Dr. Archana R Verma

Kegel is named after renowned gynaecologist Arnold Kegel. Kegel exercises are for the strengthening the pelvic floor muscles. You must continue doing Kegel exercises multiple times for several days, to begin to see changes and benefits.

Benefits 
1. It is a highly recommended treatment for urinary incontinence
2. Works well in case of decreased bladder control
3. Strengthens pelvic muscles
4. Relieves abdominal cramps
5. Helps in pelvic toning
6. Prevents organ prolapse
7. Beneficial to those with constipation as kegel exercises help regulate bowel movements

Kegel exercises during pregnancy
During pregnancy, most women suffer from problems related to constipation, which can be kept in check by regular practice of kegel exercises. The strengthening of pelvic muscles is of utmost need during this time, as weakened muscles can lead to a major prolapse if they are unable to bear the weight of a baby. Strong pelvic muscles are required to have a healthy pregnancy. These exercises are useful in preparing the muscles for labour and childbirth. If you notice occasional leakage of urine during the third trimester, it is a warning sign of losing bladder control, which, if left untreated, can worsen during the post partum period. Regularly exercising can help prevent complications occurring due to pregnancy.

How To Do Kegel Exercise During Pregnancy?

Try to stop the flow of urine when you are sitting on the toilet without tightening your abdominal, buttock, or thigh muscles. When you're able to successfully start and stop urinating, or you feel the vaginal muscle contract, you are using your pelvic floor muscle, the muscle you should be contracting during Kegel exercises.

You can do Kegel exercises two ways: either by holding or quickly contracting the pelvic floor muscle. To do slow Kegels, contract the pelvic floor muscle and hold for three to 10 seconds. Then relax and repeat up to 10 times. To do fast Kegels, quickly contract and relax your pelvic floor muscle 25 to 50 times. Relax for 5 seconds and repeat the set up to four times.

Squatting: Squatting is helpful during labor because it opens the pelvic outlet an extra quarter to half inch, allowing more room for the baby to descend. But squatting is tiring, so you should practice it frequently during pregnancy to strengthen the muscles needed.

How to do Squatting? An exercise called a wall slide is especially helpful. Stand with your back straight against a wall, place your feet shoulder width apart and about six inches from the wall, and keep your arms relaxed at your sides. Slowly and gently slide down the wall to a squatting position (keeping your back straight) until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Hold the position for five to 10 seconds, slowly slide back to a standing position. Repeat five or 10 times.

Pelvic Tilt: What is it? Pelvic tilts strengthen abdominal muscles, help relieve backache during pregnancy and labor, and ease delivery. This exercise can also improve the flexibility of your back, and ward off back pain.

How to do Pelvic Tilt? You can do pelvic tilts in various positions, but down on your hands and knees is the easiest way to learn it. Get comfortabe on your hands and knees, keeping your head in line with your back. Pull in your stomach and arch your back upward. Hold this position for several seconds. Then relax your stomach and back, keeping your back flat and not allowing your stomach to sag. Repeat this exercise three to five times. Gradually work your way up to 10 repetitions.

These exercises can yield great benefits with minimal effort. The exercises require no special equipment except comfortable clothes, and a little space to do them.

Do not worry if you are not close to the goal when you begin. Pelvic muscles are like any other muscles in your body. They will become stonger only with time, consistency and mindful work.

Beware: If you sense any pain in your back or abdomen after doing a Kegel set, it is a sign of you not doing them properly. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a gynaecologist and ask a free question.

Most people are aware that smoking is bad for their health. Smoking is linked to cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, and a host of other illnesses.

What men might not know, however, is that smoking can also lead to erectile dysfunction (ed). Studies have shown that men who smoke are more likely to develop ed. And the more a man smokes - both quantity and duration of time - the worse his ed tends to be.

The good news is that quitting smoking can help restore erections. Let's look at this relationship more closely.

When a man is sexually stimulated, his brain sends signals to the penis to trigger an erection. Smooth muscle tissue relaxes and arteries widen, allowing the penis to fill with blood. When enough blood flows in, veins constrict to keep it there until the man ejaculates (or the stimulation stops). Then the veins open and blood flows back into the body.

As you can see, blood flow is critical for a good erection. Blood is what gives the penis the firmness needed for sex. When blood flow is compromised, so is the erection.

Smoking tobacco releases chemicals that interfere with this process. This can happen in a few ways.

• Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). Chemicals can damage the lining of blood vessels, making it difficult for blood to flow into the penis.
• damage to smooth muscle tissue. When this tissue can't relax properly, blood flow becomes impaired.
• decreased nitic oxide.Smoking interferes with the body's production of nitric oxide, a compound needed for erections.
• Other health conditions, like diabetes and heart disease, can contribute to ed, too. If you're having erection problems, it's important to have a full checkup with your doctor. But quitting smoking definitely, can't hurt.

Quitting smoking should make you feel better overall. You'll feel good about yourself knowing that you've taken an important step toward better health - and possibly better sex!
 

Menopause is characterized by the absence of menstrual periods for 12 months. It is the time in a woman’s life when the ovaries stop functioning. The periods then stop forever. The normal period of menopause is 51 years of age, however, menopause may happen as ahead of schedule as the 30s or as late as the 60s. There is no solid lab test to determine when a lady will encounter menopause. Early menopause usually starts between the ages of 40 and 45. Untimely menopause begins significantly earlier, before the age of 40. Nevertheless, premature or early menopause is not that common with only about one percent of the women going through early menopause before the age of 40.

The signs and symptoms of early menopause are like the usual menopause. Some basic side effects include:

1. Irregular periods (amenorrhea)
2. Hot flashes
3. Night sweats
4. Vaginal dryness
5. Mood shifts
6. Mental fogginess
7. Diminished sex drive

Your specialist will suggest a treatment depending on your individual circumstances. Some common ways to deal with premature or early menopause are as follows:

Hormone Replacement Therapy
Supplements containing estrogen and progestin can help and replace some of your reproductive hormones in the body that can no longer make it all alone. They are frequently taken until the normal period of menopause (around 50) to help avoid bone loss. This treatment is not suggested for all ladies since it expands the danger of:

• Heart issues
• Stroke
• Blood clots
• Breast cancer

Supplemental Calcium and Vitamin D
Supplementary calcium and vitamin D can help in preventing osteoporosis in case you are not getting enough of these supplements from your normal diet. Women between ages 19 to 50 need to consume 1,000 milligrams of calcium for each day through food or supplements. Ladies over age 51 need to consume 1,200 milligrams for each day. A prescribed day-to-day measure of vitamin D has not yet been built up. For grown-up females, most specialists prescribe 600 to 800 global units through food or supplements. One should get a prescription from a doctor before ingesting the medication.

Other strategies to deal with Infertility
A few ladies with untimely menopause can at present get pregnant with no treatment. Ladies who want to have children, however, tend to become infertile after early or untimely menopause, need to consider in-vitro treatment, fertilization or even adoption.

Talk Therapy
Numerous ladies discover that having a conversation with a therapist can be supportive to adapt to their anxiety. It helps them release their pent up emotions and gives the clarity and satisfaction about their problems. Talk therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy are always beneficial since they help in addressing the symptoms and side effects that a woman may be going through emotionally when it comes to early menopause.

More than half of the women who menstruate, tend to go through pain from period cramps for a day or two every month. During the menstrual cycle, the uterus contracts to remove its coating or lining. Hormone like substances, called prostaglandins, which are the cause for pain and aggravation, trigger the uterine muscle contractions. More elevated levels of prostaglandins are linked with more severe menstrual cramps.

While menstrual cramps, additionally called dysmenorrhea, are normally not an indication of a highly serious health condition, they can act as barriers in your daily lifestyle. To help with the pain, here are five things that may offer some relief. In case your period cramps appear to be extreme or you do not get help even after attempting some of these choices, check with your specialist for the required medication or treatment. Five ways to prevent severe menstrual cramps are:

1. Exercise: A regular walk or any sort of physical movement can relieve you from the abdomen and thigh pain. This discharges endorphins to balance the prostaglandins and diminish your cramps. Exercising a little three to four times each week is useful for the general strength of your body.
2. Apply a heating pad: Warmth unwinds the contracting muscles in your uterus, which is the reason for your pain. There are a number of over-the-counter warming pads and cushions, or electric, reusable heating bags.
3. Drink chamomile tea: Certain teas may calm menstrual cramps. Teas have been used traditionally and can offer relief from pain. Chamomile tea is one of the most effective teas among many others. It tends to increase the hippurate element in your body, which is a natural anti-inflammatory agent. Mitigating agents diminish the prostaglandin formation in the body, accordingly assisting in pain relief from menstrual cramps.
4. Improve your diet: Vitamin D is vital in decreasing menstrual cramps. Decreasing your fat intake and eating more vegetables as a part of your diet may ease the pain. Low-fat food and less carbs help your health by and large, even as they can have an obvious impact on menstrual issues. Swap less solid fats like the saturated fats found in junk food, for more healthy ones like unsaturated fats found in olive oil. Getting more dietary magnesium appears to relieve the pain as well. Magnesium directs better nerve and muscle functioning, among other crucial functions.
5. Massage with essential oils: Using certain sweet-smelling oils and massaging them can likewise soothe menstrual pain. Dilute lavender, clary sage, or marjoram to a three percent concentration in an unscented cream. The duration of pain can be lessened from two and a half to one day after self-massaging with these essential oils. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a gynaecologist.

Fennel is a very common spice in india and is usually present in every kitchen. In fact, from a very young age, it has been seen that the elders advise the youngsters to consume a pinch of fennel after any meal for proper digestion. Fennel is also added to many dishes to make the dish flavourful as well, so that the person eating the dish can reap the benefits of all its medicinal properties. Fennel is much more than just a digestion enhancing natural ingredient. Fennel if boiled in water and the water taken empty stomach in morning, can be used as diuretic and also used in renal calculus. Some of its other uses and benefits are explained below.

Breath freshener: Fennel has anti microbial properties which clean your mouth and give you a fresh breath after every meal. In fact, it is not uncommon to notice fennel seeds being served in hotels and restaurants after a meal for better digestion and having a fresh and sweet breath.

Helps in digestion: Fennels help in not only digestion but also help in solving various other problems like intestinal gas, bowel irritation, constipation, heartburn etc. Those with constipation are advised to have fennel milk or at least a pinch of fennel after every meal so that they would be able to relieve themselves comfortably.

Helps in reducing and obesity: Obesity has become one of the greatest concerns in contemporary times. With a rise in the sale of junk foods, individuals have started thinning the line between being fat and being obese in nature. However, when you tend to consume fennel seeds, it gives you a feeling of fullness. This reduces the urge to eat in between meals which, in turn, helps in reducing obesity in individuals.

Helps in solving menstrual problems in women: Women who attain their puberty and experience regular menstrual cycles would be well aware of the regulation that they might face sometime or the other in the process. Consumption of fennel seeds regularises menstruation to a great extent in women. In fact, it also helps in reducing painful bleeding in women. It is one of the few natural remedies that can be tried out before opting for medical consultations and higher doses of medicines.

Used as a natural preventive against cancer: Cancer can occur in different places including the colon. Consumption of fennel can help in the reduction of colon cancers in individuals. The anti-carcinogenic properties of fennel help in reducing cancer-causing agents in the body, thereby rendering it capable enough to fight against cancer.

Thus, these are some of the benefits of consuming fennel. Next time you consume fennel after a meal, you know why you are consuming it and what health benefits could it bring to you.