Kay Kay Healthcare Ltd.
ENDOMETRIOSIS
SYMPTOMS
• Sharp abdominal pains before, during, or just after menstrual periods.
• Sharp abdominal pain during intercourse.
• Menstrual periods that are abnormally heavy, especially if they produce large clots and last more than seven days.
• Infertility.
WHAT IS ENDOMETRIOSIS
Normally the tissue that lines a woman’s uterus, known as the endometriosis, microscopic bits of this tissue migrate outside the uterus, become implanted on other organs and tissues, and grow there. These lesions, or areas of abdominal tissue, usually develop within the abdominal cavity often involving other portions of the reproductive system, such as the ovaries or the muscular wall of the uterus but in rare cases they can affect other organs, such as the lungs. Like the endometrial itself, the transplanted tissue responds to the hormones estrogens and progesterone by thickening and then bleeding every month. But because the transplanted tissue is embedded in other tissue, the blood it produces cannot escape and ends up irritating the surrounding tissue, causing cysts, scars, and adhesions to form. These can eventually bind the reproductive organs together so that they move as one mass when manipulated by a physician. Cases of endometriosis are classified as minimal, mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the size of the lesions and how deeply they reach into host organs. Symptoms vary, and about 10 percent of patients have no noticeable symptoms at all. Others experience abnormally heavy and painful periods and sharp, deep abdominal pain during intercourse. Endometriosis accounts for 30 to 40 percent of female infertility. In women who are able to conceive, symptoms may diminish or disappear during pregnancy, but they may return a year or two later. Endometriosis is most likely to strike women in their thirties and forties; it usually stops at menopause with the marked decline in the production of estrogens.
CAUSES
Researchers do not know definitively how endometrial tissue other parts of the body. One likely possibility involves a condition known as retrograde, or backward, menstruation. Normally during menstruation, portion of the sloughed off uterine lining exit the uterus through the cervix and the vagina. But in retrograde menstruation, fragments of the endometrial flow back into the fallopian tubes and may then be carried into the abdominal cavity, giving rise to endometriosis. Indeed, doctors have found with physical condition that increase retrograde menstruation, such as obstructions in the vagina and cervix. There is some controversy as to whether tampon use can cause retrograde flow. Evidence seems to suggest that it does not, but some women who have endometriosis avoid tampons, just to be on the safe side. In the rare cases of endometriosis affecting the lungs or other tissue far from the uterus, researchers speculate that the stray endometrial fragments travel through the bloodstream or the lymphatic system, although no one knows just how this happens. Another theory suggest that endometrial tissue migrates outside the uterus on a fairly routine basis but develops into endometriosis only in women who have an immune system problem that prevents the body from destroying the displaced fragments. Despite uncertainty about the specific mechanism behind endometriosis, researchers can point to correlations. The fact that the condition tend to run in families suggest that genetic influences may play a role. Studies have also shown that endometriosis occurs more often women who have shorter than normal menstrual cycle or a longer than normal flow: women who have fewer than 25 days between periods or who menstruate for more than 7 days are twice as likely to develop endometriosis. Recent evidence also points to exposure to dioxin, an industrial chemical, as a possible cause. There seems to be no direct relationship between the size of lesions and severity of pelvic pain. Some women with small lesion report debilitating pain, while others with extensive lesions have no symptoms. Pain probably comes from the scarring and irritation caused by bleeding, or from endometrial tissue invading or growing on a nerve. How the disease causes infertility is also unclear, but it doesn’t appear to be related to the severity of the case; many women with tiny lesions are infertile. Some investigators think the endometrial implants upset the process of ovulation. The implants may also hinder passage of the egg through the fallopian tubes by inferring with the cilia responsible for moving the egg.
TREATMENT
Endometriosis may respond both conventional and alternative treatments, ranging from hormonal drugs and surgery to herbal remedies. However, the condition is managed, not cured; symptoms often return when treatment is stopped. Menopause usually ends the symptoms, but in women who take estrogens during and after menopause, symptoms may continue. Since endometriosis often recurs and often causes infertility, you may wish to join an endometriosis support group to get help in coping with the uncertainties of the condition. Many hospitals can refer you to a support group.
CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE
Your doctor will usually perform a pelvic examination in order to rule out other potential causes of your symptoms. However, diagnosis can be made only by laparoscopy visual examination with a slim, lighted instrument that the doctor inserts into the abdominal cavity through a small incision. This procedure is usually done under general anaesthesia; many doctors also do a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. For women who can conceive and want a child, pregnancy is thought by many doctors to be a good treatment. Pregnancy alleviates symptoms, probably because it temporarily stops menstrual cycles. In some women endometriosis does not return after they have given birth. Alternatively, your doctor may have take birth control pills continuously for nine months or more, producing a pseudo pregnancy that halts the menstrual cycle and stop the bleeding of the endometrial lesions. If continuous course of birth control pill fails to bring relief, your doctor may advise treatment with androgens male hormones. Drugs with hormonal effects such as diazole and nafarelin work by stopping the menstrual cycle, thus keeping uterine tissue from bleeding. Diazole, however, has masculinising side effects that may not be revisable, such as increase body hair growth and rarely deepening of the voice, and it cannot be taken for long periods of time. Analgesics such as ibuprofen and naproxen may relieve the discomfort of cramps but will not affects the implants cyclic changes, so again they address the symptoms without addressing the underlying cause. If tissue growth is rampant and drug treatment is ineffective, your doctor may advise surgery. If all the implanted tissue is removed, your symptoms should disappear.
ALTERNATIVE CHOICES
Most alternative remedies aim at relieving symptoms; but since they tend not to effect lesions directly, they are often less effective lesions than comparable conventional treatment.
ACCUPRESSURE
You may be able to alleviate cramping by applying pressure to spleen 6, located on the inside of the leg two inches above the ankle. Do not use this point if you are pregnant.
HERBAL THERAPIES
Some herbal formulas may relieve pain. Skullcap, black choosy, and wild yam may address underlying hormonal problems. Valerian may help you relax, but do not take it for longer than a month unless directed by your healthcare practitioner. Life root and black choosy enhance the health of pelvic organs. Consult a medical herbalist for specific formulas.
NUTRITION AND DIET
The body contains hormone like substance called prostaglandins that, among other things, play a role in muscle contractions and thus contribute to menstrual cramping. Eating foods rich in natural ant prostaglandins including mackerel, sardines, Salmon, and tuna may therefore help reduce symptoms. A daily multivitamin-multimineral supplement containing vitamin B complex, vitamin E, calcium, and magnesium may help balance estrogens and prostaglandin levels and reduce menstrual cramps.
AT HOME REMEDIES
In addition to taking an analgesic for pain relief, apply a heating pad or moist heat, and drink warm beverage to help relax cramping muscle. Exercise moderately to increase endorphins, your body’s natural painkillers.
To reduce tension, drink soothing herbal teas made with herbs such as hops and valerian.
PREVENTION
• Avoid exposure to dioxin, which recent evidence has shown may play a role in causing some instance of endometriosis.
• If you use tampons, change them frequently, especially when your flow is heavy, and consider alternating tampons with sanitary napkins; these measures may help prevent menstrual flow the cause of endometriosis.
!! RISK FACTORS !!
Several factors correlate with increased risk of endometriosis. Be aware of the greater likelihood that you will get this disease if:
• You have a close relative with endometriosis, especially a mother or a sister.
• Your menstrual cycle is consistently short fewer than 25 days.
• Your menstrual flow during each period is long more than a week.
• You experience heavy during flow periods.
• You use tampons and change them less often than every eight hours.
• You use an IUD.
• You have a medical condition that blocks or constrict your cervix or vagina.
• You have a congenital that anomaly of the uterus, such as a double uterus or double cervix.
• You have been expose to dioxin. `
ENDOMETRIOSIS
SYMPTOMS
• Sharp abdominal pains before, during, or just after menstrual periods.
• Sharp abdominal pain during intercourse.
• Menstrual periods that are abnormally heavy, especially if they produce large clots and last more than seven days.
• Infertility.
WHAT IS ENDOMETRIOSIS
Normally the tissue that lines a woman’s uterus, known as the endometriosis, microscopic bits of this tissue migrate outside the uterus, become implanted on other organs and tissues, and grow there. These lesions, or areas of abdominal tissue, usually develop within the abdominal cavity often involving other portions of the reproductive system, such as the ovaries or the muscular wall of the uterus but in rare cases they can affect other organs, such as the lungs. Like the endometrial itself, the transplanted tissue responds to the hormones estrogens and progesterone by thickening and then bleeding every month. But because the transplanted tissue is embedded in other tissue, the blood it produces cannot escape and ends up irritating the surrounding tissue, causing cysts, scars, and adhesions to form. These can eventually bind the reproductive organs together so that they move as one mass when manipulated by a physician. Cases of endometriosis are classified as minimal, mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the size of the lesions and how deeply they reach into host organs. Symptoms vary, and about 10 percent of patients have no noticeable symptoms at all. Others experience abnormally heavy and painful periods and sharp, deep abdominal pain during intercourse. Endometriosis accounts for 30 to 40 percent of female infertility. In women who are able to conceive, symptoms may diminish or disappear during pregnancy, but they may return a year or two later. Endometriosis is most likely to strike women in their thirties and forties; it usually stops at menopause with the marked decline in the production of estrogens.
CAUSES
Researchers do not know definitively how endometrial tissue other parts of the body. One likely possibility involves a condition known as retrograde, or backward, menstruation. Normally during menstruation, portion of the sloughed off uterine lining exit the uterus through the cervix and the vagina. But in retrograde menstruation, fragments of the endometrial flow back into the fallopian tubes and may then be carried into the abdominal cavity, giving rise to endometriosis. Indeed, doctors have found with physical condition that increase retrograde menstruation, such as obstructions in the vagina and cervix. There is some controversy as to whether tampon use can cause retrograde flow. Evidence seems to suggest that it does not, but some women who have endometriosis avoid tampons, just to be on the safe side. In the rare cases of endometriosis affecting the lungs or other tissue far from the uterus, researchers speculate that the stray endometrial fragments travel through the bloodstream or the lymphatic system, although no one knows just how this happens. Another theory suggest that endometrial tissue migrates outside the uterus on a fairly routine basis but develops into endometriosis only in women who have an immune system problem that prevents the body from destroying the displaced fragments. Despite uncertainty about the specific mechanism behind endometriosis, researchers can point to correlations. The fact that the condition tend to run in families suggest that genetic influences may play a role. Studies have also shown that endometriosis occurs more often women who have shorter than normal menstrual cycle or a longer than normal flow: women who have fewer than 25 days between periods or who menstruate for more than 7 days are twice as likely to develop endometriosis. Recent evidence also points to exposure to dioxin, an industrial chemical, as a possible cause. There seems to be no direct relationship between the size of lesions and severity of pelvic pain. Some women with small lesion report debilitating pain, while others with extensive lesions have no symptoms. Pain probably comes from the scarring and irritation caused by bleeding, or from endometrial tissue invading or growing on a nerve. How the disease causes infertility is also unclear, but it doesn’t appear to be related to the severity of the case; many women with tiny lesions are infertile. Some investigators think the endometrial implants upset the process of ovulation. The implants may also hinder passage of the egg through the fallopian tubes by inferring with the cilia responsible for moving the egg.
TREATMENT
Endometriosis may respond both conventional and alternative treatments, ranging from hormonal drugs and surgery to herbal remedies. However, the condition is managed, not cured; symptoms often return when treatment is stopped. Menopause usually ends the symptoms, but in women who take estrogens during and after menopause, symptoms may continue. Since endometriosis often recurs and often causes infertility, you may wish to join an endometriosis support group to get help in coping with the uncertainties of the condition. Many hospitals can refer you to a support group.
CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE
Your doctor will usually perform a pelvic examination in order to rule out other potential causes of your symptoms. However, diagnosis can be made only by laparoscopy visual examination with a slim, lighted instrument that the doctor inserts into the abdominal cavity through a small incision. This procedure is usually done under general anaesthesia; many doctors also do a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. For women who can conceive and want a child, pregnancy is thought by many doctors to be a good treatment. Pregnancy alleviates symptoms, probably because it temporarily stops menstrual cycles. In some women endometriosis does not return after they have given birth. Alternatively, your doctor may have take birth control pills continuously for nine months or more, producing a pseudo pregnancy that halts the menstrual cycle and stop the bleeding of the endometrial lesions. If continuous course of birth control pill fails to bring relief, your doctor may advise treatment with androgens male hormones. Drugs with hormonal effects such as diazole and nafarelin work by stopping the menstrual cycle, thus keeping uterine tissue from bleeding. Diazole, however, has masculinising side effects that may not be revisable, such as increase body hair growth and rarely deepening of the voice, and it cannot be taken for long periods of time. Analgesics such as ibuprofen and naproxen may relieve the discomfort of cramps but will not affects the implants cyclic changes, so again they address the symptoms without addressing the underlying cause. If tissue growth is rampant and drug treatment is ineffective, your doctor may advise surgery. If all the implanted tissue is removed, your symptoms should disappear.
ALTERNATIVE CHOICES
Most alternative remedies aim at relieving symptoms; but since they tend not to effect lesions directly, they are often less effective lesions than comparable conventional treatment.
ACCUPRESSURE
You may be able to alleviate cramping by applying pressure to spleen 6, located on the inside of the leg two inches above the ankle. Do not use this point if you are pregnant.
HERBAL THERAPIES
Some herbal formulas may relieve pain. Skullcap, black choosy, and wild yam may address underlying hormonal problems. Valerian may help you relax, but do not take it for longer than a month unless directed by your healthcare practitioner. Life root and black choosy enhance the health of pelvic organs. Consult a medical herbalist for specific formulas.
NUTRITION AND DIET
The body contains hormone like substance called prostaglandins that, among other things, play a role in muscle contractions and thus contribute to menstrual cramping. Eating foods rich in natural ant prostaglandins including mackerel, sardines, Salmon, and tuna may therefore help reduce symptoms. A daily multivitamin-multimineral supplement containing vitamin B complex, vitamin E, calcium, and magnesium may help balance estrogens and prostaglandin levels and reduce menstrual cramps.
AT HOME REMEDIES
In addition to taking an analgesic for pain relief, apply a heating pad or moist heat, and drink warm beverage to help relax cramping muscle. Exercise moderately to increase endorphins, your body’s natural painkillers.
To reduce tension, drink soothing herbal teas made with herbs such as hops and valerian.
PREVENTION
• Avoid exposure to dioxin, which recent evidence has shown may play a role in causing some instance of endometriosis.
• If you use tampons, change them frequently, especially when your flow is heavy, and consider alternating tampons with sanitary napkins; these measures may help prevent menstrual flow the cause of endometriosis.
!! RISK FACTORS !!
Several factors correlate with increased risk of endometriosis. Be aware of the greater likelihood that you will get this disease if:
• You have a close relative with endometriosis, especially a mother or a sister.
• Your menstrual cycle is consistently short fewer than 25 days.
• Your menstrual flow during each period is long more than a week.
• You experience heavy during flow periods.
• You use tampons and change them less often than every eight hours.
• You use an IUD.
• You have a medical condition that blocks or constrict your cervix or vagina.
• You have a congenital that anomaly of the uterus, such as a double uterus or double cervix.
• You have been expose to dioxin. `
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