March Focus (And Beyond) - Women's Health - Endometriosis Awareness and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

Mar 06, 2023 Women's Health OTC

 

Women's health is an important topic that deserves attention and discussion. There are many aspects of health that specifically impact women or affect women differently than men. All women need to understand these differences and take steps to optimise their well-being. 

We’re celebrating International Women's Day this week, and with events running throughout the month, it’s a good time to shine the spotlight on women’s health too. 

 

Upcoming Awareness Days Focused on Women’s Health

 

Women's health awareness days are useful because they raise public awareness about health issues that specifically affect women. They encourage women to get screened for diseases like breast and cervical cancer, promote education about topics such as heart disease prevention and bone health, and inspire women to make their well-being a priority in their busy lives. Overall, these awareness days help empower women with knowledge and resources to live healthier and happier lives.

 

Endometriosis Awareness

March is endometriosis awareness month. How much do you know about this condition?

What is Endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a disorder in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus. It most often affects women in their reproductive years. Endometriosis is a painful condition that can cause pain during menstruation, pain during sex, pain with urination or bowel movements, and infertility.

According to https://www.endometriosis-uk.org  “Endometriosis affects 1.5 million women and those assigned female at birth in the UK, similar to the number affected by diabetes or asthma” - Shockingly, even though so many women are affected, it isn’t a condition that is well known and understood. This press release has some startling statistics and highlights why awareness days and events are so important.

 

Signs and Symptoms of Endometriosis

Endometriosis can vary in how it presents and how severe symptoms are can be different from person to person. The symptoms of endometriosis can include painful periods, pain during intercourse, pain with bowel movements or urination during menstruation, excessive bleeding, and infertility. Some women with endometriosis have few or no symptoms. Endometriosis can sometimes cause cysts or nodules to form in the pelvis.

 

Help and Support for Endometriosis

Diagnosis can be difficult to diagnose and is often achieved after a long period of ruling out other issues. You can find out more about this condition via the NHS website. Endometriosis is not a curable condition but there are treatments that can help to manage symptoms, including the use of painkillers. Speak to your GP who should be able to refer you to a specialist for endometriosis advice, support and treatment. 

 

Ovarian Cancer Awareness

March is also Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Keep reading to find out why knowing more about the signs and symptoms of this condition is essential. 

Some early symptoms to be aware of include abdominal pain, bloating, increased urination and nausea. However, these symptoms are often mistaken for less serious issues. The key to successfully treating ovarian cancer is early detection. 

Early detection depends upon understanding the symptoms and ensuring that when invited for a cervical smear test women attend, especially as some women don’t get symptoms until the cancer is more prominent and/or has spread. You can find more about the symptoms on the Ovarian Cancer website. Sharing information about these symptoms is a key part of the annual ovarian cancer awareness month.

More must be done to raise awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms and risk factors. Increased research funding is also critical to better understand this disease, improve early detection, and develop new treatments. With a combination of awareness and scientific progress, we can save more lives.

 

Products for Women’s Health from Simply Meds Online

Here at Simply Meds Online we stock a number of prescription and over-the-counter products aimed specifically at women’s health. These include products for proactively boosting women’s health, such as multivitamins as well as those for specific conditions such as period pain, menopause, skincare and more.

 

Menopause Support 

Peri-menopause and menopause can come with a whole host of symptoms. One that is less known is vaginal atrophy. Here at Simply Meds Online, we offer Gina 10, a prescription-free vaginal tablet aimed at helping with the side effects of VA. You can find out more about vaginal atrophy and Gina 10 in our blog post here.

 

Our Pain Relief Section

Everyone can benefit from our pain relief section. Women, however, might take painkillers for different reasons. Pain relief for period pain for example, or for dealing with the symptoms of endometriosis.  See our wider pain relief section here. If you have persistent and ongoing pain please see your GP to investigate the cause and to discuss appropriate treatment or the best pain management regime for your needs.

 

Vitamins for Women

We all have different needs in terms of vitamins and minerals. This is why, as well as general multivitamins it is important to have more targeted collections, including vitamins for women. Centrum for Women is one of our popular vitamin products aimed at the nutritional needs of women. Folic Acid supplements are also popular for those attempting to get pregnant and for during pregnancy to support healthy development.

 

Beauty Collagen - An Easy-to-Use Supplement

A popular product, Bioglan Beauty Collagen Powder is a high-strength marine collagen supplement to support healthy skin, hair, and nails. It has been carefully formulated with absorbed hydrolysed Marine collagen and hyaluronic acid. As it is tasteless and dissolves in water it can be mixed with a daily shake, juice or whatever you fancy.  The benefits of using this product daily include healthy hair, firmer skin and stronger skin.

These are just a few of the products suited to boosting and protecting women’s health. View our OTC and prescription items as well as our blog posts for more information and support that is specific to your needs. 

 

In Conclusion 

Prioritising women’s health is important for overall well-being but also to ensure that conditions such as endometriosis, ovarian cancer, PCOS and more are better understood and therefore earlier diagnosed and treated/better managed.

If you have concerns about your health please don’t wait or brush them off (something we all do when busy). See your GP or gynaecologist as appropriate to seek advice.