What to do if you have uterine fibroids (1)

Aunt Gong is 62 years old this year and has retired at home. Aunt Gong's old age life is very leisurely. She doesn't like sports and often stays at home. Not only that, she also likes to cook and prepare all kinds of delicious food.

After retirement, her weight increased sharply. Her body mass index was close to 27, which was considered obese. Recently, Aunt Gong found that her menstruation became irregular, the amount was heavier than before, and she often needed to go to the toilet.

In addition, Aunt Gong also felt abdominal pain and felt a mass when touched. Although her body began to show a series of abnormal reactions, Aunt Gong did not take it seriously, thinking it was a normal phenomenon of aging. However, her daughter Nana felt that there was something wrong with her mother's health, so she made an appointment for a full body checkup for her.

The physical examination results showed that Aunt Gong had uterine fibroids, about the size of an egg. Aunt Gong and her daughter were shocked, but fortunately because it was discovered in time, no surgery was needed for the time being, and they only needed to go to the hospital for regular checkups.

Most people start to panic when they hear that their disease contains the word "tumor", and feel very scared and at a loss. However, in fact, uterine fibroids themselves are not terrible. Instead of being afraid of "tumor", let's find out together.

What are uterine fibroids?

Uterine fibroids are one of the most common benign tumors of the female reproductive system. They are formed by the proliferation of uterine smooth muscle cells and are more common in women aged 30 to 50. Uterine fibroids can affect women's reproductive ability and pregnancy to varying degrees.

What are the causes of uterine fibroids?

It is still unclear, but according to epidemiological studies, there are five major risk factors:

obesity;

Drinking alcohol, especially beer;

High intake of beef and other red meat;

hypertension;

Vitamin D deficiency.

In addition to the high-risk behaviors mentioned above that are likely to induce uterine fibroids, some women also have uterine fibroids due to genetic factors. In addition, high sensitivity to estrogen is also one of the important factors in the occurrence of fibroids. If you want to effectively prevent it, it is best to avoid the following "minefields":

Long-term use of estrogen medications;

Unreasonable diet, alcoholism and smoking;

Sexual dysfunction;

Long-term depression.

What are the symptoms of uterine fibroids?

To sum up, there are mainly the following aspects:

① Irregular menstruation, such as menorrhagia (normal menstrual cycle is 28 to 30 days, menstrual volume is 30-50ml, and menstrual duration is 3-5 days);

②Compression symptoms of adjacent organs, such as frequent urination, constipation, etc. (If the uterine fibroids are located on the front wall, it may cause changes in urination, such as frequent urination and inability to hold urine. If the uterine fibroids are located on the back wall, it may cause constipation);

③ Infertility;

④Recurrent abnormal pregnancy, such as early miscarriage, mid- to late-term premature birth, etc.;

⑤ Abdominal distension and pain, abdominal mass (large fibroids);

⑥ Anemia and other conditions caused by long-term menstrual changes (pale, sallow complexion, dizziness, fatigue).

Doctor's words:

||||

The picture is from the Internet (if there is any infringement, please contact us to delete the picture)

Author: Chu Yi, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences

About the Author

Chu Yi

She is a full-time teacher at the Practice Teaching Center of Shanghai Health Medical College, a Chinese technical guidance expert for the 45th World Skills Competition, a member of the expert group of the China "Standardized Patient" (SP) Practice Teaching Steering Committee, and a member of the CSPC (Youth Expert Committee) of the Health Science and Technology Working Committee of the China International Science and Technology Promotion Association. She has been engaged in teaching courses such as "Geriatric Nursing", "Internal and Surgical Nursing" and "Community Nursing" for a long time.

Funded by Shanghai Science and Technology Commission's Science Popularization Project

(Project No.: 20DZ2311100)

- END -