Welcome to Women's Health Nurse!

Often putting themselves last, women tend to overlook the importance of maintaining a healthy mind and body.

The unique health care issues women face throughout their lives include physical issues such as sexual and reproductive health, fertility, menopause, osteoporosis, urinary tract infection (UTI), fitness, and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Women also confront vital psychological concerns like stress management, anxiety, depression, and even premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

Common Health Concerns for Women

What is PreMenstrual Syndrome?

PMS is a disorder characterized by a set of hormonal changes that trigger disruptive symptoms in a significant number (estimated 40 million suffers) of women for up to two weeks prior to menstruation.

Often symptoms tend to taper off with menstruation and women remain symptom-free until the two weeks or so prior to the next menstrual period. These regularly recurring symptoms from ovulation until menses typify PMS, premenstrual syndrome.

Learn more about PMS symptoms and natural treatment.

What is Menopause?

Menopause is the time at "mid-life" when a woman has her last period. It happens when the ovaries stop releasing eggs - usually a gradual process. Sometimes it happens all at once.

Perimenopause is the period of gradual changes that lead into menopause. It affects a woman's hormones, body, and feelings. It can be a stop-start process that may take months or years.

"Climacteric" is another word for the time when a woman passes from the reproductive to the non-reproductive years of her life.

The ovaries' production of estrogen slows down during perimenopause. Hormone levels fluctuate, causing changes just as they did during adolescence.

The changes leading to menopause may seem much more intense than those during puberty. The intensity may be affected by a woman's feelings about aging, including her reactions to social judgments about aging.

Induced menopause occurs if the ovaries are removed or damaged as in hysterectomy or chemotherapy. In this case, menopause begins immediately, with no perimenopause. The time after menopause is called Post menopause.

The average age for a woman's final period is 51, but it can occur as early as age 40 and as late as age 60. Each woman's experience with menopause is unique. Some women experience very few changes during this time, while others report noticeable symptoms.

The more you know about menopause, the better prepared you will be to manage any menopause-related problems that might come your way.

Learn more about Menopause symptoms and natural treatment.

What is Menorrhagia?

Menorrhagia refers to excessive bleeding during menstruation and is experienced by many women at some point in their lives. Bleeding may be very heavy during a normal length period or in the form of prolonged bleeding every cycle. The average menstrual period lasts between four and five days and produces 60 to 250 ml of blood. What is “normal” varies quite widely between different women and one woman may be used to a regular 28 day cycle with a 3-day bleed while another may menstruate every 35 days for 7 days. Both may be considered normal.

Bleeding in excess of what is considered “normal”, acceptable to the individual or even healthy may be known as menorrhagia.

Learn more about Menorrhagia symptoms and natural treatment.

What is Endometriosis?

The endometrium is a special type of tissue that usually lines the inner walls of a woman’s uterus. Sometimes endometrium migrates and becomes implanted in other areas within the pelvis. In women with endometriosis there may be endometrial tissue on the fallopian tubes, the ovaries or anywhere else on the lining of the pelvis- these are all places endometrial tissue is not meant to be.

How can natural remedies help?

By treating the underlying cause of the endometriosis - namely a poorly functioning liver - Traditional Chinese Medicine has the potential to cure the condition and prevent future recurrence rather than just suppressing the symptoms and outcomes as is the case with conventional medicine.

Learn more about Endometriosis symtoms and natural treatment