Women are unique. It is due to their distinct biological, social and behavioral conditions that the diseases and illness
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that affect them are different from the ones that affect men in more than one way.
Why Women Require Special Care?
Even though women constitute an integral part of the family and society, the subject matter of a woman’s health almost always takes a backseat. As the chief caregiver of the family, a woman is busy taking care of every member of the family and in turn forgets to take care of herself.
While the health of the children in the family often finds preference over and above everything else, in many families, the health of the woman is generally neglected. And hence it becomes the responsibility of the rest of the people to take proper care of her.
The entire life-cycle of a woman is a turbulent ride. Right from inception in her mother’s womb to aging in later years, each stage of development affects her growth and health.
1.Major impediments in women’s health care
Though the gender gap in life expectancy- which was magnanimously lower for women a few decades ago- has narrowed considerably, yet there are many health related problems that women experience and fall prey to severe diseases with poor outcomes.
It is not just the biology of women that influences the maladies they suffer from but also, conditions such as employment, poverty, and above all family responsibility- that shape their health issues. Yet another major road block affecting women’s health lies in their under representation in research studies.
2. What Are The Characteristic Problems That Set Women’s Health Care Apart?
The reproductive and sexual health places a certain burden on women. Even after advancements made in the field of medicine, pregnancy and childbirth are still associated with substantial risks to women. Maternal mortality, still, claims the life of more than a quarter of million women, each year. The gaps of this record witnesses larger gaps between developed and developing countries.
The next thing that demands attention is the case of sexually transmitted infections which has serious consequences not just for the woman but also her offspring. The transmission of such ailments from mother to child leads to cases such as stillbirths and neonatal deaths.
The other causes which adversely affect a woman are the concern for birth control, and the case of unconsensual sexual activity, unplanned pregnancy, and lastly the fight for admittance to abortion.
Menstrual cycles are another factor that results not only in physiological changes but also affects the physical and mental health. Menopause, marked by irregular menstrual cycles, result in substantial changes in the hormonal activities of a woman. It also brings out the emotional and psychological changes associated with the loss of fertility, which is a reminder of aging and a possible loss of desirability.
And an even more mentally exhausting possibility is coping with the results of premature menopause, which could be caused as a result of medical or surgical intervention.
3. What Are The Diseases That Should Be Kept In Mind For Taking A Step Towards Proper Health Care?
- Pelvic inflammatory disease– If not taken proper care of leads to infertility in women
- Breast cancer: This is among the ten most common chronic diseases and if not treated properly and timely can result in death.
- Ovarian, colorectal, uterine and cervical cancer are the other ones in the series which require more attention to be drawn towards them.
- Lung cancer: Though this affects both men and women in the same way, yet the risk of falling to lung cancer is tripled in the case of non-smoking women than the non-smoking men.
4. Atherosclerosis
It is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among women. The five major cardiovascular risk factors are age, hypertension, family history, cigarette smoking and lipid abnormalities.
5. Depression, dementia and other mental diseases
Women are more at risk to be caught up in anxiety, depression and psychosomatic disorders. Various social factors and traditional customs are the culprits of creating a detrimental atmosphere which results in depression as a major ailment in women. Women are twice as prone to depression as men, which is possibly because of all the hormonal changes they go through in their lifetime- starting from puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause.
6. Anemia, iron deficiency and malnutrition
As mentioned already, women tend to take care of others while keeping their own health in negligence, including the diet regimen. They are more affected with deficiency and malnutrition as compared to men due to the iron deficiency that starts in adolescence with excess blood loss due to the menstrual cycle. This calls for an increased demand of iron for growth which is seen to be neglected in young women, owing to the obsession of losing weight.
7. Obesity and diabetes
This problem finds its roots in the major lifestyle changes including the diet and physical activities of a woman.
What Preventive Measures Should Be Taken And Where Is The Work Most Needed To Be Done When Taking Care Of Women’s Health Problems?
Women need to be encouraged to make informed choices about their reproductive and sexual health.
Creating awareness: Women need to be made aware of the unique problems they could face and family plays the most important part in helping them reach this realization. Sex-education forms an important part of the process of generating a conscious mindset.
Access to skilled care: Not only more health care centers have to be made available, but women also need to be drawn towards them to get proper check-ups and necessary guidance that they require in order to stay healthy.
Contraception : Lack of adequate access to contraception leads to unwanted pregnancy, and this leads to women seeking the option of abortion, which results in detrimental effects on their health. With the use of proper contraceptives, women have the freedom to reduce the need for potentially unsafe abortions.
Stress-reducing activities : Women should be encouraged to indulge in activities which help in letting go of stress. They need to be made aware of the importance of a healthy diet. Cutting out on food only leads to deficiencies and weakness. One can join gym, or yoga classes if one wants to stay in shape, but it should be very clear that dieting is not an option, if you want to stay healthy.
Exercise : should be bound in the habit with preference being given to cardio regime. This keeps the heart healthy and reduces the risk of various cardiovascular diseases which would otherwise make home inside one’s body.
A proper sleep schedule : holds as much importance as any other thing. Having irregular sleeping schedules or not getting enough sleep can create its own set of troubles.
Genetic test : Every woman is advised to get a genetic test in order to ascertain any potential disease that she could meet with in the future, like breast cancer, ovarian cancer, etc. This way the problem can be diagnosed and remedied much before it leapfrogs into something unmanageable.
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