At Home Christian Jessen 2014 - 170

| HEALTH RISKS|

fertility problems if the fallopian tubes
or ovaries are damaged.
TREATMENT: There is no known
cure for endometriosis. However,
the symptoms can be managed with
painkillers or hormone medication.
Surgery to remove patches of
endometriosis tissue can sometimes be
used to improve symptoms and fertility.

5

Hair loss

An estimated eight
million women in the
UK have hair loss
(medically known as alopecia).
There are many types of hair loss
with diﬀerent symptoms and causes;
one type is female-pattern baldness.

SYMPTOMS, CAUSES AND
EFFECTS: During female-pattern
baldness, which is also called
adrogenic or androgenetic alopecia,
hair gradually thins, often from the top
of the head. Female-pattern baldness
becomes more common in women
after the menopause (when a woman's
monthly periods stop at around the
age of 52). It tends to run in families.
TREATMENT: More common types
of hair loss do not need treatment
because they are a natural part of
ageing. However, there are scientiﬁcally
formulated products to tackle thinning
hair, such as the DS Laboratories
Revita Shampoo range (www.
dslaboratoriesstore.co.uk). Your GP
may also suggest possible treatments.
Minoxidil, for example, can be used
to treat female-pattern baldness.
If you have signiﬁcant hair loss, you
may decide to wear a wig, which is
available on the NHS. There are also
surgical options available, including
a hair transplant - increasingly popular
- and artiﬁcial hair implants.

6

Cervical
cancer

This is a rare type of
cancer that develops in
a woman's cervix, the entrance to
the womb from the vagina.

SYMPTOMS, CAUSES AND
EFFECTS: Cervical cancer often has
no symptoms in its early stages, though
the most common is unusual vaginal
bleeding, which can occur after sex,
in-between periods or after the
menopause. Almost all cases of
cervical cancer are caused by the
human papillomavirus (HPV) - which is
often spread during sex.
There are more than 100 different
types of HPV, many of which are
harmless. However, some types can
170 | JULY 2014

'IF YOU HAVE SIGNIFICANT HAIR
LOSS, YOU MAY DECIDE TO WEAR A
WIG, WHICH IS AVAILABLE ON THE
NHS, OR OPT FOR A TRANSPLANT'
disrupt the normal functioning of the
cells of the cervix and trigger the onset
of cancer. Two strains in particular,
HPV 16 and HPV 18, which have no
symptoms, are responsible for 70% of
all cases of cervical cancer.
TREATMENT: Since 2008, a HPV
vaccine has been routinely offered to
girls between the ages of 12 and 13.
The NHS offers a national screening
programme open to all women from
the age of 25, commonly referred to
as a cervical smear test. During
screening, a small sample of cells is
taken from the cervix and checked
under a microscope for abnormalities.
If cervical cancer is diagnosed at an
early stage, surgery to remove some
or all of the womb, radiotherapy, or a
combination of the two is recommended.

7

Heart disease

Far from only being a
problem for men who
are overweight and
eat unhealthily, heart disease is
responsible for the deaths of more
than one in 10 women every year
in the UK alone. Coronary heart
disease is contracted when your

coronary arteries (those that supply
your heart muscle with oxygen-rich
blood) become narrowed by a build-up
of fatty material within their walls.
In time, your arteries may become
so narrow that they cannot deliver
enough oxygen-rich blood to your
heart. The pain and discomfort you
may feel as a result is called angina.

SYMPTOMS, CAUSES AND
EFFECTS: A shortness of breath,
chest pains, dizziness, fainting and
heart palpitations are all signs that
you need your heart checked out.
Two major issues contributing to
heart disease in women over 50 are
high cholesterol and smoking. Consultant
cardiologist, Dr Duncan Dymond
(www.drduncandymond.com) says:
'Unlike men, women do not experience
chest pain when having a heart attack.
Instead, they might have abnormal
heart beats, sudden fatigue or vomiting.'
TREATMENT: Modern techniques
including Electron Beam Computed
Tomography (EBCT) and Percutaneous
Coronary Intervention (PCI) - which
uses stents to open blocked arteries
- are often used, but treatment
depends on individual cases.
http://dslaboratoriesstore.co.uk http://www.drduncandymond.com
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