Dr. Shivraj

Adenomyosis is a condition which occurs when the muscle wall of the uterus is broken by the endometrium lining. You experience pressure in the lower abdomen, menstrual cramps and bloating, before the onset of menstrual periods, resulting in heavy bleeding during the periods. This disorder is not life threatening but is known to cause pain and heavy bleeding.

Symptoms-

The symptoms of adenomyosis are severe pain during periods, prolonged periods and pressure in the abdominal area. You may also experience heavy bleeding during the periods and may also experience intense pain. Sex may be very painful as well. The lower abdomen might feel tender and bigger; this occurs when the size of the uterus increases in this particular condition.

Causes-

The exact cause of this disorder is not yet ascertained. However, certain possible causes could be:

1. Congenital Defect: In this case, the condition is known to occur from birth wherein the endometrial tissue grows on the uterine muscle wall during the fetus formation.
2. Invasive Growth of Tissues: This is said to occur when endometrial cells invade the uterus lining, leading to adenomyosis. This can also be triggered by a C-section operation.
3. Inflammation During Childbirth: During the childbirth process, inflammation may occur in the lining of the uterus leading to this disorder.

In addition to the possible cause, there are certain risk factors which increase the risks of the disorder, such as:

1. Aging
2. Giving birth to a child
3. Surgery related to the uterus such as a C-section

Treatment-

Once you reach menopause, this disorder tends to subside. So depending on how close you are to menopause, the treatment is designed accordingly. The various treatments for adenomyosis are –

1. Anti-inflammatory Medications: If you are nearing menopause, then anti-inflammatory medications will be administered. This helps in reducing pain and the heavy blood flow.

2. Hormone Medications: Hormone medications such as hormone patches can also help with the bleeding and pain.

3. Hysterectomy: If the pain turns intense, then the doctor may recommend hysterectomy, a surgery to remove the uterus.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

If you are concerned about breast cancer, you should know about the steps you can take to prevent the condition. Breast cancer is a type of cancer developing from the breast tissue. Symptoms such as a lump in the breast, fluid flowing from the nipple, changes in the shape of the breast and occurrence of red scaly patches on the breast denote breast cancer.

You need to make certain lifestyle changes in order to prevent breast cancer. The ways you should adopt include the following:

1. Limit your alcohol intake: The more you consume alcohol, the more you put yourself at the risk of getting breast cancer. It is recommended for you not to drink more than one drink per day. Small amounts of alcohol increase the risk of breast cancer as well.

2. Abstain from smoking: There is a direct link between tobacco smoking and breast cancer, and the risk is even more in premenopausal women. You should quit smoking to reduce the risk of breast cancer along with many other conditions, which can develop because of the ill-effects of smoking.

3. Control your weight: Obese women are more prone to breast cancer when compared with women with a healthy weight. This is especially true when obesity occurs at a later stage in life, after menopause.

4. Keep physically active: Regular physical activity is essential for you to maintain a healthy weight, which is important for preventing breast cancer. 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercises or 75 minutes of vigorous exercises are recommended along with strength training.

5. Breastfeed: Breastfeeding plays an important role in preventing breast cancer. The more you breastfeed your baby, the more protected you are from breast cancer.

6. Limit the dosage and duration of hormone therapy: If you undertake combination hormone therapy for more than three to five years, you are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer. In case you are taking hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms, you should talk to your doctor about alternative options such as non-hormonal therapy and medications. If you still require hormonal therapy, you must use the lowest dose that will be effective.

7. Avoid exposure to radiation and pollution: Certain medical imaging procedures like computerized tomography involves radiation of high doses. There is a link between breast cancer and radiation exposure. Thus, you should abstain from getting exposed to radiation and avoid taking such tests if it is not very urgent.

Maintaining a healthy diet also helps in reducing your risk of developing breast cancer. You should include food items which are plant based in your regular diet, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and legumes. Also, consume healthy fats such as olive oil instead of red meat and butter. If you wish to discuss any specific problem, you can consult an oncologist.

A broken bone or a crack in the commonly known as a fracture. Any bone in the arm can be broken, but common areas for fractures in the arm is wrist, specifically the distal radius, forearm bones (radius and ulna), elbow, humerus and shoulder.

What causes fracture in bones?

1. Fall: Falling an outstretched hand or elbow is the most common cause of a broken arm.
2. Sports injuries: Direct blows and injuries on the field or court are a common cause of all types of arm fractures.
3. Significant trauma: Any of your arm bones can break during a car accident, bike accident or other direct trauma.
4. Abuse: In children, a broken arm may be the result of child abuse.

How to identify?

An audible snap or cracking sound may be your first indication you've broken an arm.

Signs and symptoms include:

1. Severe pain, which may increase with movement
2. Swelling
3. Bruising
4. Deformity, such as a bent arm or wrist
5. Inability to turn your arm from palm up to palm down or vice versa

When to see a doctor?

If you have enough pain in your arm that you can't use it normally, see a doctor right away and do the same for your child. Delay in diagnosis and treatment of a broken arm, especially for children who heal faster than adults do, can lead to poor healing and deformity. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Medical science constantly challenges the boundaries by finding not only the cures to the most dangerous diseases, but finds a way to prevent them even before they occur. With years of research, practice and data available for analysis, scientists are using advanced technology in combination with years of research to create a predicting mechanism for often fatal diseases like cancer.

Breast cancer screening has always been done with mammography. The fact is that this method is only 75% accurate, laden with false positives and misses a whole set of women totally- and that too when cancer has already developed. Part of the problem comes from the dense breast tissue which one in three women have. This tissue masks the lumps, which makes it difficult for mammograms to accurately screen cancer.

Some breakthrough scientific methods are changing this by drawing on years of research to predict this deadly disease, years before it can manifest itself.

A genetic test to predict cancer 10-11 years ahead of time. This test was performed to see how environmental factors could influence cancer, along with habits like smoking, abusing alcohol or hormones, genetic changes that occur and are put a large percentage of the women at a high risk of developing this disease.

A simple blood test is used for the genetic analysis of hereditary cancer. Researchers found a biological marker, methylation of the ATM gene, which has a very high ability to predict the risk of developing cancer, several years before diagnosis. 'Methylation' concluded that when one biological indicator is exposed to carcinogenic substances, or other abusive substances like tobacco and alcohol, it may trigger the development of cancer.  On the flip side, this test will take time to reach the commercial market and even then cannot give an exact timeline as to when someone may develop the disease.