What is the Menopause?

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What is the Menopause?

The menopause is a perfectly natural phase in a woman's life where she stops ovulating and becomes infertile. It is referred to as "the change of life", and happens to women around the ages of the early fifties or late forties.

There are cases where this phase of life happens at a very young age, though it is not the norm. In either case, whether young or older, there is no way it can be prevented.

You are considered post-menopausal if you have not had a period for a year or more. The menopause comes with many symptoms which can last for up to five years. Not all of them are encountered by all women.

Symptoms

Symptoms can be mild or severe and not all women will display all symptoms. Symptoms include; anxiety, heart palpitations, depression, dizziness, dryness and aging of the skin, hot flushes, night sweats, breast tenderness, painful intercourse due to vaginal dryness, reduced libido, mood swings, fatigue, and headaches.

Causes

The ovaries stop producing the hormones 'oestrogen' and 'progesterone' and their lack of presence in the body leads to many changes in the body.

The oestrogen keeps the skin smooth and soft and prevents the arteries from getting clogged. Post-menopausal women are at a greater risk of developing osteoporosis because oestrogen is necessary for proper bone formation.

Oestrogen also helps keep the body's internal temperature-regulation in check. Other organs in the body produce oestrogen so the menopause does not mean that the body does not have any of this hormone at all, it just means the body has smaller amounts.

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