Tag: Hot Flashes

Estrogen as a Contributor in Signalling our Body Clock

As medical technology advances throughout the years, there has been much fuss in the medical field about estrogen.

Many studies and researches were conducted towards finding out the very nature of estrogen.

All of these undertakings agreed on one thing, estrogen is a primary component in the indication of the human body clock. It was found that it directly relates in the body cycle of a human being.

Estrogen, as defined in the modern medical dictionary- does not only pertain to a single compound but is rather made up of groups of steroid compounds.

While it is present in both male and female, it has higher concentrations in female, because it is the one responsible for the promoting of female secondary characteristics.

This includes breast development, and it is an important hormone that helps in promoting sexual vitality, relieving hot flashes, night sweats and other deficiency symptoms that go along with old age.

The female body produces three major types of this estrogen, these includes estriol, estradiol, and estrone.

Estriol is found to be the weakest among the three estrogens. Its high level of existence in the body denotes a less likely possibility of developing breast cancer.

As mentioned in the American Medical Journal Association dated in 1966, according to Dr. H.M. Lemmon, M.D. there is a higher concentration of this particular substance in the body of those women who does not have breast cancer.

It is very beneficial to the vagina, vulva and cervix. In cases where there is a related affliction to the mentioned parts, it is safest if the patient is going to use Estriol Estrogen preparation.

Estradiol is known to be the principal estrogen, it is helpful in carrying out reproductive functions and is produced in the ovaries. Because it is stronger than Estriol it is more effective symptomatic alternative than the latter.

Estrone on the other hand has the same function as the Estradiol, but it is considered to have a weaker effect.

The pituitary gland and the hypothalamus is the one responsible for producing these types of hormones, and acts as the lutienizing agent in controlling its production in the body.

As the menopausal stage occurs, it is usually characterized by a full year without menstrual period and the level of estrogen in the body gradually goes down. Decrease in egg production, low level of sexual desires, lower bone density and muscle firmness as well as skin integrity follows.

As the estrogen production starts to diminish in the menopausal period, this marks the transgression of the human cycle.

Lastly, this ultimately signals the descent of the human body clock as determined by the particular hormone-estrogen.

Benefits of Estrogen Replacement Therapy

Maintaining the hormonal balance of a person is difficult. A woman is advised to take an estrogen replacement therapy to improve the level of estrogen that decline due to a disorder called hysterectomy after the menopausal period.

It is given for women who undergo either the premenopausal and postmenopausal period in their menstrual cycle. This is usually done in order to avoid possible discomfort and health problem brought by the imbalance estrogen hormone in the system of a woman.

The therapy is classified into short-term and long term relief. The short term relief usually lasts for one or two years. On the other hand, there is no exact duration for a long term relief because as long as the patient needs cure in order to lessen the risk, she will be recommended for a thorough treatment.

Estrogen replacement therapy replaces the hormones that are no longer produced by the ovary. It also provides relief for the unpleasant risks and effects that are brought by the symptoms of menopause in a womans body specifically the hot flashes and the night sweat.

Aside from merely using estrogen it is also sometimes associated with progestin. This is another type of hormone that is important during the menopausal period. It still varies on the doctors advice whether the patient still needs to have the progestin replacement.

There are some women who make use of herbal treatments for treating their hormonal imbalance. However, most of the doctors still prescribe the use of conjugated estrogen because this is proven to be more effective. Several arguments rise regarding the use of conjugated estrogen, but it was also studied that it can even help in reducing the risk of heart diseases.

Due to the great effect that has been brought by estrogen replacement therapy in curing other types of illnesses, this paves the way for the American women to support the use of estrogen replacement therapy to cure the disorder in their estrogen hormones. At present, the therapy is patronized not only in America but in many parts of the world.

For most women who are going through estrogen therapy, they are required to have salivary hormone testing to gauge the level of the saliva hormone as well. According to some studies, this is an important factor for recommending the dosage of medicines that will be given to the patient. Thus, it will prevent the person from overdosing on medication or lack dosage on the medications of the therapy.

Handling Anxiety Attacks

Anxiety attacks can be seen as an abnormal and irrational panic over trivial things or accidents or for no reason at all. Attacks usually occur without warning and a person can simply burst into fear. Triggers can cause anxiety attack like getting stuck in the elevator or being called to recite in the class but in other cases, attacks come out of the blue. An anxiety attack is disproportionate reaction to the situation or the problem at hand, leaving the person excessively fearful, or sometimes incapacitated, which affects life, relationships, happiness and peace of mind.

Symptoms of Anxiety Attack

A person undergoing an episode of anxiety attack shows the following symptoms:

Heart palpitation (increase in heartbeat)
Hot flashes or chills
Hyperventilation
Surge of overwhelming panic
Feeling detached or unreal
Trembling or shaking
Trouble breathing
Feeling of losing control, going crazy; or fear of dying
Choking sensation
Nausea or stomach crams
Sweating
Dizziness
Chest discomfort or pain

Handling anxiety attacks

Anxiety attacks usually peak within 10 minutes and rarely last for half an hour. But during this time, a person can totally lose control of himself and show symptoms mentioned above. To handle this attack, a person must:

Relax Although it is often impossible to relax during an attack, it is very crucial not to submit yourself to your emotion. Breathe. Deep breathing helps calms and relaxes your mind and body. During an anxiety attack, focus your breathing to slow down your heartbeat. This also diverts your attention from the attack which helps you recover faster. Take some time and practice deep breathing exercises even if you are not stressed or feel anxious.

Think positively Again, during an anxiety attack, it is often impossible to relax or even calm yourself, but you have to be in control. Push more positive thoughts to your head. Instead of thinking that others will humiliate you or you are going to faint because you cannot take the pressure, think of the good things. Do no anticipate that something bad will happen because in reality, there isn’t. Keep in mind that the more you think negatively, the more anxious and panicky it is going to be.

Think that it will be over soon and it will. Anxiety attacks do not last for more than an hour so there is no reason for you to think and feel that your world is over. You don’t have to be mindful of the time. You don’t even have to count every minute that passed. What you should be doing is be conscious that it will not going to last forever.

Start an exercise program We have heard that exercise has lots of benefits both to the body and the mind. It is also a great stress buster and anxiety reliever. Experts agree that as little as 30 minutes of exercise, 3 to 5 times a week is enough to lower the level of stress and reduce the chances of having episodes of anxiety attacks.

Talk to someone you trust It can be your friend, your wife (husband), a relative or a therapist. Often, having someone who listens and understands what a person is going through will make a lot of difference. This is because it allows you to bring out your emotion rather than keeping it to yourself.

Child Anxiety Attacks

Just like adults, children experience fear, anxiety and apprehension. These are but normal emotional experiences that a person feels regardless of age. However, if anxiety becomes irrational, recurring and severe, and anxiety attacks happen without any apparent reason, and the reaction is disproportionate to the problem at hand, it can be a cause of concern. This is why on the first signs of problem, have your child get proper diagnosis by a health professional to be able to rule out any possible causes and determine the right treatment to be applied.

Since anxiety attack is a type of anxiety disorder, it is important to know what happens to a child who is suffering from such disorder. To be able to identify it, here are the following symptoms:

Frequent feeling of fear and panic
Bed wetting
Tantrums and excessive crying
Fear of making mistakes
Fear of getting embarrassed
Avoidance of certain activities such as school event and summer camps
Nightmares and night terrors
Compulsive behaviors
Resistance to any change
Low self-esteem, lack of confidence
Overly shy and difficulty making friends
Chronic physical symptoms such as stomach aches or headaches without any apparent reason

A child is under an anxiety attack if he shows the following symptoms:

Gush of overwhelming panic
Hot flashes or chills
Trouble breathing or choking sensation
Feeling of loosing control or going crazy
Feeling and fear of dying
Feeling unreal or detach
Nausea or stomach cramps
Hyperventilation
Shaking or trembling
Feeling like passing out
Chest pain or heart palpitation

Different children of different ages or even of the same age may manifest different symptoms. Moreover, some of the symptoms given may be considered as a normal behavior of a child. Thus it is a bit tricky to determine if he or she is really having an attack or not. What should be done is to recognize these symptoms and consider them as a reason of concern, then help your child deal with these symptoms through the following:

Seek help from health professional Effectively stopping anxiety attacks begins with recognition and followed by a compete diagnosis from your medical doctor. A full medical examination should be administered in order to rule out any other physical causes unrelated to anxiety.

Doctors usually give prescription medications to help relieve anxiety. If applicable, SSRI antidepressants may be needed for a long term solution. For a more severe case, doctors may refer the child to a psychologist.

Self-help techniques Parents may seek the help of books available for treating child anxiety. This is also very effective in teaching parents strategies for responsible parenting, which improve parent-child relationship and help build child self-confidence and self-esteem.

Play therapy is the child version of exposure therapy. As an effective child anxiety treatment, play therapy uses the power of play to simulate each fearful situation in a controlled environment, which then helps the child face the problem and come up with a solution.

Herbal medicines is proven and effective means of treating anxiety attacks and other types of anxiety disorder. Some of the commonly recommended remedies include passionflower, valerian, scuttelaria laterifolia (scullcap), California poppy, Melissa officinalis, hypericum perforatum (St. John’s Wort), hops and lavender.