Friday, June 1, 2012

The Significance of Using Hormone Therapy for Women

By Jake Alexandre


The development in the field of medical science has led to its peak. Now, the medical practitioners have introduced hormone therapy. It implies using hormones to cure certain diseases. The hormones are injected into human body for various purposes. In women, the use of hormone therapy is restricted to specific conditions like menopause, breast cancers etc. Several hormones are available to treat various medical conditions. The doctors recommend the use of a specific hormone keeping in view the women's condition. For instance, for menopause either progestin or estrogen is used.

One of the common conditions for using hormone therapy for women is curing the symptoms of menopause. Menopause implies the condition in females when their menstruation cycle stops. It occurs around the age of forty to fifty and can occur earlier in some women. The common symptoms include sweating, having hot flashes and experiencing dryness in vagina. Some women undergoing chemotherapy experience menopause earlier. However, some women naturally have the inclination toward early onset of menopause. Depending upon each woman's specific condition, certain hormones can be administered to them. There are cases where a women's uterus is removed because of cancer or any other reasons. In such a case, many doctors recommend administering estrogen along with progestin hormone. Using progestin helps in preventing the occurrence of cancer in uterus. However, the doctors do not suggest progestin if the women is kept on low dose of estrogen. Similarly, the hormone therapy for women consists of using only estrogen in the absence of uterus.

The hormone therapy for women is given in various alternative methods. One such way is administering hormone therapy through mouth. For this purpose, various tablets or pills are given to the patient. However, the patients can also be given skin patches, a gel, cream or spray. These things are to be applied on the skin externally. Moreover, the vaginal ring is also provided to some women to administer hormone therapy. The dose of hormones is prescribed and recommended by the doctor. It can be decreased or increased on the recommendation of the healthcare provider.

The use of hormone therapy for women can have major pros and cons. There can be major side effects of using hormones for curing several medical conditions. The side effects can occur in the form of increased risk of stroke, breast cancer or a heart attack. However, it is best to seek medical practitioner's consultation before opting for hormone therapy. The risk of potential side effects might vary from person to person. Despite the risks, the hormone therapy seems a suitable option for curing menopause symptoms. However, the duration of hormone therapy must not exceed from three to five years. In addition, the oral administration of hormones appears more risky than external use. On the whole, more research is required to study the risks associated with hormone therapy.

On the whole, the hormone therapy is a great medical discovery full of potentialities. It has given rise to a medical revolution and doctors are looking forward to it. However, there is a lot of work which needs to be done in order to measure the positive impacts of hormone therapy. It is hoped that the therapy will appear more useful for curing women's diseases. We must look forward to the latest developments in the medical science area to gauge its limitless possibilities.




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