Guide to Women's Health

Women have a number of potential health issues and concerns that are unique compared to those of men. A woman's reproductive system often remains active throughout a large percentage of her life, necessitating care to ensure ongoing health. During childbearing years, women may go through one or more pregnancies. As age advances, women have other matters to consider, such as menopause. Whatever a woman's age, she will have specific health issues that warrant attention.

General Health Men and women may share some concerns when it comes to general health, including eating well, maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding illness. With the inherent differences between the sexes, however, men and women also have individual issues that contribute to their overall medical and dental health. A general practitioner can provide health care for patients of both genders and of all ages. When a woman needs specialized care, she may need to see a provider such as an obstetrician or a gynecologist.

     
• Women's Health: Some health issues are common to both men and women, while others are unique to women.
     
• Lower Your Risk for the No. 1 Killer of Women: Heart disease is a significant risk for women, coming in at the top of the list of causes of death for females.
     
• Making the Most of Your Health: A proactive approach to health maintenance can help women prevent many typical issues. such as heart disease and diabetes.
     
• Peoria Sedation Dentistry: Sedation dentistry is a treatment option that can help some people who are anxious about visiting the dentist.
     
• Peoria Cosmetic Dentistry: Cosmetic dentistry includes various dental treatments to resolve issues of discoloration or alignment of teeth.
     
• Peoria Periodontics: Periodontics involves dental treatment of advanced gum disease to restore health.

Screening and Vaccines Health screenings can help physicians detect and diagnose potential health issues before they become serious. For example, blood pressure screenings can catch high blood pressure before it worsens. Vaccines such as the HPV vaccine are suggested to prevent the spread of infection; this virus in particular can cause cancer. Professionals have set up a schedule of screenings and vaccines to help patients follow their recommendations.

     
• Screening Tests and Vaccines: Women need regular screening tests, including those concerning blood pressure, bone mineral density, breast cancer, cervical cancer, cholesterol, and diabetes.
     
• Mammogram Screening Guidelines: A mammogram is a test that examines breast tissue to detect breast cancer. Women should discuss the timing of this test with a physician.
     
• Sexual Disorders Screening Test: Women: A woman can take a psychiatric screening test to determine if a sexual disorder could be causing problems.
     
• American Cancer Society Guidelines for the Early Detection of Cancer: The American Cancer Society provides information about screening tests available that can help detect cancer at early stages.
     
• Screening Tests for Women (PDF): Physicians have devised a schedule for typical screening tests that women should have depending on their age.
     
• Breast Cancer and the Breast Self-Exam: Doctors recommend breast self-exams to help catch potential health problems early.
     
• Stay Healthy at Any Age: Your Checklist for Health (PDF): Physicians recommend that women have a Pap smear every one to three years if they are sexually active and/or between the ages of 21 and 65.
     
• Common Tests During Pregnancy: Women often undergo many different tests during pregnancy to assess maternal and/or fetal well-being.
     
• Questions and Answers About HPV and the Vaccine: The human papillomavirus vaccine is designed to prevent this viral infection. HPV can be present without symptoms.

Nutrition and Fitness Maintaining a healthy body weight is one part of overall health. Women can achieve this goal by eating a healthy diet that includes foods from all of the food groups. Regular exercise is another important component of good health. Experts suggest that all adults get a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise each week.

     
• Physical Activity and Breast Cancer: Stay Active: Regular exercise can be a powerful antidote for preventing breast cancer. Women should get at least 150 minutes of exercise every week.
     
• Good Nutrition: Should Guidelines Differ for Men and Women?: Men and women have different nutritional needs due to their different body compositions and sizes.
     
• Improving Women's Health and Fitness: To avoid heart disease, women need to maintain a healthy weight, eat a nutritious diet, and get regular exercise.
     
• Weight Loss Strategies for Women: Obesity can have a dramatic impact on a woman's health, both physically and emotionally.
     
• Women, Put on the Weight! Women should include strength or weight training in their regular exercise routines to build strength and muscle.

Medical Conditions Women have an elevated risk for a number of medical conditions. Heart disease is an example of a medical condition that many women face. Women must also pay attention to unexplained symptoms that can occur that may be connected with breast, ovarian, or uterine cancer. Painless lumps in a breast and irregular bleeding are two examples of potentially serious symptoms.

     
• Hypertension for Her: High Blood Pressure Affects Women Differently Than Men: High blood pressure can become a problem for women after they reach menopause. This condition would involve stiffened blood vessels.
     
• Am I Having a Heart Attack? Knowing what a heart attack feels like is important, especially because a woman might feel this event differently from how a man would feel it.
     
• Breast Cancer: The first symptom of breast cancer is usually a painless lump in a breast. Women usually notice this lump themselves.
     
• About Osteoporosis: Osteoporosis involves the loss of bone mass and density, which could lead to bone fractures.
     
• Improving Women's Health and Perinatal Outcomes: Snapshot of the Impact of Oral Diseases (PDF): Dental health and oral diseases such as periodontitis can have an impact on a woman's health in general, impacting cardiovascular health and other areas.

Gynecology Gynecology is the area of medicine that provides care for a woman's reproductive health. This includes issues associated with sexual activities, menstruation, menopause, and other conditions such as vaginitis or yeast infections. Pregnancy and childbearing usually involve the care of an obstetrician, a physician who specializes in prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum care. A gynecologist can care for women of all ages, from puberty to advanced age.

     
• Why See a Gynecologist? A gynecologist is a special doctor that cares for women and their reproductive health.
     
• Menstrual Periods: After reaching physical maturity, a woman will begin having periods in a monthly cycle. This cycle involves the release of an egg, which would result in a pregnancy if fertilization occurs.
     
• What Is an Annual Exam? Women visit a health care provider once a year for an annual exam. The exam will include a breast exam and a pelvic exam, which may also include a Pap smear.
     
• What Is Vaginitis? Women may experience inflammation or infection of the vagina, called vaginitis. A number of causes of vaginitis exist, including yeast, bacteria, and viruses.
     
• Menstrual Disorders: Painful menses and abnormal uterine bleeding are two of the most common menstrual disorders affecting women.
     
• Gynecological Exam Basics: The gynecological exam includes a general physical as well as a pelvic exam to assess the internal reproductive system.

Emotional Health A woman's emotional health encompasses psychological and emotional well-being. These areas of a woman's life usually overlap with the process of dealing with events and situations as they arise. For example, pregnancy and childbirth involve not only physical experiences and events but also emotional ones. Hormones and feelings are intricately intertwined with the process of being pregnant and having a baby. Women may maintain emotional well-being by paying attention to feelings, expressing both negative and positive feelings effectively, and connecting with others in a meaningful way.

     
• A Woman's Guide to Emotional Wellness: Emotional wellness includes feeling positive about yourself, relationships, and overall goals in life.
     
• Abortion and Mental Health (PDF): Women typically experience a variety of psychological effects after having an abortion.
     
• Mental Health: Keeping Your Emotional Health: Emotional health involves dealing with feelings, some of which may not be pleasant or positive.
     
• Emotional and Mental Health: Valuing oneself is an important component of emotional well-being. Women can benefit from connecting with others in various ways, including joining clubs, meeting neighbors, and reaching out to family members.
     
• Emotional/Mental Health: College is a common time of transition for young women. This is often the first time a woman lives away from home and her parents.
     
• The Seven Domains of Women's Health: Emotional Health: Emotional wellness involves managing feelings of anxiety, anger, and sadness effectively to resolve them.
     
• The Effects of Widowhood on Physical and Mental Health, Health Behaviors, and Health Outcomes: The Women's Health Initiative (PDF): Losing a spouse is usually one of the most stressful events that can happen to a woman, and about half of all women over the age of 65 have experienced this event.
     
• Are Women More Emotionally Intelligent Than Men? Emotional intelligence involves an awareness of self, the ability to manage emotions, empathizing with others, and interacting positively with others.
     
• Nonmarital Romantic Relationships and Mental Health in Early Adulthood: Does the Association Differ for Women and Men? (PDF): Both men and women seem to need intimate social relationships to maintain mental health.