Menopause: How Does Screening Help Women Approaching Menopause?

The moment in a woman's life when her period ends is known as menopause. The majority of the time, it happens organically beyond age 45. The hormones progesterone and oestrogen are no longer produced by a woman's ovaries during menopause. 

The perimenopause is the time when a woman's biology naturally moves towards irreversible infertility. After a woman has gone a year without having her period, she has achieved menopause. 

Due to illnesses or medical treatments that alter the body's production or response to vital hormones, menopause may sometimes occur earlier in a woman's life. Symptoms and changes can also appear several years earlier.

An egg is released from the ovaries before menopause by a woman's hormones, which either control the monthly menstruation cycle or help a pregnancy get started. Women start to undergo hormonal changes during perimenopause. 

Hot flashes, sleep issues, and vaginal changes are just a few of the perimenopause symptoms brought on by these hormonal changes, along with irregular menstruation cycles. In this article, we discuss symptoms of menopause and how testing can help separate them from other health conditions. 

Testing for menopause is performed to evaluate whether a patient's symptoms are associated with menopause or with another condition. 

Menopause-related symptoms include: 

• Irregular intervals of menstruation 
• Hot flashes
• Problem getting good sleep 
• Dryness, itchiness, or discharge in the vagina 
• Mood changes 
• Difficulty concentrating 
• Increase or decrease in hair on the body and scalp

A doctor may inquire about a patient's age, symptoms, and family history in order to determine the origin of these symptoms. About 75% of women experience perimenopause symptoms during the anticipated age range, and clinicians can identify menopause without performing any laboratory tests. If a woman has gone 12 months without a monthly period, menopause is officially recognised. 

Menopause testing may be utilised, for instance, in cases when a woman has odd symptoms that could be menopausal, has had a hysterectomy, or started experiencing menopausal symptoms years before the age of 50.

Screening for Menopause Can: 

• Assist in early detection of future health issues like osteoporosis and heart disease. 
• Assist in the diagnosis of cancers connected to menopause, such as ovarian cancer. 
• Assist your doctor and you in creating a treatment strategy to control your menopause symptoms. 
• Make sure you are up to date on all of your screenings and vaccines, and work with your doctor to monitor your health. 
• Give you comfort in knowing that you're making every effort to maintain your health throughout menopause and beyond.

By adjusting your hormones, you can prevent the unpleasant menopausal and perimenopause symptoms and side effects. Estrogen dominance is a key cause of the perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms as well as an increased risk factor for cancer, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's, and cardiovascular disease. You may reverse oestrogen dominance, relieve many of the symptoms listed above, and more by balancing your hormones.

A crucial part of maintaining your health during and after menopause is menopausal screening. Make sure to discuss with your doctor how you should approach screenings, how many you should have and how frequently.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.