What exactly is menopause and how should we deal with it?

Menopause is the physiological stage before and after a woman's natural menopause. It is a normal part of the aging process, not a disease. When people talk about menopause, they first think of bad temper, irritability, and mood swings, and think it is a psychological problem. In fact, although menopause does not belong to the category of disease, its harm should not be underestimated. It has a serious impact on women's physical and mental health. Regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, it is very important to understand the relevant knowledge of menopause. You can give care to yourself or your relatives and friends to help them correctly understand menopause and go through menopause smoothly.

1 Causes of menopause

Menopause is a physiological process that women must go through. The reason for entering menopause is that with the increase of age, the follicles in the female ovaries begin to fail to varying degrees, causing changes in the hormone levels in the female body and showing a decline. In addition, ovarian insufficiency, iatrogenic factors, oophorectomy, etc. are also causes of menopause, which can cause women to enter menopause prematurely. Various factors are related to the occurrence and development of menopause, such as tumor radiotherapy and chemotherapy that destroy the gonads, and surgical operations that affect the blood supply to the ovaries.

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2 Symptoms of menopause

There are many kinds of symptoms of menopause, which vary from person to person and are related to the individual situation of women. The main symptoms include physiological symptoms, psychological symptoms, neurological symptoms, etc. Early symptoms of menopause may appear 5 years before women stop menstruating and last up to 1-2 years. Typical symptoms of menopause are menstrual disorders, vasomotor symptoms, and urogenital atrophy symptoms. After women enter menopause, they usually experience prolonged menstrual duration, irregular menstruation, abnormal menstrual volume (sometimes more, sometimes less), etc. At this time, the level of progesterone in women's bodies decreases, and daily monitoring is needed to prevent endometrial lesions. The most common vasomotor symptoms of menopausal women are hot flashes and sweating, which are caused by fluctuations and decreases in estrogen levels. They are mainly in the chest, neck, and face, and can feel obvious heat. The skin of the chest, neck, and face may be red and sweaty, and there is a feeling of chills after sweating, which lasts from a few seconds to 1 hour. Vasomotor symptoms usually appear in the early stages of menopause and slowly subside as menopause progresses. After menopause, women may experience symptoms of urogenital atrophy, such as thinning of the vaginal mucosa and vaginal stenosis, which may cause abnormal vaginal discharge, vulvar itching and burning pain, vaginal dryness, dyspareunia, frequent urination, urgency, and pain during urination. Some menopausal women may experience symptoms of autonomic nervous system disorders, such as sleep disorders, headaches, and palpitations, and some may experience memory loss. Menopausal women may experience significant mood changes, such as anxiety, depression, and irritability.

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3. Menopause treatment

Menopausal treatment needs to vary from person to person, and targeted treatment should be taken according to the specific symptoms exhibited by each woman, mainly taking drug treatment plans. Women enter menopause at different ages, and the menopausal symptoms they exhibit are also different. When patients are given medication, it is necessary to symptomatically. It is recommended to use medications reasonably under the guidance of a doctor, and never take medications privately or change doctor's orders. Menopausal women can use estradiol, progesterone, estrogen, etc. for hormone therapy, which helps to relieve female vasomotor symptoms and urogenital atrophy symptoms, and can also relieve female joint pain, negative emotions, etc. When menopausal women show signs of depression, they can take antidepressants under the guidance of a doctor, such as fluoxetine, paroxetine, etc., which can relieve depression and improve sleep disorders.

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4 How to face and successfully go through menopause

Menopause is not scary. What is scary is that we are unaware of it and do not take it seriously. In addition to using drugs for corresponding symptomatic treatment during menopause, weight management, life management, emotional management, etc. are also needed to reduce the impact of menopause on women's daily life, work, etc. Menopausal women need to maintain a suitable weight, control their weight within the range of 18.5-23.9kg/㎡, and control their waist circumference within 80cm. Overweight and obese menopausal women should lose weight under the guidance of professionals. If menopausal women are underweight, have malnutrition, anemia, etc., they need to gain weight under the guidance of professionals, improve their nutritional level through exercise, food supplements, etc., and enhance their immunity and resistance.

The daily diet of menopausal women needs to be light, with less salt and oil, and the total daily salt intake should be less than 6g. Eat more coarse grains as staple food. Eat fish more than 2 times a week. Eat about half a pound of fresh vegetables and fruits every day, especially leafy green vegetables, such as spinach, celery, cabbage, etc. Apples, oranges, bananas, etc. are suitable for consumption. Patients can drink a glass of milk before going to bed, which helps improve sleep quality. Menopausal women should have a nutritious and balanced diet, and avoid spicy, raw and cold foods. Strictly quit smoking and drinking.

Menopausal women need to enrich their lives. It is necessary to have proper exercise, socializing and entertainment after work. After work, you can go shopping, play ball, play games, etc. with your family, friends and colleagues. On the one hand, you can release the pressure from work and relieve fatigue. On the other hand, you can relieve mental stress and reduce anxiety and depression. Daily exercise is essential. You can exercise according to your own interests and hobbies, mainly aerobic exercises such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, etc. You should exercise at least 3 times a week, each time for more than half an hour, with moderate intensity, and pay attention to the combination of work and rest.

The daily routine needs to be regular, with three meals a day on time and in fixed amounts, avoiding being too full or too hungry, and not overeating. Eat slowly and chew food thoroughly before swallowing. Develop a good habit of going to bed early and getting up early, and avoid playing with your phone for a long time and staying up late.

Learn to adjust your mindset, actively face the physiological and psychological changes brought about by menopause, actively cooperate with doctors for examinations, and take medications as prescribed by doctors. Face life and menopause with a healthy mindset. When you are in a bad mood, you can adjust yourself, release stress through sports, entertainment activities, etc., divert your attention, and maintain an optimistic and positive mindset.

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