Over 100 senior citizens attend workshop on menopausal changes at Max Hospital

Mohali, August 18, 2013: Over 100 senior citizens from Mohali Senior Citizens Association attended a workshop on ‘Menopause- is it that difficult’ at Max Super Speciality Hospital here today. Dr Preeti Jindal, Senior Consultant, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Max Hospital educated on understanding the changes that women go through during menopause and how the men in their lives could help them in successfully coping with this problem’’.

Talking about on the physical, mental and emotional changes in women while going through the menopausal years, Dr Jindal said that as women reached menopause, they needed help to manage the symptoms. Along with the symptoms and heightened emotions, a woman going through menopause was likely to experience alarming physical changes such as a fast heart beat, thinning hair, skin flushing, irregular menstrual periods and osteoporosis concerns. Menopausal symptoms included hot flashes, decreased libido, moodiness, weight gain, forgetfulness, hostility, and depression. The men should give emotional support in this period besides supporting treatment decisions, Dr Jindal pointed out.

She emphasized on the fact that women were reluctant to come forth and seek medical care, often because they accepted the physical discomforts associated with gynecological problems, menopause and ageing as natural. Older women might not understand their unique health risks or know that screening tests could detect health problems early and that treatments were available for many specific reproductive health disorders or concerns. Dr Jindal advised for annual screening for blood sugar, cardiac, cancer and eye screening for both men and women.

Deliberating on the health risks that woman was exposed to after menopause, Dr Jindal said that after menopause, women faced new long term health risks, including hormonal changes that contributed to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. The men should educate themselves about these age related changes and encourage their spouse to see a physician. The communication was a key to help your partner wade through this physiological change, Dr Jindal maintained.

Speaking about the other most common ageing disorder in women, she said that osteoporosis was a condition characterised by reduced bone strength and increased susceptibility to fractures following a minor injury or sometimes no injury at all. The most common cause in older women was calcium deficiency. It commonly affected women in 50-60 years of age in India.

“The best treatment was prevention and to start calcium-rich diet. For postmenopausal women, exercising at least thrice a week could help prevent bone loss and reduce the risk of falling. Also, consumption of at least 1,200 mg of calcium in a day along with a bone-friendly diet, high in fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fat and salt were recommended,” she informed.