SearchExclusive.com

Hormone Replacement Therapy – Types, Risks, Benefits, and Tips

Women’s estrogen levels drop when going through menopause, leading to symptoms like hot flashes and discomfort. Healthcare experts recommend hormone replacement therapy to manage these symptoms. Here, one uses prescription options to replace the hormone estrogen, which the body stops producing during menopause. Hormone replacement therapy also helps prevent bone loss and reduces the risk of fractures for postmenopausal women. However, one should consider the following details before opting for this therapy.

Types
Hormone replacement therapy (also known as estrogen therapy) focuses on making up for the estrogen deficit in the body following menopause. The two main types of estrogen therapy are:

Systemic hormone therapy: Here, a healthcare expert prescribes oral options, rings, gels, creams, sprays, and skin patches that contain high amounts of estrogen. These prescriptions have a concentrated dose of the hormone absorbed throughout the body, whether consumed or applied. Systemic hormone therapy can help treat the common symptoms of menopause.

Low-dose vaginal products: Low-dose vaginal preparations are available in cream, oral options, or ring forms. A doctor may recommend low-dose options for those requiring limited amounts of estrogen. This form of hormone therapy usually treats vaginal and urinary symptoms of menopause.

Additionally, doctors may prescribe estrogen with progesterone or progestin if one has not had the uterus removed. The combination might be recommended as estrogen alone stimulates the growth of the uterus lining when not balanced with progesterone. Such growth can increase the risk of developing endometrial cancer. However, those who have undergone surgery to remove the uterus may not require progesterone or progestin.

Risk factors
One should consider the risks involved in hormone replacement therapy, especially when using the estrogen-progestin treatment option. The prescription increases the risk of health complications, including blood clots, stroke, heart disease, and breast cancer. The risks also differ from one person to the next based on the following factors:

Age: Women who start hormone replacement therapy at the age of 60 or 10 years after the onset of menopause may also be at a greater risk of developing health conditions. However, therapy initiated before the age of 60 and within 10 years of menopause seems to have benefits that outweigh the risks.

Health history: One’s personal and family health history are important factors in determining whether hormone replacement therapy is ideal for the individual. Understanding one’s risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, blood clots, and liver disease may also help the doctor decide if the therapy can be advised for the patient.

Type of hormone therapy: The type of therapy one chooses may also determine risks, like the risk of endometrial cancer. This includes considerations like estrogen being introduced to the body by itself or in combination with progestin. The dosage administered and type of estrogen may also influence one’s overall health.

Benefits
The key benefits of this treatment option are:

Relieves menopausal symptoms: Systemic estrogen therapy may help one get relief from menopausal symptoms, including night sweats and hot flashes. The therapy is also known to ease vaginal symptoms of menopause, such as itching, dryness, burning, and discomfort during intercourse.

Prevents bone loss and fractures: Those who opt for systemic estrogen may notice improvements in their bone density as the treatment can prevent osteoporosis. Although healthcare experts usually prescribe other options to prevent bone thinning, estrogen therapy might benefit those who cannot get the desired results from other prescription options and treatments.

Reduces risk of health conditions: Women may get their ovaries surgically removed before they turn 45. Some may also experience premature menopause before 45 or lose regular function of the ovaries before they turn 40. These factors reduce estrogen exposure compared with women who experience regular menopause. This is where hormone replacement therapy may help prevent health complications like heart disease, dementia, mood changes, and stroke.

Tips for managing risks
Here are some tips for controlling the risks of hormone replacement therapy. One should also speak to their healthcare specialist before introducing major changes to their daily routine:

Find the most suitable product: As there are various estrogen delivery methods, one should identify the type that works for them. Women who experience vaginal symptoms linked to menopause should consider using low-dose vaginal creams or rings instead of skin patches and oral options.

Minimize prescription usage: Women below the age of 45 may require a good amount of estrogen to protect them from the long-term effects of estrogen deficiency. However, one should also use the lowest effective dose over a limited period until the symptoms are treated. A healthcare expert may recommend long-term treatments if one has chronic menopausal symptoms that affect their quality of life.

Plan regular appointments: When undergoing hormone therapy, one should schedule regular appointments with their healthcare specialist. Doing so will help one stay ahead of any complications that may arise from the therapy.

Make healthy lifestyle choices: One’s lifestyle choices greatly influence their overall well-being and protection from lifestyle diseases. So, those opting for hormone replacement therapy should also adopt healthy habits like nutrient-rich meals, regular exercise, and stress management through relaxation techniques like yoga. Further, they should manage other chronic health conditions like high cholesterol and high blood pressure to avoid complications.

Related Reading

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Most of the dogs do not have a food fuss and may eat almost anything that you feed them. Dogs are not choosy at all when it comes to food and nutrition. Hence, it is important to make sure that the food that you are purchasing for your dog is healthy. The landscape of dog food has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent times. There is a wide variety of options to choose from in the online and offline market. Given the wide range of options that are available today, buying the best dog food might seem to be a confusing task indeed. All the commercial pet food that is available in the market today is regulated by the FDA. Therefore, most of the products do contain nutritious, healthy, and safe ingredients. But it does help to know certain basic factors you should look for while buying food for your dog. Prioritize on the nutritional guarantee The best dog food, which meets the dog’s needs adequately has a statement written on the label of the product, from the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Buy from some of the best dog food brands, such as Fromm Family Foods, Earthborn Holistic, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and The Honest Kitchen.

Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

The most important aspect when designing your kitchen is deciding on the type of cabinets. In addition to functionality, kitchen cabinets score on aesthetics as well. Once the layout is planned, you can go ahead with choosing the cabinets. If you’re remodeling your home or just the kitchen, what you need to consider are the types of cabinets that furnish your kitchen. Here are a few types of kitchen cabinets that you can choose from. Base cabinets These kitchen cabinets are mounted on the floor and they are placed after checking out the floor plan. A major part of your job in the kitchen is on these base cabinets, which hold and support the countertops. These base cabinets are combined to carve out kitchen islands. A number of base cabinets are fused/set against one another and installed on site. The base cabinets, in addition to supporting the countertops, serve as drawers to hold your cutlery and appliances. Wall cabinets Mounted on the walls, these cabinets can store everything, right from your cookware to cookbooks. In terms of design, they offer utmost flexibility. Wall cabinet kitchen is available in varying heights, multiple widths, and custom depth options. This customization helps you to fit in your stuff of varying shapes and sizes into the wall cabinets.

How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

In today’s world, where you are presented with over a dozen choices for every item you would purchase for your own kitchen, it is not surprising that you have an equal number of options for your dog’s food. However, choosing the perfect brand and formula for your dog out of a range of options in the market is not an easy job. Your pet depends on you and trusts you to make the right choice for them. Therefore, it is imperative that you do your research about the products available in the market, understand what your dog needs, know what might be your pet’s problems, and then make a sound decision. What is a sensitive stomach? Dogs are known to have voracious and large appetites. Keeping that in mind, it is normal to assume that they have strong stomachs. They can eat close to anything be it sweets, bakes, chewy gum, hard leather or even woolen socks for that matter! It always so happens that the strongest of them are prone to allergies and can develop a disorder which is medically translated as a sensitive stomach. This might be due to a sudden change in the food habits or even due an infection picked up from somewhere.

All You Need to Know about Cat Food

For cat owners, cat food is a hot topic. You need to think about it in different aspects. The best thing is to know which ingredients are good for cat food and which are harmful. If you are aware of this, you can get an idea about the quality of the cat food just by going through the label. It is always sensible to stick to one brand of cat food. However, you may also want to try and prepare cat food yourself. There are also various options for wet cat food as well. Cat’s love for fish is universal, so you can do without going for expensive cat food. Nevertheless, whether you buy it or prepare cat food at home, you need to ensure that the food contains enough nutrition and calories. You would need to have some idea about the ingredients that must be present in cat food and make a worthy selection for your cat. Basic ingredients present in good cat foods Cats need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy and active; they need various vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and oils. The following is a brief explanation of the basic ingredients that should be present in cat foods.