Female Urinary Stress Inconti... : In Depth - Women's Health
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Adolescence
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You'll need to know mom and dad's current height to help calculate the estimate of how tall the child will be when she or he becomes an adult.
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This stage of your life is when you change from a girl into a young woman. Puberty will last a few years. During puberty, your body will go through some amazing changes. And your feelings may take you on a roller coaster ride.
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Each part of your body has its own job to do. You have special parts that are protected on the inside of your body. When the time comes, they help create and support a growing baby. Some of your special parts are on the outside. They are called genitals or private parts. You can see them with the help of a mirror.
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A period is the result of a cycle that takes place inside a girl's body. This menstrual cycle makes it possible for women to have babies. The cycle begins with ovulation, when an egg is released and begins its journey.
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When you first get your period, it's normal to be confused and wonder what's happening to you. If all your questions aren't answered here, talk to your mom or someone else you trust.
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A young girl's first period should not happen out of nowhere; it should never be a complete surprise.
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Breasts change over time. Their size and texture may vary with shifts in your body weight. Breasts also change as you go through different stages of your life.
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Child-Bearing Years
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Test your knowledge of PMS by taking this quiz.
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This assessment is valid for women between the ages of 21 and 69 who have had sexual intercourse at least once and who have not had a hysterectomy with removal of the cervix.
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It's rare, but it is possible to become pregnant during your period, especially if your cycle is not regular.
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A woman's menstrual cycle (monthly period) is controlled by changing levels of certain hormones. These hormones travel through the blood. Two hormones, estrogen and progesterone, play a big role in the menstrual cycle.
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From conception (fertilization) until after the birth of your child, you and your baby will change every day. To help you understand what is happening, we've outlined how pregnancy begins and some of the changes you may notice.
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These physical changes often signal that your baby will soon be born -- discharge from your vagina may increase and become thicker; you may notice a pink or brownish discharge called the bloody show; the mucous plug may break down; or you may feel Braxton Hicks contractions (false labor).
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Your urinary tract helps to get rid of urine (your body's liquid waste). The kidneys collect unneeded chemicals and water, making urine. Urine travels through the ureters to the bladder. The bladder fills with urine, holding it until you're ready to release it.
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Your body has a special system built to create and support a growing baby. This is called your reproductive anatomy. Get to know the parts of your body and what they do.
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Breasts change over time. Their size and texture may vary with shifts in your body weight. Breasts also change as you go through different stages of your life.
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Most breast conditions are noncancerous. But if you notice any breast changes that aren't normal for you, see your healthcare provider.
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Menopause and After
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Test your knowledge of menopause by taking this quiz.
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Today's women understand that menopause is not a disease. It is a normal event; a passage from one stage of life to another.
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Menopause -- when estrogen and progesterone production, ovulation and menstruation stop -- is a natural part of a woman's life. The average age that women reach menopause is 51.
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Perimenopause is the time in a woman's life when her body makes the transition between having monthly menstrual periods and entering menopause, the permanent end of her reproductive ability.
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The average age of natural menopause in the United States is 51, but it can occur anytime between ages 40 and 55.
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Diet and Exercise
Eating Well
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Eating a diet that can reduce your risk of disease and increase your longevity doesn't have to be difficult.
Primarily, it requires paying attention to what you eat and gradually replacing less healthy foods and eating habits with healthier ones.
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Evidence is mounting that a healthful diet can help protect you from some diseases. What you eat -- or don't eat -- may help prevent heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes.
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Most people are serving-size challenged, thanks to today's large portions: mega-muffins, heaping plates of pasta, behemoth burgers and extra-large bagels.
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Your diet needs Fats for energy, Proteins for body strength and Carbs for making your organs function efficiently. Strive for this balance.
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If your blood glucose drops too low—which can happen if you go too long without eating—you're going to feel lightheaded and lethargic.
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Eating healthy can reduce your risk of illness and lengthen your life. Eating a balanced, low-fat, low-cholesterol diet reduces your risk of heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes, stroke and other diseases. Follow these tips to help improve your diet.
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No matter what their gimmick, fad diets do not work in the long run, experts say. And some can put your health in jeopardy because they lack important nutrients.
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Being Active
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You know it's important to stay active but still find yourself falling back on old habits. What can you do? Planning for exercise isn't hard if you make it a priority.
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Whether you've already gained a few extra pounds or have yet to reach perimenopause, here are strategies to help you maintain a healthy weight in midlife and beyond.
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The triad is made up of these factors: disordered eating, disrupted menstrual cycles (missing three or more periods in a row) and osteoporosis (low bone mass).
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Teen girls who are athletes face unique obstacles when it comes to their bodies and how well they perform.
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Following a sensible diet is a cornerstone of good health. Find out how much you know about healthy eating by taking this quiz, based on information from the American Dietetic Association (ADA).
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Your target heart rate is the range at which sustained physical activity - running, cycling, swimming laps, or any other aerobic exercise - is considered safe and effective.
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Healthy Pregnancy
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It is important to know your estimated due date in order to help plan for the baby's birth.
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Pregnancy is an exciting and busy time for couples. You spend time wondering about your baby-to-be and making plenty of preparations to welcome the newest member of your family. By taking this quiz, you can learn which lifestyle behaviors are most helpful and which may be harmful to your developing child.
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Planning to have a baby? There are steps you can take before you ever become pregnant to help ensure a smooth pregnancy and a healthy outcome for you and your infant.
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Following these guidelines can help keep you and your developing child healthy in the months to come.
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You need to take care of yourself for a new reason. Your health can affect your baby's growth.
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A birth plan is an outline of your wishes for your labor and birth. This plan helps your healthcare providers know what you want and expect. Work with your provider to create a plan that leaves room for the unexpected.
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Having a baby is a life-changing experience, and there's no way to know just how exhilarating and challenging the first few months can be.
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Well Being
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This questionnaire can help you find out how likely you are to have depression.
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Slow traffic. Screaming children. A job interview. A crumbling marriage. Any of these could be a stressful situation. We all face stress in our lives, and some days are more stressful than others. Stress can take its toll on our physical and mental health. Learn more about stress and its effects by taking this multiple-choice quiz.
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During stressful times, your body produces various chemicals, including cortisol, an immune-suppressing hormone. The more cortisol produced, the weaker your immune cells become and the more susceptible you are to illness.
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Does something about your body bug you? Maybe you believe you'd be happier if only you were thinner, taller, shorter, more muscular -- whatever.
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A combination of factors causes depression. Some cases are triggered by a stressful experience, such as the death of a spouse or loss of a job. Some illnesses, such as cancer, also can cause depression, as can alcohol and drug abuse.
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It's normal to feel stressed or anxious now and then. But it's time to call for help if emotional issues interfere with your life, your job, or your personal relationships.
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As a woman, your body is much more sensitive to the effects of alcohol and more easily damaged than a man's body. Because women have less water in their body than men, alcohol doesn't dilute as much and more of it gets absorbed into the blood. That's why women suffer greater physical damage and often become more intoxicated than men when they drink identical amounts of alcohol.
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Whatever the nature of your loss, active grieving can help you get through the following months and years.
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Office politics include not only the hierarchy of command in companies, but also the manipulative tactics people use to be more powerful at work.
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Physical violence is just one form of domestic abuse. If you have a partner who verbally humiliates you, demands all your attention, blames you for everything that goes wrong or threatens to harm you or your children, you're also being abused.
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Learning how to express anger assertively and constructively can improve your personal interaction and your health.
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Alcohol-dependent employees incur twice the health care costs of the average employee, are more likely to steal from their employers, are more likely to be involved in workplace accidents and are five times more likely to file worker's compensation claims.
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Sexual Health
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Test your knowledge of STDs by taking this quiz.
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Test your knowledge of chlamydia by taking this quiz.
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Your body usually tells you when you are in danger -- your heart races, you breathe hard, your palms sweat. But when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), you may not have any warning signs.
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Homosexuals and heterosexuals alike are at risk. Infected people can pass HIV on to anyone with whom they have intimate contact. Men can infect female or male partners, as can women.
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Chlamydia is the most frequently reported bacterial STD by far in the United States -- and it can cause serious complications and infections for both men and women if left untreated.
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For a woman who wants to plan when she becomes pregnant, there are many choices.
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Learning about HPV can help you avoid infection and seek treatment, if necessary.
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Perimenopause is the time in a woman's life when her body makes the transition between having monthly menstrual periods and entering menopause, the permanent end of her reproductive ability.
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Preventive Care
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Test your knowledge of what steps to take to catch breast cancer in the early stages.
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You can do a lot to keep yourself healthy. Avoiding germs, eating a balanced diet, getting enough rest -- all these steps and more can put you on the road to good health. How much do you know about preventing disease? Take this quiz and find out.
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Cancers of the colon and rectum together are among the most common cancers
affecting Americans, according to the National Cancer Institute. They occur most often in people over 50 years
old. Test your knowledge of colorectal cancer by taking this multiple-choice quiz.
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For 48 hours before the test, do not douche, use vaginal medications or creams. For 24 hours before, do not have sexual intercourse.
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You run two miles every other day and lift weights twice a week. You've been trying to eat more fruits and vegetables and less meat. You don't smoke. When it comes to your health, you figure you've got everything covered. But when was the last time you saw your doctor for a health screening?
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To find out what your family risks are, ask people on both sides of your family. Start with your parents, siblings and children.
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You don't want to spend this winter battling a runny nose, a nagging cough or a fever. Here's what to do.
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Reading and understanding the information labels on over-the-counter (OTC) medications can help you take them safely and effectively.
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Here are ways to help you fine-tune your lifestyle to promote optimum health.It's good to step back now and then and ask yourself: Are my habits reducing or increasing my health risks? Is there more I could be doing to reduce my risk for diabetes, cancer or heart disease?
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Using the Healthcare System
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Every year, thousands of people experience interactions between prescribed drugs and over-the-counter drugs, or between drugs and herbal products. Other unexpected interactions can occur between drugs and certain foods or health conditions. Assessing how much you know about these potential interactions and learning what you can do to prevent them can help keep you safe. Take this quiz, based on information from the American Pharmacists Association's publication "Pocket Guide to Evaluations of Drug Interactions" and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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Find out what you know about doctor-patient communication.
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Taking time to read, understand and act on your rights and responsibilities can help you proactively engage in the health care you receive.
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Well-informed people who play a significant role in deciding how they're going to treat their health conditions are likely to feel better about the decision process.
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You don't have time to choose a hospital if you have a health emergency. But if you're facing surgery or treatment for a particular health condition, taking time to find a hospital that meets your needs is well worth the effort.
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The American health care system—a complex union of insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, and drug manufacturers—doesn't provide consumers with many price breaks. But learning a few tricks can help you, in some cases, get something for nothing.
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No one likes unexpected expenses. But you have more control over your health care costs than you may think.
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Many forms of emergency treatment take place outside the emergency room, and even many surgeries are performed in locations other than a hospital operating room.
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Some differences between men and women are obvious. But others go beyond basic anatomy.
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To get the best medical care you can, you should be an informed patient who works closely with your health care provider.
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Here are strategies from the Food and Drug Administration to help you cut your prescription costs by 50 percent or more.
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Get your timing right, and you'll whiz through waiting rooms at doctor's appointments. Your medications will work their best.
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Breast Cancer
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Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women (other than skin cancer). The American Cancer Society reports the breast cancer death rate is declining, probably due to earlier detection and improved treatment. This short assessment will help you determine if you have major risk factors for breast cancer.
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Test your knowledge of breast cancer by taking this quiz.
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A diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains is important for good health. What effect does diet have on your risk for cancer? Find out by taking this quiz, based in part on information from the American Cancer Society (ACS).
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Breast cancer mortality rates are declining, while the five-year survival rate is climbing. The decline in breast cancer deaths can be attributed to a number of factors.
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It's important to remember that every woman should consider herself at risk for breast cancer. A woman's best tool in fighting this disease is knowledge of her body, her family history and other risk factors.
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The good news is that breast cancer can be treated successfully. Treatments include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or any combination of these. Here's a closer look at each.
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With so much information out there about breast cancer, sometimes it's difficult to separate myth from reality.
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In recent years, researchers have discovered new and better ways to detect and treat breast cancer—and to keep it from coming back.
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Heart Disease
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Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease. It is the leading cause of death in the United States in both men and women. Determine your risk for developing CAD using this assessment tool.
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As a woman, do you know what your risk is for developing heart disease?
You might be surprised. Take this quiz, based on information from the American Heart Association,
and see how much you know about heart disease in women.
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Surveys show fewer than one in 10 women perceive heart disease as their greatest health threat. But it's the nation's number one killer, and women are its prime target.
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Heart attacks often feel different to a woman than to a man. Women are more likely than men to have "silent" or unrecognized heart attacks (myocardial infarction). Not all heart attacks begin with sudden, crushing chest pain, the way they are often shown in the movies and on TV.
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For many women, a heart attack may feel like a strange discomfort in the back or some other easily ignored sign, instead of crushing chest pain.
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Obesity & Type 2 Diabetes
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The questions in this assessment ask about risk factors—conditions that may put you at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) states that the more risk factors you have, the more likely you are to develop diabetes.
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Experts are increasingly urging people to know their BMI, a figure that takes into account not just weight but also height to indicate body fat.
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Using body mass index (BMI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) puts the definition of overweight at 25 to 29.9 BMI. A BMI of 30 and above qualifies a person as obese. A person with a BMI of 30 is about 30 pounds overweight, the equivalent of 221 pounds for a person who is 6 feet tall, or 186 pounds for someone who is 5-foot-6.
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There is an epidemic of obesity in this country, health experts say. But what is obesity? How is it measured? Find out the answers to these questions and others by taking this quiz, based on information from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
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True or false? Most overweight people got that way because they're self-indulgent weaklings without the will power to say no to super-sized french fries and fudge-slathered ice cream.
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High blood cholesterol is one of the major risk factors for heart attack, the leading cause of death in America.
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A Swedish study, over 29 years, finds 33 percent more cases of cancer among obese people than in the general population.
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Your risk of heart disease increases if you're more than 30 percent overweight. Obesity raises cholesterol, blood pressure, and can lead to diabetes, another risk factor for heart disease. You can reduce your risk for heart disease by losing as few as 10 pounds if you are overweight.
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High blood pressure, or hypertension, is the most common chronic adult illness in the United States. There is no cure for high blood pressure, but it can be controlled.
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Diabetes occurs when there are high levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood. All three types of diabetes involve problems with insulin, a hormone that removes glucose from the blood and allows it to enter the body's cells. (The cells use it for energy.) If your body is unable to make or use insulin properly, you have a high blood glucose level.
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The American Diabetes Association estimates at least 20.1 million people in the United States have pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes means having a blood sugar level that is higher than normal, but not yet persistently high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes. By taking steps to control your blood sugar, you can delay or prevent type 2 diabetes from developing.
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Take this quiz to find out how to cut your risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
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Healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes. Not all bodies are made to be thin. For some people, a healthy weight is higher or lower than the average weight listed on weight charts.
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Research shows that if you are overweight or obese, a little weight loss goes a long way toward reducing your risk for disease and protecting your health.
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Experts say the long-term success at weight loss requires a balance between diet and physical activity.
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Research clearly shows that most diets don't work. Even those of us who lose weight on a diet generally regain most or all of the weight within a couple of years.
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One reason for passing up regular exercise may be that plenty of misconceptions about getting fit still exist.
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Osteoporosis
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Osteoporosis is a disease that slowly weakens bones until they break easily. People who suffer a broken bone related to osteoporosis often experience a downward turn in their overall health.
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Test your knowledge of the importance of calcium by taking this quiz.
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The body is always making and losing (resorbing) bone. This process is called remodeling. Bone-making cells form new bone using calcium and other minerals. These minerals come from the food you eat.
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Bone density testing is safe, quick, easy, and painless. Testing can detect osteoporosis before a fracture happens. It can also predict the risk of future fractures. And testing can measure the response to treatment.
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Your body needs calcium to build and repair bones. But it can't make calcium on its own. That's why it's important to eat calcium-rich foods. Some foods are naturally rich in calcium. Others have calcium added.
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Certain factors can speed up bone loss or decrease bone growth. For example, alcohol, cigarettes, and certain medicines reduce bone mass. Some foods make it hard for your body to absorb calcium.
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If you have osteoporosis, you can do a lot to reduce its effect on your life. Knowing how to prevent fractures and spinal curvature can help you live more comfortably and safely with this disease.
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A variety of exercises is best. Physical activity will slow further bone loss. It can also be fun.
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Osteoporosis thins and weakens a person's bones, making them more porous (less dense) and fragile, and thus more likely to break. Although a fracture is often the first outward sign of osteoporosis, a bone mineral density test can help diagnose it before that happens.
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Personal Safety
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Test your knowledge of first aid by taking this quiz.
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There is no easy way to recover from an assault. But getting the medical care and support you need is a good place to start.
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After a sexual assault, it's normal to feel angry, afraid, and even ashamed. But try not to let these feelings keep you from getting medical care. Medical treatment can help you recover physically as well as emotionally.
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Although the most common form of abuse is males abusing female partners, females can abuse male partners, and abuse also takes place in same-sex relationships.
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Abuse tends to get worse and occur more often over time. If you are being abused, plan ahead to get out for good. But don't feel discouraged if it takes more than one try.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines intimate partner violence as actual or threatened physical or sexual violence, or psychological and emotional abuse, directed at a spouse, former spouse, current or former boyfriend or girlfriend, or dating partner.
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According to researchers at the American Psychological Association, nearly 50 percent of American working women will experience on-the-job sexual harassment at some point in their careers.
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