Mother's Day | a phone call or WeChat to make moms healthy and long-lived!

On Mother's Day, when you call your mother to send a WeChat message to report that she is safe, please ask her the following seven questions, which will make her healthy and long-lived.

Why?

Because Chinese parents are the most exemplary parents in the universe, after the children become adults, they will not trouble their children unless they have to. However, when asked certain questions, she may say: I didn't want to tell you, since you asked... As a result, some diseases may be detected early, and even life may be saved as a result.

1. Do you have menstrual disorders, hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia and joint pain?

If so, be wary of menopausal syndromes.

The official name of menopause is perimenopause, which refers to the decline from the function of the ovaries to 1 year after menopause, usually beginning in the 40s and lasting 10 to 20 years. As a target tissue of estrogen, a series of changes occur in the genitourinary system, cardiovascular and bone, resulting in urinary tract infections, vaginal dryness or vaginitis, the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases, and symptoms such as paroxysmal hot flashes, irritability, and psychological abnormalities. These symptoms are collectively referred to as perimenopausal syndrome and were formerly known as menopausal syndromes.

In perimenopausal syndrome, the first thing a woman feels, or most women experience, is a menstrual disorder. Most menstrual cycles gradually lengthen, menstrual volume decreases, and finally menopause. There are also women whose menstrual cycles become irregular, with prolonged menstruation, increased menstrual flow, or even heavy bleeding or bleeding, which gradually decreases until it stops.

Hot flashes and sweating are also characteristic symptoms and are manifestations of vasomotor instability. Hot flashes usually start in the fore chest, rush to the head and neck, and then spread throughout the body, and a small number of women are confined to the head, neck and breasts. The skin in the flushed area becomes red, the patient has a pronounced burning sensation, followed by an explosive sweating. Hot flashes and sweating can last from seconds to minutes, with fewer times a day and more 30 to 50 times a day, which are easy to occur at night or in stressful states, making people feel out of control. Hot flashes and sweating can last up to 1 year, sometimes up to 5 years or more.

Back pain is an early symptom of osteoporosis. Early bone loss mostly occurs in the spine, and under the action of gravity, the vertebrae have a tendency to be compressed, and it seems more comfortable to bend over and hunch over. But people are accustomed to raising their heads straight, which leads to the continuous tension of the "erect spinal muscles" to combat this tendency to compress, and over time it will produce back pain. If osteoporosis continues to develop, osteoporotic fractures (e.g., femoral neck fractures) may occur. In addition, personality changes and mood abnormalities are also more common in menopausal women, and the most common symptom is suspiciousness, which is not the case in some women's personality characteristics at a young age, but is very pronounced in menopause.

If your mom is experiencing the above symptoms, tell her to see a gynecologist and, if necessary, use sex hormone replacement therapy to improve symptoms.

2. Have you ever had vaginal bleeding after menopause?

If so, you need to be wary of endometrial cancer.

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological malignancy of the female genital tract in developed countries. With the improvement of the living standards of the people in the mainland, the incidence of endometrial cancer in the mainland has gradually increased. Nevertheless, there are also small goodes in the great evils of the endometrium, and there are signals with higher suggestive value--- abnormal uterine bleeding. 50% to 70% of abnormal uterus occurs after menopause, so it is called perimenopausal or postmenopausal bleeding.

For postmenopausal bleeding, no matter how much, even if it is only a little; no matter how many times, even if it is only once; no matter how long it lasts, even if it is only one day, it must be paid attention to. Of course, 80% or more of postmenopausal vaginal bleeding is not always cancerous.

If your mom has this symptom, advise her to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Transvaginal pelvic ultrasonography is of high value. It is generally believed that the thickness of the endometrium in postmenopausal women averages 5 mm. If the thickness of the intimal is greater than this range or there is an abnormal echo in the uterine cavity, diagnostic curettage or hysteroscopy should be done.

3. Have you ever had bleeding after intercourse?

I'm sorry to have to ask. If so, be wary of cervical lesions or even cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is the most common gynecological malignancy in women in developing countries. Globally, more than 600,000 women develop cervical cancer each year, and 340,000 women die from cervical cancer. Fortunately, cervical cancer is a tumor that can be cured and prevented. The reason why it can be cured is because it has a long precancerous lesion process before it develops into cancer, which gives patients and doctors enough time to find and treat it, and the key is to screen for cervical cancer. It is preventable because the culprit has been identified --- high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV). Moreover, scientists have successfully developed an HPV vaccine, commonly known as a cervical cancer vaccine.

After cervical cancer has progressed to a certain period of time, contact bleeding may occur--- vaginal bleeding may occur during or after sexual life, or vaginal bleeding after gynecological examination. Contact bleeding does not mean that they are all cervical precancerous lesions or cancers, but more often cervical polyps and cervical columnar epithelial displacement (formerly known as cervical erosions). Also, early-stage cervical cancer is usually asymptomatic, so regular cervical cancer screening is essential.

There are two main screening methods for cervical cancer: thin layer liquid-based cytology (TCT) and human papillomavirus nucleic acid detection, which is better combined screening. In fact, for women aged 30-65, the state has a "two cancer screening" program for breast and cervical cancer. If there is a program in your area, be sure to actively participate.

4. Do you have any time when you can't stop urinating? Ever felt something fall out from underneath?

If so, pelvic floor dysfunction disorders need to be vigilant.

Pelvic floor dysfunction disorders in women are pelvic floor support tissue defects and injurious diseases, mainly including stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Stress urinary incontinence refers to the involuntary outflow of urine caused by a sudden increase in abdominal pressure, about 1 in 5 adult women are plagued by this problem, it affects the patient's daily life and interpersonal interactions, known as "social cancer".

Pelvic organ prolapse includes vaginal bulging (bladder and urethral bulging), posterior vaginal wall bulging (rectal bulging), and uterine prolapse. Mild cases generally have no symptoms, and heavy cases will feel that there is a lump coming out of the vagina, accompanied by waist pain and falling sensation. The prolapse in the vagina shrink when lying flat and enlarge when standing too long or overactive.

For the prevention and treatment of pelvic floor dysfunction diseases, it is first necessary to adjust the way of life behavior, reduce abdominal pressure, reduce pelvic floor burden, such as weight loss, treatment of constipation and chronic lung disease, avoid long-term chronic exertion, etc. Secondly, pelvic floor muscle training is required to strengthen the support of the pelvic floor. Finally, if necessary, it is necessary to use a pessary or surgery.

5. Do you have pimples or ulcers in your vulva?

If so, be aware of vulvar diseases, especially vulvar cancer.

Many diseases can occur in the vulva, including simple color changes (viola vitiligo and vulvar nevus), dystrophic changes (sclerotic atrophy of the vulva), pre-cancer lesions (vulvar leukoplakia), immune diseases (Behcet's disease), and of course, tumors. Vulvar cancer is more common in postmenopausal women, and the common symptoms are itching, pain, and lumps in the vulva. Vulvar itching often lasts longer and can last 5 to 20 years until vulvar cancer is diagnosed. A hard lump appears in the diseased area, or a crunchy lump like a cauliflower.

It is reasonable to say that vulvar cancer grows on the surface of the body and is easy to be found, but some patients are already advanced when they are treated. The reason is that, on the one hand, elderly women are ashamed to undergo gynecological examinations; on the other hand, the early symptoms are not obvious, and it is difficult to distinguish between good and evil.

Please tell your mother, once you find that there are ulcers, nodules, papillary masses, or white spots in the vulva, you should check it out as soon as possible, do not hide the disease, and drag the tumor that can be solved by small surgery into a major operation to solve, or even a tumor that cannot be solved, resulting in family tragedy.

6. Do you have symptoms of vaginal discharge, heavy taste, and vaginal itching?

If so, it is necessary to be vigilant against various vaginitis, especially senile vaginitis.

The formal name for senile vaginitis is atrophic vaginitis, which is common in postmenopausal women. When the estrogen level is low for various reasons, the vaginal wall atrophises, the mucous membrane thins, bacteria are easy to invade, and the glycogen in the vaginal epithelial cells is reduced, resulting in an increase in the pH of the vagina, lactobacilli are no longer dominant, local resistance is reduced, and other pathogenic bacteria are over-multiplying.

The main symptoms are burning discomfort in the vulva, itching, and increased vaginal discharge. Vaginal discharge is thin and yellowish. The vaginal mucosa is atrophic, hyperemic, thin, and scattered at bleeding points. Sometimes there are superficial ulcers, and in severe cases, vaginal adhesions and atresia.

Treatment is not difficult. Topical vaginal antibiotics are generally used to inhibit bacterial growth, followed by live lactobacilli or estrogen to increase vaginal resistance.

7. Do you always feel bloated or have diarrhea?

If so, ovarian cancer needs to be vigilant.

Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common malignancy of the female reproductive tract, but its mortality rate is high. Because the ovaries are small, deep in location, and have a lot of room for development in the abdominal cavity, there are generally no symptoms in the early stages of ovarian cancer. At a certain stage, such as invading the intestine or invading the large omentum to produce ascites, abdominal discomfort and persistent gastrointestinal symptoms such as loss of appetite and bloating may occur. Unfortunately, these symptoms are usually considered to be eating a bad stomach, or a blessed body.

Age 40 to 60 years old is a high-risk age group for ovarian cancer, therefore, women in this age group if they have unexplained bloating and diarrhea, need to go to the hospital as soon as possible to check, do pelvic ultrasound and blood collection to check serum tumor markers, including CA125, CA199, CEA, AFP, etc. Of course, routine stools and occult blood are also checked. If fecal occult blood is positive, digestive endoscopy is required. If tumor markers are elevated, fecal occult blood is negative, or gastrointestinal endoscopy does not reveal problems, laparoscopy is required to visually check the size, morphology, presence of tumors, and other organs of the abdominal and pelvic cavities.

In addition to these seven questions, there are five pieces of advice for your mother:

First, go to the hospital or physical examination center once a year for gynecological examination. Second, it is better to do a pelvic ultrasound every year, and the transvaginal ultrasound is better; third, the blood is taken annually to check for tumor markers, including CA125, CA199, CEA, AFP, etc.; fourth, cervical cancer screening is done every two years; and finally, breast examination is done once a year.

Mother's Day, this phone call or WeChat, will definitely make your mother avoid common gynecological diseases, have health, and always be beautiful!