What Is Menopause And Why Does It Occur? - Health - Medicine

Menopause is a phase where a womans menstrual periods ceases to exist. Following menopause, a womans ovulation cycle stops completely and she loses her ability to procreate. Menopause is natures way to prolong a females life because after a certain age, getting pregnant can have serious health repercussions both for the child as well as the women. So nature chooses to end the menstrual cycle altogether so as to increase the individuals longevity.Strangely though there is no fixed age when one may experience menopause. Women as young as 35 have been known to experience menopausal symptoms while there are others who have experienced late menopauses (even in the 70s). However in general, menopause symptoms are seen in women who have crossed the age of 50. Studies are still being conducted on why menopause strikes different women at different ages but a breakthrough is yet to be found in this regard. We now move onto the actual topic of menopause. Menopause is basically divide d into 3 phases Pre-menopause, Peri-menopause and Post menopause. During the pre-menopause phase, there is little disruption of the ovarian function and the menstrual cycle remains regular. Things begin to change during the peri-menopause period. This phase represents the declining ovarian function and the menstrual cycles start becoming irregular. Once there has been no menses for 12 months, the person enters the post menopause phase.The common menopause symptoms are as follows:1. Irregular periods: This is the very first and most obvious sign of menopause. You may skip periods or else get periods very close to each other.2. Hot flashes: Hot flashes are commonly associated with menopause symptoms. The person suddenly feels extremely hot despite the temperatures remaining normal. A few times it is also accompanied by stomach problems and a feeling of dizziness.3. Dryness in the genital parts: The genital parts may become dry which may make a women writhe with pain while hav ing sex. It is also the reason why many women become averse to sex following menopause.4. Urination problems: Constant urination or lack of it may point towards infection of the urinary tract. Immediately consult a doctor on experiencing any such symptoms.5.Insomnia and tiredness: Lack of sleep and a general feeling of tiredness which werent the case earlier.6. Emotional problems: Mood swings, slipping into depression and extreme anxiety are all signs of a menopausal phase in progress.Family members need to extremely supportive of the victim during this period because these can be trying times and sufferers find it very difficult to explain their problems primarily because everyone seems to ignore it. Hopefully with this article, you may be better equipped to handle a person suffering from menopause symptoms or yourself be able to cope with much better if it indeed occurs to you.