Menopause, which is a natural phase in every woman's life, is marked by the cessation of the menstrual cycle. For some women, this time is an easy passage, while for others, it may be agonizing. As hormones change, uncomfortable symptoms may arise...
Progesterone plays an important role in the health of women. This hormone regulates menstruation, supports pregnancy and alters fertility. Progesterone also affects men. It changes testosterone level and impacts sperm count. Levels decrease with...
Estrogen is a hormone produced by a woman's ovaries. As a woman ages, estrogen levels usually decline, but in some cases throughout the child-bearing years, a woman may experience high estrogen levels. Chronically high estrogen levels have been...
Menopause is the end of fertility, marked by a 12-month interval since your last menstrual period, reports MayoClinic.com. Various symptoms can accompany menopause, such as hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness, due to hormonal...
Facial flushing is the sudden and mostly short-lived reddening of your face and neck. The causes of facial flushing are many. A sunburn, a fever, chronic rosacea--a type of inflammatory skin disease-- and hot flashes can all cause your face to...
A woman going through menopause often experiences symptoms such as vaginal dryness, hot flashes, anxiety and depression. Many women prefer to turn to natural herbal remedies instead of traditional hormone replacement for relief.
A woman's hormones begin to fluctuate as she nears the end of her reproductive years, often resulting in uncomfortable physical, mental and emotional symptoms. After menopause, declining estrogen levels increase a woman's risk of developing...
As a woman nears the end of her reproductive cycle, her body's output of estrogen and progesterone fluctuates in preparation for the end of fertility. Perimenopause leads up to a woman's final menstrual period, and menopause clinically begins one...
A phtyoestrogen is an organic plant source that mimics the female hormone estrogen. Taking supplements to replace estrogen depleted during menopause is often the herbal alternative to hormone replacement therapy. Replacing lost estrogen during...
Black cohosh is an herb that belongs to the buttercup family. It has been used for more than a century for various purposes ranging from pain relief to the treatment of rheumatism. Today the herb is popular among women. It is sold as a dietary...
Although you may experience hot flashes at any time in your life for various reasons, they are more common during menopause. According the Mayo Clinic, up to three out of four women experience hot flashes during this time of their lives. Hot...
Black cohosh is a plant that is native to North America, and is also known as snakeroot, bugwort, rattletop, and bugbane. The stems and roots of the plant were a traditional folk remedy used by Indians and early settlers. Black cohosh is sill a...
There are several different reasons why a woman's estrogen levels can drop such as stress or certain medications. Other health conditions like menopause or polycystic ovarian syndrome can also cause severe drops in estrogen levels. When these...
Vaginal dryness and other related vaginal problems are common symptoms of aging that affect approximately 40 percent of all menopausal women, according to the Mayo Clinic website. Certain home remedies can offer relief from vaginal symptoms, such...
Fosamax is a biosphosphonate prescribed to prevent and treat bone loss, a condition
commonly diagnosed as osteoporosis or osteopenia. Concerns about the side effects and long-term safety of Fosamax and other drugs have caused many women to seek...
Progesterone plays an important role in the health of women across their entire life span. This sex steroid causes physical changes in the body and alters mental processes in the brain. Disease and aging reduce circulating progesterone, but taking...
Testosterone deficiency affects up to 30 percent of men, according to a 2011 review in the "Asian Journal of Andrology." This condition produces symptoms like erectile dysfunction and muscle wasting. The cause of these changes remains difficult to...
After 30 or 40 years of menstrual cycles, a woman's childbearing ability ends. In the years leading up to their final period, women may experience physical symptoms as a result of fluctuating hormones. Some women breeze through menopause with few...
When a woman's estrogen level drops, she may experience hot flashes. According to the Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, a hot flash is an uncomfortable feeling of heat, starting in the face, throat or chest region and spreading over the...
Testosterone, an anabolic steroid, plays an important role in human physiology. This reproductive hormone causes masculine characteristics like the growth of muscle, bone and hair. With aging, testosterone levels decrease producing a hormone...
In "The Menopause Self Help Book," Dr. Susan M. Lark, M.D., an authority on women's health issues, notes that hot flashes are one of the symptoms that women going through menopause complain about most. Because of the risks and side effects related...
Sipping a cup of hot herbal tea can be rejuvenating, without having to worry about the stimulatory effects of caffeine. Generally speaking, herbal teas are safe. However, you might make the mistake of believing that a few extra cups of brew can...
A variety of Chinese herbal and other remedies, such as acupuncture, are available for the treatment of water retention and bloating. Edema, or fluid retention, may be caused by several factors, including hormonal imbalance, foods eaten, blood...
Black cohosh is an herbal supplement that has been used as an alternative therapy for hormone replacement patients, including menopausal women and those with menstruation problems. It is believed by some scientists that components in the herb...
Menopause is not a disease, but a natural part of a woman's life cycle when she reaches her fifth or sixth decade of life, marked as the end of menstruation and loss of fertility. Various treatment options, including black cohosh, are used to...
Unwanted facial hair is a fact of life for some women. As many as 10 percent of women suffer from a condition known as hirsutism, which causes excess hair to grow on the face or body, according to the Mayo Clinic. Hirsutism develops when hair...
If you've considered buying over-the-counter bovine or herbal thyroid supplements, you might wonder how they differ from the synthetic thyroid hormones prescribed by physicians. Like synthetic thyroid therapy, bovine supplements replace hormones....
Weight gain occurs when the thyroid gland slows down, a condition better known as hypothyroidism. Although other side effects are associated with hypothyroidism, weight gain is one of the most common obstacles to overcome after treatment starts....