exposed to different seasons, gets dried, wrinkled, and sometimes freckled. In order to keep breast skin taut, smooth and glowing pink, moisturize with breast care products to preserve the breasts looking youthful and perky.

What is Phytoestrogen?

The three major hormones affecting the breast are Oestrogen, progesterone, and prolactin. The breast is influenced by the female hormones (Oestrogen and progesterone) whose levels vary with the menstrual cycle and decline at a later age.

These hormones are responsible for breast and female body development. Diets that include soy (isoflavones ad phytoestrogen), protein, and calcium could be beneficial not only to the breast but also to the bones. Most knew about soy but hardly knew about phytoestrogen.

Phytoestrogen is an active plant cell that is a compound of isoflavones or estrogen-like properties found in some plants and plant products (soy food or legume plant). Isoflavones are structurally similar to estrogenic steroids and thus have been shown to possess both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic activity.

Phytoestrogen is weak estrogens, isoflavones may act as anti-estrogens and for binding to the estrogen receptor. This has important implications for reducing breast cancer risk. While not all studies agree, epidemiologic evidence indicates that women in Southeast Asia who consume diets containing high amounts of soy have a declining risk of breast cancer as compared to European women, who routinely consume negligible amounts of this legume (1-3 grams/day).

Many post-menopausal women who have chosen not to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are currently using complementary and alternative therapies for menopause, and these include taking phytoestrogen supplements. Most of the supplements contain natural isoflavones derived from the soy plant, red clover, and some botany plants such as black cohosh or Pueraria Mirifica.

The main advantage of taking phytoestrogen supplements are the reduction of menopausal symptoms, promotion of cardiovascular health, bone health, and increased breast health. Phytoestrogens may also have anti-cancer.

You can make them appear bigger, firmer, and shapelier by building the breast tissues up and supplementing the breasts with nutrients.

Phytoestrogens may have some benefits to your health, but take them with caution. This is especially the case with long-term and high doses. While they may seem safer than synthetic estrogen, this may not be the case.

The various structures which make up breast tissue are listed as follows:

• Arteries, which branch into tiny arterioles, bring fresh blood rich in oxygen and nutrients.
• Veins, which are closer to the surface, remove the used blood, and waste products of metabolism.
• Nerves, which branch into tiny nerve endings, increase the sensitivity, especially in the nipples.
• Lobules, which are part of the mammary gland tissue, produce milk.
• Ducts, which are the other part of mammary gland tissue, bring milk to the nipples.
• Muscle fibers, which line the lobules and ducts, squeeze out the milk.
• Connective tissue, which is woven throughout the breasts, made up the support system.
• Fat, which plumps up the breasts, is woven throughout the mesh of connective tissue.
• Erectile fibers, which are in the areola-nipple complex, respond to erotic stimulation.
• Lymph channels, which are part of the immune system, drain breast tissue of extra fluid.

The Squeeze Syndrome

In one study, women of varying ages had breast pumps attached to their nipples. When the breasts were gently squeezed for a sufficiently long time, 83 percent of the women produced some milky fluid, whether they were young, old, mothers, previously pregnant, or never pregnant. Squeezing sends a message to the pituitary gland in the brain, which translates this into a call for prolactin. Prolactin is the hormone that stimulates the breasts of a nursing mother to produce more milk. The more her baby sucks at her breasts, the more milk is produced. Milk is synthesized, not from blood, but from the nutrients carried by the blood.

During nursing, the breasts will start leaking if the mother only thinks of her baby. She cannot stop this; she can only try to stop thinking of her child. The fibers lining the milk ducts are smooth muscle, like the fibers for nipple erection. They are not under the control of the conscious will. These two kinds of muscles are the only ones in the breasts.

Keep in mind that if the nipples are squeezed for long enough, they will produce fluid.

The Mature Breast

• At puberty: The duct tissue grows and branches out like the twigs of a young tree, forming lobule buds. The connective tissue grows and spreads in a network, and fat builds up within the mesh. The breasts feel dense, very firm, and packed with lobules and ducts.
• At pregnancy: The breasts grow rapidly. Breasts that were almost flat will also grow to a very large size. The areola-nipple complex darkens, and the nipples become more erect. The blood supply increases and the veins become more noticeable.
• After childbirth: Breast tissue returns to its pre-pregnancy state. But the areola-nipple complex stays larger, and the darker pigment remains. The veins also remain noticeable, a delicate bluish tracery running lightly across the breasts.
• At menopause: The gland tissue shrinks to nearly its pre-puberty state. In under-weight women, breast size can shrink considerably. In women who put on weight, though the breasts increase in size, the contents are mainly fat tissue.

At each stage of a woman’s reproductive life, the breasts respond to estrogen output. They also respond each month after mid-cycle, when there are breast swelling and tenderness before a period.

To Bra or Not to Bra?

The average weight of each breast is between 150 and 200g. This increases to 400 to 500g during nursing. The combined breast weight of the average C-cup bust is 8 to 16 pounds. With the average D-cup, the weight is 15 to 23 pounds. With a DD-cup, it can be 30 pounds. Women who are full-figured appreciate the comfort and support of a well-fitting bra, as do nursing mothers. The debate is for women with neat pert breasts, for younger women, for all-size women who cannot find a bra which really fits without pinching or riding up, or without the straps digging into the shoulders and underarms.

Some smaller breasts, even when supported by a bra, drop early in life. Some larger breasts remain high and pert with no bra support. It seems to be the luck of the genes. The majority of women wear bras; they accept that the force of gravity could have some effect on their breasts. “The pull from a hanging breast…”

Some suggestions for wearing a bra include: if the breasts weigh over a pound each if the lower part dips to touch the chest wall when taking exercise, during pregnancy, and while nursing.

The findings from one study suggest that 7 out of 10 women have fitting problems with bras. The general recommendation is to have a cup size measured by a bra-fitting specialist every few years. Though the body weight can stay the same the distribution of breast tissue changes. The following tips might be useful when considering buying a new brassiere:

• A bra should feel comfortable when fastened on the middle hook.
• The breasts should be separated and completely contained within each cup.
• The cups should fit snugly over the breasts, with no pleating or creasing.
• The straps should be wide enough to protect against shoulder strain.
• Once the straps are adjusted, they should neither slip off the shoulders nor dig into them.
• The bust line should rest midway between the shoulders and elbows.
• The band should fit snugly under the bust line, and not cause a midriff bulge.
• The elastic should provide enough “give” to allow for easy movement without digging or cutting.

Breast Skin

Study the skin of the breasts. Become familiar with the size, shape, texture, and colour of any moles, freckles, or lumps. In teen girls, these are few. As time passes, most skins tend to get a little freckly, and more moles appear. Bras and moles together make hazardous conjunction. This is because a bra, no matter how well-fitting, can rub the mole if it is at the shoulders, and cause friction if it is under the breasts or across the back.

• Regular friction is an irritant.
• Irritants can be carcinogens (cancer-causing substances).
• Carcinogens are serious hazards in areas of constant friction:

Check to make sure there is no mole along any of the bra straplines. Some physicians consider it is a preventive health measure to remove any mole which is on the line of a bra strap before it can give trouble. This is an issue of personal choice. If deciding against removal, avoid anxiety with the decision. Forget the mole. Simply check at regular intervals for the following:

• Any change in the shape, size, or thickness of the mole.
• Any redness surrounding the area.
• Any inflammation near or actually on the mole.
• Any alteration in its colour or texture.
• Any new mole or other growth which suddenly appears.

Consult the physician promptly if any of the above occurs.

Pimples and spots on breast skin are fairly rare. But they can occur at the cleavage, and in the skin creases under the breasts. Take care that these areas do not become sites of infection. Check out personal hygiene. Daily washing with soap and warm water may not be enough. Increase this to twice a day.

Pimples and spots on breast skin can be treated like spots on the face or left to heal by themselves.

Tender Breasts

Each month, the breasts are prepared for a possible pregnancy. This phenomenon begins when the egg is released at mid-cycle. The tiny lobules swell up with fluid, and the breasts feel larger. In the week before the menstrual flow starts, even smooth breasts can feel lumpy, or grainy, or full of tiny bumps. There is a general feeling of heaviness and tenderness, the nipples tingle or itch. It has been estimated that this cyclic swelling causes discomfort in 50 percent of all women.

If no pregnancy occurs, the flow begins. The fluid in the lobules then drains away. The swelling, lumpiness, tenderness, and itching stop. The breasts return to their pre-period size, but they do not shrink back completely. Each month, there is a tiny increase in mammary development. This continues until about age 35. By then, it seems that the lobules and ducts have grown to their maximum (pre-pregnancy) size.

Keep in mind that breast tissue changes during each month.

Gynecomastia

Gynecomastia means “female-like breasts” in men. It happens to some degree in 50 percent of all boys at puberty and is due to the surges of the female as well as male hormones at this time. This type of gynecomastia is harmless and disappears within two years. However, the swellings can become large in boys who are overweight, and cause acute embarrassment. Gynecomastia can also occur in overweight men. A reduction in diet is the appropriate answer. Cosmetic surgery is another option.

A few men with no weight problems develop breasts as they age. This is due to a drop in testosterone production, so the effects of estrogen can show through.

Do You Know Your Breast Shapes?

Is it round like an apple?

Is it smooth like a pear?

The average breast shapes is like a tear.

Many a tear has been shed over the average breast tears of pride and pleasure, tears of panic and pain. It is not difficult to understand the tears of pride and pleasure. But what of the panic? And wherefore the pain?

For some women, breasts are the most anxiety-provoking area of the body. This is partly due to their prominent position. They cannot be kept entirely hidden from view, like the vagina or penis. Breasts are out there in the open, the unmistakable statement of a woman’s sexuality.

It seems likely that it is this exposure that makes a growing girl feels so vulnerable about her breasts.

From these early anxieties can start a lifetime of breast-worry? Why do my breasts ache? Why are they lumpy? Should I wear a bra? Why do I dislike the idea of breastfeeding? What are my chances of avoiding breast cancer? It is hard to love any structure which causes so much anxiety.

Yet breasts are to love and to celebrate: By a partner, by a baby, by the owner of them.

Breast Size

There reigns in our culture a tyranny over the size of the sexual organs. In particular, breasts must appear large, the fuller the figure the better. It seems that it is a quantity that matters, not quality; the popularity of breast implants clearly demonstrates this. Yet implants can be felt; they are a means of “show and tell.”

This tyranny over sexual size does not only affect women. Men suffer from it too, and often more painfully. Studies suggest that men are even more worried over penis size than women are over breast size. The following is from a questionnaire into male problems of body image: All the male respondents, except for the most extraordinarily endowed, expressed doubts about their sexuality based on their penile size.

Yet size and sexuality are in no way equated. Such muddled perceptions are very sad. No man or woman should “express doubts about their sexuality based on sexual organ size.” Women with smaller breasts may perceive that they are less attractive to a certain type of man, but that is not the same as doubting one’s sexuality.

Breasts, like other body parts, are not perfectly symmetrical. Each has its individual shape and structure. Almost invariably, one breast is smaller than the other, the right one usually being a little smaller than the left. Asymmetry is so slight that it is not noticeable. Bra cups fit well enough on both sides. The condition runs in families. Some women enjoy their quirky, unequal state. Others are embarrassed by it.

“Getting to know you Getting to know all about you…”

Run the fingers down the center of the chest. Feel the hard sternum (breastbone), and the ribs attached to it. Breast tissue is present from the sternum and right into the armpit. Feel the ribs under the breast tissue. The chest muscles, the major and minor pectorals, cannot be felt. They lie underneath the breast tissue. In some female bodybuilders, the “pecs” can be almost as developed as those of a man.

There is no voluntary muscle (the muscle which can be worked) in breast tissue, so exercise cannot develop the breasts. Yet it does develop the pectorals and helps keep them firm. Pectorals which have been effectively exercised give a slightly raised pad beneath the breasts, and this can make breasts of all sizes more noticeable.

Breast tissue is soft, pliant, and naturally droopy. Support is provided by a covering of strong, elastic tissue, which lies just under the skin of the breasts. This support is an extension of the tissue which covers the pectoral muscles of the chest wall. The firmness of this covering gives the young breast its high, pert look. When the elastic weakens and relaxes with age, or is stretched after many pregnancies, the breast drops.

The Areola

An areola is any colour part around a central focus (like the iris of the eye around the pupil). In breasts, the areola is an extension of the nipple, from which it spreads out in a radius of 1 to 2 cm. The areola and nipple are both heavily pigmented. As they are both parts of the same system, they are sometimes called the areola nipple complex.

The skin covering the breasts is smoother, thinner, and more translucent than skin over the rest of the body. Areola skin is particularly thin. At puberty, the areola and nipple darkening. In sexually-active Caucasian women, the colour can be grape-red, a royal purple, or a sepia-tinted brown. Eurasian and dark-skinned women have nipples that run the entire palette of lovely creams, cafe-au-lait, brown-as-a-berry, black.

Montgomery’s Glands

Look for the little bumps sprinkled over the areola. These are sebaceous glands. They are called Montgomery’s glands because that is the name of the physician who first described them. Sebaceous glands produce sebum, an oily, waxy fluid that is secreted in small amounts. Sebum keeps the skin soft, supple and the hair shafts glossy and clean.

The sebaceous glands of the areola do not start producing sebum until puberty when they are stimulated by estrogen. It is not unusual for the pore of a gland to become blocked. The trapped sebum dries, hardens, and forms a waxy, yellow plug. To avoid this, use a towel to rub the areola-nipple complex after a bath or shower to remove any oily deposits and keep the pores open. The waxy plug can be removed by gently popping it out, and applying a very mild antiseptic; it can be left to surface on its own and get rubbed away naturally in the normal course of events.

Nipple Shape

Is it long and prominent, a wise Roman nose?

Is it cute and cheerful, a small rosy button?

Or is it inverted, a shy bashful maiden?

Why are nipples so appealing to men?

Find the openings at the center of the nipple. This is where the milk ducts come together inside the breasts. From puberty onwards, a trace of milky fluid is exuded from the nipples. If not washed off, it can dry and form a tiny crust. Nipple skin is wrinkled and has elastic properties, so it can be lengthened. If a woman wishes for more prominent nipples, she can pull gently to stretch them. They will become longer, though this takes a fairly long time.

An inverted nipple is usually the result of a minor birth defect. For some unknown reason, scar tissue inside the nipple has built up. Scar tissue is inelastic, with no give or stretch. The milk ducts cannot grow down to the tip. The tough scar tissue acts like a bow-string, pulling the nipple inwards, and tethering it in place.

Some women are not bothered by inverted nipples. Others feel great distress. There is often an inability to breastfeed. One option is to have the condition reversed by nipple extraversion. The tough, restraining tissue is cut away, freeing the nipple, which is then sewn down so that it stays in place. However, the procedure does not always work; surgery can leave external lumpy scars, and the inversion can return on its own accord. If opting for surgery, discuss these factors with the surgeon.

In most cases, inverted nipples are no cause for concern, if they have been inverted since puberty. However, if either nipple starts to turn inwards at any age after puberty, particularly after age 35, visit the physician promptly. It could be a serious symptom.

Nipple Erection

When breasts start to develop, they gain a special degree of sensitivity. This special sensitivity is even stronger in the areola nipple complex. Before a period, some women find the entire breast area feels exquisitely tender. In a few cases, she cannot bear to have her breasts touched; even her bra can cause a feeling of irritation. This extra degree of sensitivity subsides once the period flow starts. All this is perfectly normal.

Upon sexual arousal, extra blood flows to the breasts. It causes the nipples to swell, harden, and become erect. This is known as spontaneous erection; it is not under the control of the conscious will. The woman cannot stop it, even if she tries to. However, the nipples also spontaneously erect at non-erotic forms of stimulation: cold, fear, tension, or another non-erotic touch. Men are acutely aware of nipple response. A woman who dresses so that her nipples show through her clothing creates a magnet for male eyes. It does not matter that the nipple is erecting in non-erotic response, e.g., in response to the chilly wind. It is the fact that the nipple is seen to erect which is fascinating to men.

From puberty onwards, men must learn to cope with spontaneous erections of the penis. It takes a while before these can be got (almost) under control. Men can feel very vulnerable when unwanted bulges show through their pants. Perhaps part of the pleasure they get at viewing women’s nipples is linked to their own vulnerable state. In an erotic situation, it is not only exciting but immensely reassuring for the man to know that his partner is responding to desire.

The excitement men get from nipple erection is one of the main reasons why breast size is far less important than some women, (and a few men) think. Breast action is what men value, a nipple that responds and erects eagerly for love.

Related Article – > Know Your Breast

How much do most women really know about their breasts?

Most likely very little. Unless they develop breast problems (sagging, small breast, heavy droopy breast, etc.). Women usually are not motivated to learn about the inner structure of this intimate feminine part but yet one needs to be more familiar with the normal anatomy and physiology (function) of the breasts.

With this knowledge, you will know how our breast enhancement changes your breasts.

Here, breast information is simple and straightforward. It offers women a baseline for knowing their own breast and breast health care. Additionally, it provides assistance for women interested in breast enhancement, a crucial routine for alluring cleavages and youthful breasts.

Breast Anatomy

The breast is one major body area for which the relationship between size and satisfaction, body image, and psychosocial functioning, appear to be more complex. As documented, in a review of trends in feminine beauty, conceptions of ideal breast size have tended to fluctuate rather dramatically. In this century, preferred breast size grew continually to having “bosom mania” as compared to the early 1960s.

Although the idea of staying slim to extreme thinness is always been sorted after, the preferred breast size has not changed at all! Just looked at the ideal female body portrayed in magazines appealing to men (e.g., Playboy), while taller, leaner, and nearly hipless, but continues to be relatively large breasted. Similar ideals are purveyed in movies, on TV, and in some fashion magazines and clothing catalogs. Experiencing oneself as failing to meet societal standards for physical attractiveness has repeatedly been implicated in body dissatisfaction and body image disturbance.

Now more women are more conscious about their breasts as much as men do. How you feel about yourself is how you present, carry and show yourself towards your friends, colleague, or in any environment.

The actual breast is a mound of glandular, fatty, and fibrous tissue; composed of hormone-sensitive mammary glands, blood vessels, and connective tissue (milk glands or lobules. Each female breast has about 12 to 15 breast lobules) and ducts. The breast itself has no muscle tissue. It is surrounded by a layer of fat, which in turn is covered by the skin. This fatty tissue gives the breast a soft consistency and gentle, flowing contour. Milk is produced in the milk glands and collects in the small ducts called terminal ducts.

These terminal ducts joined together to form larger ducts, which eventually drain to the nipples. There are also sensory nerves that give a feeling to the breast. These nerves extend upward from the muscle layer through the breast and are highly sensitive, especially in the regions of the nipple and areola, which accounts for the sexual responsiveness of some women’s breasts. The ducts end in the nipple which protrudes from the surface of the breast where the milk is secreted by the glands and suckled by a baby during breastfeeding.

Beneath the lower and outer portions of the breast, is a large muscle, the pectoralis major, which assists in arm movement, and it is where the breast rests. Also found, is a rich system of blood vessels that supply nutrients and hormones to the breast. The breast is responsive to a complex interplay of hormones that causes the breast tissue to develop, engorge, and enlarge. This breast enlargement is achieved when blood flow is increased and blood vessels are ‘fatten’.

Keep in mind that up to day 14, the uterus lining is proliferative, thick and hard, and dividing in no particular direction. After the mid-cycle, the lining is secretory; it stops dividing and becomes soft and lush. Estrogen and progesterone control this. In turn, they are controlled by pituitary hormones. These, in turn, are controlled by the hypothalamus. If there is a disorder at any point in this chain, the cycles are thrown out of balance. The hormones receive incorrect feedback and periods become irregular.

For example, if an egg is not ripened, or one is not released, estrogen production stays high, and progesterone is not produced. This is unopposed estrogen. The endometrium stays proliferative and hard. At the period time, it cannot tear away easily and only fragments break off. The result is scrappy or scant periods, sometimes followed at a later month by a very heavy flow.

In other cases, the build-up of the lining goes on for weeks, until the estrogen-producing cells simply wear out. When this happens, the lining becomes so thick that it finally breaks down and a period starts. Bleeding is usually severe; heavy and prolonged. In fact, periods that come only two or three times a year may be shedding menstrual debris built up over many cycles. The uterus is never completely emptied. It does not get a fresh monthly start.

In other cases, the ovary goes through its normal cycle, yet for some unknown reason, it speeds up. The egg is ripened too quickly, ovulation is early, and the thickening and softening of the lining are all speeded up. So periods come rapidly, every two or three weeks, though the amount of flow is the same. It can be due to physical or mental stress or after pregnancy when the pituitary is still adjusting. This type of “polymenorrhea” or “dysfunctional bleeding” is not serious. Periods usually settle down after a few months.

In a mature woman, irregular periods with or without heavy bleeding are often a sign of approaching menopause. In a younger woman, they may not have settled down and are normally erratic.

However, irregular periods can be a sign of the following:

• Ectopic pregnancy.
• Endometriosis, an overgrowth of the uterus lining.
• Problems with fertility.
• Growth in the uterus: polyps or fibroids.
• Precancerous changes in the reproductive organs.

Visit the physician promptly to make sure that all is well.

Menstruation is the release of blood and endometrial tissue through the vagina that occurs as part of the normal menstrual cycle. Menstrual disorders may involve the absence of menses (amenorrhea), abnormal vaginal bleeding, or other conditions related to menstruation example toxic shock syndrome.

A woman’s menstrual history begins with her first period (menarche) and continues until menopause. It includes average cycle length, and commonly associated symptoms, such as menstrual cramps, ovulation pain, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), or premenstrual disorder.

Menstruation is understood as an external hemorrhage from the sexual organs, is only the outward and visible sign of a highly complex process. Menstruation occurs at intervals of 25 days or four weeks and ceases after a varying number of days. The other and more important part of the menstrual cycle is not outwardly perceptible and consists of the release of an ovum from the ovary.

In a woman’s life, she may experience a temporary interruption of menstruation during pregnancy and nursing. It may also be affected by illness, nervous disorders, or malnutrition.

Normally, menstruation occurs regularly throughout the period during which a woman is sexually mature, which is usually from about the fourteenth to the forty-ninth year. But there are exceptions. The periods often begin at twelve or even earlier at nine years of age, some as late as the twentieth year.

The menstruation usually ceases in the fortieth or fiftieth year, uncommon instances in the thirtieth. There have been cases where some women continued with perfect regularity until the sixtieth year. It is understood, in normal, the earlier the appearance of menstruation the longer the capacity for child-bearing, and vice-versa.

Symptoms of Menstrual

There are factors that influence the date of the first menstruation. The menstrual period is strongly affected by poor diet or health, organ abnormality, climates, and lifestyle habitual. Puberty is reached earlier in some southern countries than in northern ones, as is also menopause. Before or during the period, the female body will signal or carry some symptoms to sense the arrival of menstrual. For example, contraction in the lower abdominal, a feeling of heaviness, constipation, swelling or pain in breasts, and sensitive nipples. Some complaints of thirstiness and backache. There may be nervous symptoms, headaches, irritability, feverish, etc. In short, women at that time feel “unwell.” This feeling is usually relieved when the menstrual flow begins. However, often it remains throughout the menstruation period.

All these complaints are part and parcel of the natural process and there are few women who menstruate without discomfort and pain. But it if these typical symptoms become intensified and constant in every period such as; violent spasmodic cramps and the pains become intolerable, if simple dislike to food turns nausea, or if slight nervousness becomes a real psychosis. Then it is no longer normal but a disturbance of menstruation that must be diagnosed and *treated.

*Menstrual pain can be very agonizing if not properly treated. Many girls and women gave up their studies, work, or activities temporarily and seek medical leave for a day or two every month, some even spend two or three days in misery owing to menstrual pain.

In such cases, a doctor should be consulted. Firstly, to find out the reason for the pain, in each individual case, only after the cause has been accurately diagnosed is it possible to make a successful attempt to cure it. There are many cases where the pain is due to incomplete development of the uterus (twisted uterus) associated with the presence of a curve in the organ. Instead of the blood flowing out freely, it is dammed back at the point where the curve or twist is, and the uterus has to make spasmodic contractions in order to force it past the obstruction. Hence, these contractions cause pain.

There are many prescribed drugs for the relief of menstrual pain. Some are effective in the relief of menstrual pain but not advisable to take them frequently.

This applies also to the cycle and duration of the flow. Take for instance the healthy woman as standard. If menstruation occurs irregularly or if it fails to occur at all, interruption or disturbance of the genital system may be presumed.

Usually have dual or multiple positive effects. Therefore, herbs are usually prescribed differently than conventional medicines. Rather than treat one isolated symptom, herbs are generally used more holistically to balance the whole person. There also seems to be something beyond what we can scientifically measure at this point in time, which imbues healing power to herbs and many other natural remedies.

Some herbalists explain this power as the life force, the energy, or vibration of the plant itself, which increases and redirects the energy of the person taking the herb.

Also in contrast to conventional medicine, rather than isolating the “active agent,” herbalist uses the whole plant or whole parts of the plant such as leaves, flowers, or roots. Frequently, plants contain constituents that work together synergistically. Sometimes using the whole plant helps decrease the side effects that may occur when using isolated components. Herbs function in several different ways, and some function in more than one way, to alleviate menopausal difficulties.

Many of the herbs used for menopausal problems contain plant hormones, also known as phytosterols or phytoestrogens.

They are not exactly like human hormones, but rather natural forms of hormones that either function as weaker versions of human hormones, or that can be converted into hormones by your body. For example:

Black cohosh has been used in clinical practice for over thirty-five years, especially in Germany. It has been clearly documented that a component of black cohosh binds to estrogen receptors on our cells and acts as a weak estrogen. A randomized double-blind study proved that 4 mg of black cohosh per day was superior to that of the usual daily dose of prescription conjugated estrogens (0.625 mg) such as Premarin in relieving menopausal symptoms. Herbs are frequently nourishing and can be considered to be food.

For example, soybean and alfalfa are high in phytoestrogen, minerals (calcium, magnesium), and vitamins (A, B complex, C, D, E, and K) that support normal function.

As all women experience great demands upon their bodies from all the hormonal changes that occur during menopause. You can significantly improve your menopausal symptoms by eating well and by supplementing your diet with good quality vitamins and minerals. The steroidogenic activity that is taking place in the adrenal glands and ovaries can be supported by an enhanced intake of the nutrients that are used in this process.

Menopause Herbal Remedies

Herbal remedies have been used to treat the symptoms of menopause throughout history in many cultures. The ancient Egyptians, Native Americans, Asians, and Chinese all used herbs to nourish and balance women’s bodies.

Today we have the benefit of modern research to enhance our understanding of how herbs work, and we also have access to herbs from all over the world, thus expanding our repertory of menopausal remedies.

Herbal remedies can be extremely useful during menopause to relieve symptoms and increase overall health. Some women find that they can resolve their menopausal symptoms by the use of herbs alone.

You may want to find a qualified herbalist to help you choose the right combination of herbs for your particular menopause type. The use of herbal preparations in menopause goes far beyond relieving hot flashes.

Herbs also are able to:

• Maintain the health and tone of the uterus
• Increase adrenal gland and ovarian function
• Increase the capability of the body to adapt to the changes of aging and menopause.
• Beneficial in relieving symptoms of anxiety or depression
• Preserving memory and other mental functions

The type of herbs taken during menopause work by restoring function to tissues that have been damaged by illness, stress, hormone changes, and aging. It takes time for them to have an effect because the tissues have to be healed first, and then normal function begins to operate again. You may not notice the beneficial effects of your herbal remedy for a couple of weeks or even a month.

Some herbs need to be taken for several months before the effect takes hold.

For instance, the well-known abilities of Pueraria roots and black cohosh to relieve menopause symptoms, ginkgo to improve memory and learning, and St. John’s wort to relieve depression all require the use of herbs for months. So, you have to be a little patient and give the herbs time to do their job.

The following changes do not begin until some years after menopause. Many women do not experience them. A few find that they start earlier. Most of the changes are a normal part of the aging process, and not due to estrogen withdrawal. The following descriptions of the reproductive organs as they move into extreme old age are a “worst-case” scenario. It is not reading for the fainthearted.

7 Changes After Menopause

1. Vulva Changes:
   The vulva and its contents start to shrink. The plump tissue of the outer lips (labia majora) begins to disappear. The thin inner lips (labia minora) become very small. Pubic hair grows straighter and more scanty. In extreme old age, the vulva has a glazed or shiny look.
2. Vagina Changes:
   The walls of the vagina become shorter, thinner, and narrower. There is a loss of elasticity, and the ridges flatten out. A reduced blood supply makes the lining less robust, with a risk of dryness, itching, and pain at intercourse. There is an increased risk of infection due to a change in the acidity.
3. Uterus Changes:
   The uterus gets smaller as the walls get thinner. The lining still responds to estrogen if taking ERT. The oviducts cease to function; this appears to have no health effect.
4. Pelvic Floor Changes:
   The whole support system can weaken as the muscles and ligaments become more flaccid. There is an increased risk of prolapse from the bladder, rectum, uterus, or vagina itself.
5. Bladder & Urethra Changes:
   The walls become thinner and lose some elasticity. The tissue is more at risk of bladder infections and stress incontinence.
6. Breast Changes:
   The gland tissue shrinks. The support ligaments lose some of their elasticity so the breasts droop. The nipples become smaller and flatter and can lose their ability to erect.
7. Changes in Men:
   These are not so obvious because men do not have tissue moisture and plumpness in the first place. Nor do they lose their slight production of estrogen. There is a gradual decline in testosterone at about age 40. Later, the effects of estrogen can show through as male breasts and a general softening of the skin. The non-estrogen-dependent effects of aging equally apply to the male genitals.

Perhaps the main difference between midlife women and men is that most men would avoid reading about the effects of aging!

Self-Care

A vagina that feels dry can be dampened with baby oil or vegetable oil. Avoid the use of other lotions or creams; they interfere with the vagina’s ecology and yeast can flare-up. Lovemaking and masturbation help to maintain the vagina’s robust muscle tone. Do Kegels exercises daily. Itchiness can be soothed and relieved by applying bancha tea or Vitamin E oil topically to the vulva and vagina area. The risk of urinary and vaginal infections can be reduced by wearing loose cotton underclothes. A hot, moist environment encourages germs and infections. Keep the area as cool and dry as possible.

Some women report that they can reduce most of the symptoms of menopause by herbal therapies; others choose acupuncture. Vitamin and mineral supplements are other routes. Vitamin E may help reduce hot flashes. Vitamin C, D, and calcium are essential for bone formation. Vitamin A deficiency has been associated with heavy bleeding. Magnesium and vitamin B complex may reduce edema, help with relaxation, and ease stress. Warning! Never take any supplements in high doses. They can be toxic. Also, they can interfere with the absorption of healthful nutrients in the diet.

Theory Land

According to a report in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour, there are clear-cut benefits to regular sexual activity. “It may help reduce or stop some menopausal symptoms. Women who maintain a consistent sex life are less likely to experience hot flashes. There is a close association between increasing irregularity of menstrual cycles, hot flashes, declining estrogen levels, and declining frequency of intercourse.

“Regular sexual activity might have a protective action against lowering hormone levels and therefore its absence is associated with the disruption of cycles. The discomfort of hot flashes and other associated symptoms might have an inhibiting effect on sexual behavior. But the association between hot flashes and reduced frequency of intercourse may result from some common third variable.”

Another theory concerns the hormones in a partner’s ejaculate. These might be absorbed through the vagina walls and keep them more robust. It is suggested that this is why women who enjoyed lovemaking before menopause continue to do so afterward, and maybe even keener than before. It is an interesting theory because the male hormones in ejaculate contain prostaglandins, and an excess of prostaglandins can cause the uterus to contract with period cramps.

Yet another theory suggests that freedom from the risk of pregnancy heightens a sense of freedom in bed. This was a popular theory until a few women reported that the risk of pregnancy has been a sexual “turn on.” Now it was gone, they were no longer as excited or keen.

Use It or Lose It?

Does the “use it or lose it” maxim apply to the vagina? Maybe, when any muscle group is not worked over a long period of time, it atrophies. First, it loses strength and stamina. Then, and only after a very prolonged time, it withers and dies. This is true for tissue, nerves, blood vessels, all the body organs, including the vagina. The more any tissue is exercised, the less risk there is of “disuse atrophy.”

Midlife men have the same risk, only to a greater degree. A penis that is not regularly exercised will rapidly succumb to disuse atrophy. This rarely happens. The penis erects at night during REM sleep and stays erect for 20 minutes or more at intervals during each night. Even in extreme old age, men without partners (and some with) masturbate to relieve sexual tension and because they enjoy the activity. By these methods, the penis is regularly exercised and kept healthy.

The same phenomenon occurs with clitoral erection. The vagina is not involved, though it may produce the sweating phenomenon during REM sleep; research is still needed. Be wary of indulging in excess sexual activity in order to avoid the risk of vaginal atrophy.
Keep in mind that other maxim: moderation in all things.

Neither menopause nor aging changes sexual desire of itself. Of far more relevance are the levels of activity before menopause, expectations of continuing activity, the general state of health, and the presence of an. active partner. At midlife, a woman can find her partner has erection problems. She may be divorced, widowed, or otherwise on her own. Marriage to an older man carries a risk of early widowhood because men die five to seven years earlier than women. In some cases, and often cruelly, a woman can be abandoned by her spouse at midlife.

Sexual activity can improve after menopause if there have been troublesome periods, constant infections, or fears of unintended pregnancy. Self-pleasure (masturbation) is a natural outlet for women on their own. It is not unknown for a woman who has a selfish partner to become assertive and stop all activity if she perceives him as boorish and unloving. Could this new and feisty attitude be due to the effects of testosterone showing through?

According to one study, nearly half of the women involved said that they masturbated in their 50s. This fell to one-third at age 70 and over. Two-thirds of the men in their 50s masturbated; this fell to just under half at age 70 and over. Those having orgasms ranged from 83 percent of women in their 50s to 74 percent in their 70s and over. 91 percent of men had orgasms in their 50s; and 73 percent in their 70s and over.

Sex is like fine wine. It gets better with aging.

Exercise

If exercise is a loathsome thing
Dance, or frisk on a trampoline.

Apart from all the benefits of exercise already listed in this chapter, vigorous physical activity stimulates the production of endorphins. These are morphine-like compounds secreted by the brain. Endorphins are the body’s natural pain-killers. They also provide sensations of a high, with enhanced self-image and self-esteem. Other benefits of exercise include:

• Speeds up the metabolic rate for up to 24 hours afterward.
• Builds muscle which keeps bones strong and ligaments taut.
• Burns fat for fuel and increases fat-burning efficiency.
• Continues to burn extra calories after exercise stops.
• Relieves symptoms of stress and can control depression.
• Reduces the risk of heart disease and osteoporosis.
• Relieves some symptoms of dysmenorrhea and PMS.
• Tones up the skin and improves body outline.
• Slows down the aging process.
• Increases energy levels.

In short, if exercise could be bought and taken in tablet form like vitamin supplements, would you buy and consume it?

Fitness can be maintained by doing aerobic exercises for 20 minutes or more at least 3 times per week. The intensity of the activity should raise the heart rate to between 60 and 75 percent of the maximum heart rate. The average maximum heart rate is determined by taking 220 and subtracting the present age. The target heart rate is the appropriate percentage of that rate. Women with a history of heart disease, who are over 45, or who are obese should not exceed 75 percent of their maximum heart rate. Consult a doctor before embarking upon an exercise program.

Warning! Avoid jumping, jogging, and bouncing if there is the slightest tendency to prolapse. “Jumping Jacks” can start urine leakage where none existed before. Bouncing adds nothing to the goals of aerobic exercise. It can overstretch the muscles and ligaments and hurt the knees. Try walking. Start slowly and gradually speed up the pace over a few weeks.

There has been so much emphasis on exercise that women who are disabled could feel dismayed. If confined to a wheelchair, or lying prone in bed, small weights can be lifted, stretching programs achieved, and isometric exercises accomplished.

One phenomenon of menopause is that many women believe they are now free of the physician’s office. The risk of pregnancy is over, periods have ceased, all is well. And so it is. Keep in mind, however, that cancers and heart disease are to be guarded against after menopause. Regular mammograms, Pap smears, pelvic exams, breast screenings, and treadmill tests bring that greatest of all health benefits — peace of mind.