Women's health concerns

Accurately sense your own body signals, avoid common health misunderstandings, and implement layered disease prevention and control based on your age and living habits.

Last week I met Xiao Lin, a 29-year-old planner at a community free clinic. He saved up three months' bonuses to do a set of "ovarian care" worth more than 2,000 yuan. The next day after the massage, his lower abdomen hurt and he broke into a cold sweat. When he went for a B-ultrasound, he found a small amount of pelvic bleeding, which was caused by the corpus luteum being slightly ruptured by the massage. It took a week to heal. She was extremely aggrieved and said that the salesperson told her that doing this could delay aging and regulate menstruation. Her menstruation was always delayed, so she thought it would be better than taking medicine. Would you say it's outrageous or not? The ovaries are located deep in the pelvic cavity and cannot be pressed from the belly under normal circumstances. The so-called essential oil massage is either a waste of money, or it causes problems like hers.

Speaking of which, I have to mention the issue of "should I take painkillers for dysmenorrhea" that everyone has been arguing about for many years. The older generation always says that "it's medicine that's half poison." Just bear with it and have a baby, and some people worry that taking ibuprofen will make you addicted. The current clinical consensus is actually very clear: if primary dysmenorrhea has affected work and life, give priority to taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for relief. At normal doses, they will not be addictive and will not hurt the stomach. On the contrary, it is much more cost-effective than enduring emotional anxiety and menstrual disorders. Of course, if you feel that drinking hot water and applying a hot water bottle can relieve the pain, there is no need to take medicine. Your own comfort is the most important thing.

There is also the concept of "uterine cold" that has been controversial for a long time. This diagnostic term does not exist in the Western medicine system. Many doctors will also say that "drinking ice will not cause dysmenorrhea." But you have to admit that there are indeed many people who experience abdominal pain that gets significantly worse and blood clots in their menstrual blood after they drink iced milk tea or blow on the air conditioner with their waist exposed. In fact, there is no need to worry about whether the term is correct. You have been living with your body for decades, and its feelings are more accurate than any academic definition. If you drink ice so much that you can’t stand up, then even if everyone says it’s okay to drink ice, you don’t have to follow the trend. ； If it’s so hot in the summer that you sweat and eat a popsicle, it’s okay, and you don’t need to be frightened by the “Gong Han” hat and dare not touch the cold.

The controversy over hormone supplementation is even greater. Two factions are arguing on the Internet. One faction says that "estrogen supplementation will cause cancer, so don't take it." The other faction says that "estrogen supplementation is an anti-aging artifact." In fact, both are too extreme. The Menopause Group of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association has long issued guidelines. As long as you are within 10 years of menopause, are under the age of 60, and have no contraindications such as family history of breast cancer or blood clots, supplementing low-dose estrogen as directed by your doctor can not only relieve menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, insomnia, and emotional irritability, but also prevent osteoporosis. The benefits far outweigh the risks. But the premise is that you must seek evaluation from a doctor in a regular hospital. You must not just buy health products that claim to be "purely natural anti-aging". Many Sanwu products secretly add large doses of estrogen, which can lead to endometrium hyperplasia after half a year of consumption.

Many people don’t know that in addition to the reproductive system, women’s risk of thyroid disease is more than three times that of men. Last year, during the team health check-up in our department, 6 out of 8 female doctors had thyroid nodules. We were so busy that we didn’t even have time to drink water. When we were under great pressure, we were used to carrying it on our own, so the nodules accumulated. It is recommended that women over 30 years old must have thyroid color ultrasound and breast color ultrasound during their annual physical examination. These two organs are really affected by emotions. There used to be a 38-year-old stay-at-home mother whose husband was away from home all the time and raising two children. She was diagnosed with breast nodule 4a. She said, "I don't even have time to cry every day. She has to cook for the children and send them to school, and take care of the elderly. How can I get sick?" It was very uncomfortable to hear. In fact, many studies now confirm that long-term stress and anxiety have a much greater impact on endocrine system than if you eat iced milk tea ten times.

Oh, yes, there is another point that people tend to overlook: ordinary physical examinations cannot replace gynecological screening. After you have sex at the age of 21, you should do regular TCT and HPV screening to prevent cervical cancer. Don’t think that you don’t need to do it because you are young and have a fixed partner. The youngest patient with cervical precancerous lesions I have ever seen was only 23 years old. Don’t think that gynecological examinations are useless after menopause. Many elderly women think that “there is no need to check since they have stopped menstruating.” If they wait until abnormal vaginal bleeding is checked again, it is often late-stage endometrial cancer, which is a pity.

In fact, I am not writing so much to list health rules that everyone must abide by. After all, everyone’s life rhythm and physical condition are very different. I have seen girls who stay up late every day dancing to the disco and drinking cold beer without any problems, and I have also seen people who go to bed early and get up early every day and eat three meals regularly are diagnosed with breast nodules. There is really no need to copy other people's health templates. If you feel comfortable drinking ice, drink it. If you look good in midriff-baring clothes, wear them. If you feel uncomfortable, stop. Don’t save money on regular screenings. Don’t hold yourself back for the standard of a “perfect woman.” It’s more useful than buying bird’s nests or doing any maintenance.

Really, you have the final say over your body.