As a woman in the midst of young adulthood, my mind eagerly awaits the next stages of aging. I know it may be far away, but working in an aged care center takes my mind beyond middle adulthood and towards late adulthood instead. I see young people through to older people in the care facility I am in. And this course opened my eyes to some of the issues that they face, and one thing that I see many residents experience is the pain of menopause. as well as the pains of old age. But we all see menopause in our own ways in our own lives. My mother, for example, had a terrible time with her life change. The pains of my aunt and father's work colleagues never fell on deaf or unsympathetic ears. That's why a statistic in our notes stood out to me, even though it's a very useful hormone therapy that is still not considered an effective treatment. In the United States, 40% of women were using hormone therapy in 2002 and that figure was only 20% ten years later. I believe that modern ideas and uses of HT may be more of a benefit than a detriment for today's menopausal women. Modernization and innovations in this field must have led to a safer method of administering hormone therapy. Not to mention removing some of the risks associated with HT use in postmenopausal women. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Who should consider hormone therapy as an option? What makes a good candidate for HT, other than being a postmenopausal woman? In general, women with mild to moderate, well-controlled symptoms should not resort to HT. It should generally be reserved for people with severe menopausal symptoms who cannot tolerate or do not benefit from other treatments. But also women who are experiencing premature menopause or those who have lost the functionality of their ovaries. And in this last category which is not treated, the risk of premature death, Parkinson-like symptoms, anxiety and depression is higher. Some people should avoid HT who have previously had cancer, blood clots, liver disease, or unexplained vaginal bleeding. HT could worsen these symptoms and possibly cause a recurrence of the previous cancer. But the benefit lies in the alleviation of symptoms in many cases. And it's mostly a thing for women in Western cultures, like in Japan, shoulder stiffness becomes a symptom of menopause that is not commonly mentioned in the West. But many other cultures are experiencing much-mitigated symptoms, and some highlight the rise of youth culture in the United States. When we look at HT, there are several different medications, but the treatments are primarily ET (estrogen only therapy) typically prescribed to women who have had symptoms. a hysterectomy therefore having no uterus. And EPT (Estrogen + Progestogen Therapy), the addition of progestin helps protect against endometrial cancer caused by estrogen alone. The idea now is to minimize any cancer risk by applying the lowest effective dose for the shortest period, thereby reducing cancer risks. Hormonal regimens now consist of low doses of estrogen for 15 days, followed by ten days of progestin, then nothing for the last five days. Thatis very similar to the system used by birth control pills to prevent pregnancy. The real concern with HT is dosage and duration of use. High doses over a long period of time will obviously carry more risks. But how does HT actually help with menopause? It compensates for the normal loss of estrogen linked to aging. But it also alleviates menopausal symptoms like osteoporosis, stroke, heart disease and colon cancer. Studies show that it effectively helps reduce hot flashes, vaginal dryness, night sweats and bone loss. There are, however, some negative side effects associated with HT and any hormonal treatment, including birth control. There are always risks such as blood clots and pulmonary embolism. But the risks are increased as well as some which only appear with EPT. With the addition of progesterone, some patients react negatively to the addition of synthetic hormones. The reactions they experience are bloating, depression and irritability. This is one of the many reasons people give up on hormone therapy. But there are several options on the market that are effective in some cases but do not affect estrogen levels in the body. Clonidine which can reduce cases of hot flashes and night sweats, but research shows that although it does not carry the cancer risks of HRT, it is not as effective as HRT and causes some side effects like dry mouth and constipation. Bionatural alternatives are also available, but many of these are unregulated and, like any natural treatment, there is no basis to claim that they are safe or more effective than HT. Looking back, HRT was first available in the 1940s as a panacea for women's problems, but did not gain popularity until the 1960s and 1970s. At that time, menopause was also called “estrogen deficiency disease.” It wasn't until 1976 that the treatment first encountered problems: a study linked the treatment to endometrial cancer, or at least an increased risk of endometrial cancer. endometrium. But that same study also found that it reduced the risk of heart disease. So, even at that time, when the treatment had already existed for 30 years, we still knew the side effects. But this study actually caused treatment rates to drop from 28 million prescriptions to 14 million prescriptions in 1980. But the popularity of this treatment resurfaced in the 1980s. This was due to another study revealing that the treatment contributed to bone thinning. And by 1992, non-contraceptive estrogens were the most prescribed drug in America. Since that time, new medications and treatment combinations have also become available. Alternatives to HRT have also been shown to be effective. Things like exercising regularly and eating a proper diet, as well as quitting smoking and using personal lubricants for women with vaginal dryness. These are just a few alternatives, but if these are not effective, some may need to seek hormone treatment or even another source of symptom relief. In the last paragraph, I discussed studies that have condemned or praised here. I'm going to delve a little deeper into these studies. Several studies have been carried out to attempt to examine the likely links between disease and HT. An example, and probably the most.