Screening Tests for Women’s Sexual Health

Female sexual health is a complex subject. Sexual health depends on a woman’s health history, general physical health and mental health. It would be a good idea to get regular medical check-ups and screenings to prevent further health problems. All of the female health issues are treatable if detected at an early stage.

Why Testing: Female Sexual Health Concerns

Preventive health screenings and regular health care visits are important. They save women’s lives. They have better sexual health and the quality of their life.

In this article, we have listed how women should get tested on average. You should get screened more often if you have any particular disease or risk factors like a problematic health history or family health history.

What to Check: Screenings Every Woman Needs

Bone Density

Some health issues may not sound like sexual health or sexual dysfunction problems, yet they are gender specific. Think about bone mineral density. Once you are over 65, you should get a bone mineral density test every year to prevent osteoporosis. A bone density test can show how much calcium and other bone minerals your bones have.

Osteoporosis is a condition that means your bones contain fewer minerals than they should, so they are fragile and they fracture easily. The condition is related to the way your ovaries function. Clinical studies have proven that those women who had their ovaries removed are more prone to osteoporosis when they hit their senior years.

If your health care provider detects your bone density problem early, they can treat it, and they can prevent bone loss. You do not want fragile, weak bones for your old days. After a certain age, bones do not heal easily; a broken bone may have serious consequences.

Breast Health Screening

Breast health is a typical female health concern. If you are over 20, get a clinical breast exam in every 3 years. After 40, you should get a clinical breast exam and a mammogram every 1 to 2 years. If your doctor notices the signs and symptoms of breast cancer early and you get the proper medical care and treatment, you will have good chances to make a full recovery.

Sexual Health

If you are a woman above 20, get a pelvic exam every year. It helps your health care provider detect any developing disease or health problem within your reproductive system.

If you are a woman at the age of 20 to 65, get a Pap test every 3 to 5 years. If you are above 30, get both a Pap test and a human papilloma virus test every 5 years. The two tests together are more effective in recognizing the early signs of developing cervical cancer.

If you have always received reassuring results and you are over 65, you do not have to get screened, since you are not at risk of cervical cancer. If you had a hysterectomy, which means you had your uterus and cervix removed, ask your doctor if you have to get screened in the future.

If you are younger than 25, you should get screened every year for chlamydia. If you are over 25, get tested for chlamydia if you have a new sex partner or you have more sex partners.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

If you have a new partner, ask for a STD test from your sex partner and get tested yourself. You want to prevent diseases like HIV, HPV, gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia.

Blocked Fallopian Tubes – A Common Cause for Infertility in Women

One of the most common causes of infertility in women today is the blocked fallopian tubes which doesn’t allow the flow of eggs to the uterus and block the sperm to reach the egg which of course prevents fertilization and pregnancy. According to some statistics more than 35% of women that have problems with infertility have this condition. While some cases of fallopian tube blockage can be solved relatively quickly and easily and women can get pregnant fast, in other cases women are subjected to various tests and treatments to become pregnant, but it seems that nothing can help them achieve their desire. So what exactly causes this blockage in the fallopian tubes?

Each month, when ovulation begins, a single egg is released from the ovary into the fallopian tube where it is supposed to be inseminated in case the woman had an unprotected sex. No matter what happens (whether she is inseminated or not), this ovum travels down the oviduct and reaches the uterus. In some women there is possibility that only one of the tubes is blocked and in order to increase the likelihood of conception, doctors often prescribe hormone therap. In addition, there is a possibility that the fallopian tube is not blocked entirely, but only partially which can lead to ectopic pregnancy and this type of pregnancy can lead to many complications in case the women decides to choose abortion and complications when she decides to get pregnant again.

So, pregnancy is possible only if there is one fallopian tube that is blocked, but if both tubes are clogged there is no chance for pregnancy. In this case, the next step is to determine what is causing the blockage. When we talk about symptoms it is good to point out that they are very rare and in most cases they don’t exist. When it comes to other similar problems like lack of ovulation, women can easily notice the symptoms such as irregular menstrual cycles. Blockage of the fallopian tubes can sometimes be noticed through unusual abdominal pain and vaginal discharge. But remember that most women won’t notice anything wrong with their reproductive system.

The most common cause of blocked fallopian tubes is cervicitis or swelling/inflammation of the cervix. The most common cause of this inflammation is one of the common sexually transmitted diseases such as HPV, Chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes and trichomoniasis. You should keep in mind that cervicitis is not caused only by these diseases, but some bacterial inflammation can be the cause too. Unfortunately even after treating these diseases one of the results of their effects are blocked fallopian tubes.

Hysterosalpungography or HSG is a procedure in which a certain amount of contrast fluid is inserted in the cervix. After that, with the help of X-rays the fluid is observed while it is going through the sexual organs including fallopian tubes. If the fallopian tubes are blocked the fluid will not go through all the parts. This is the easiest way to determine whether some women is suffering from blocked fallopian tubes, but this method doesn’t provide correct results all the time. 

Sexual Health Concerns that you need to taken into account

The crazy, obsessive thing called sex

The sexual act in itself is a matter of perception. For some, it is a means to channelize and purge the excessive energy that is generated within the body. For the creative and poetic mind, it is metaphorically a work of art. For the sentimentalists, it is a means to express love. Amidst all this, what we often tend to forget is the need to retain overall sexual health for its sustenance. Overlooking trivial symptoms becomes a matter of habit and we end up with more complications that we can handle. This is where the need for thorough sex education arises.

Sexually transmitted infection: an obstacle to normal living

What happens when two individuals come together to quench their sexual desire? A temporary feeling of satisfaction makes its mark upon the lovers. If we were to rephrase the question in any other way: what happens when two individuals, of which one of them is a carrier of a dormant STD, come together?

The disease gets another host to cling on to and prosper. Most STDs spread via sexual contact but the cause is always a bacteria or a virus. The carrier may be predominantly male or female, depending upon the disease and the symptoms may be present or absent at the time of transmission. There are, however, common symptoms that indicate an outbreak of the infection.

These include painful discharge through the rectum, heavy vaginal discharge, swollen glands in the genitalia, warts or rashes between the thighs, fever, headache and pelvic pain not related to the menstrual cycle to name a few.

Common sexually transmitted diseases to look out for

Chlamydia is a bacterial infection, more commonly inflicted upon females than males. The second-most common disease is Gonorrhea, which more often than not, leads to fertility complications. Genital warts are a primary symptom for those infected with the Human Papillomavirus, an infection invariably linked with cervical cancer according to research.

Nothing can kill human bodies with the intensity of HIV; the consequent AIDS virus is slow poison to the anatomy that breaks down little by little to its last breath. Genital Herpes is hard to diagnose while it is dormant within a body. The host may be having it for months without being aware of it, till the warts begin to show. The worst part about being inflicted with this virus is that it clings on to your dear life forever!

STD treatment: looking for a cure

Driven by shame and embarrassment, most STD victims look up the internet to seek self medication. This is the most impractical approach one could ever opt for. For one, you may get the necessary information that you are looking for, but the treatment bit should be left to the experts. Bacterial infections can be cured with regular medication but viruses are there to haunt you for life, therefore impossible to get rid of. Patients with their respective partners must undergo tests to medically confirm their diagnosis. Depending upon the condition, the patient and/or their partner would be prescribed antiviral or antibacterial medicines. Viruses require lifelong treatment in order to control the outbreak; disappearance of physical symptoms does not mean that the body has rid of it.