A medical practitioner at
Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, Dr Arikawe Adeolu, on Monday, said women
still menstruating after 50 years of age were still fertile.
He said that every woman
was born with specific number of eggs which she loses during menstrual cycle.
He said that a woman could
only enter the stage of menopause when all the eggs were exhausted, adding that
this usually occurred between the age of 45 and 55 years.
According to him, menopause
is a situation where the hormones responsible for the menstrual cycle is no
longer present because the ovaries have exhausted their egg reserve.
``Women within this age
range can begin to experience the signs and symptoms of menopause which can
include irregularities in sleep pattern, light or heavy menstrual bleeding or
frequent heart palpitation.
``Some women may experience
hot flashes that is heat within the body which lasts for a short time. All the
signs and symptoms last for a year before menopause fully sets in.
``During menopause, there
is dryness of the vagina, causing a drop in libido because of the absence of
the eostrogen and progesterone hormone.
``When menopause begins to
set in, some women experience mood swings, feeling of excitement, anger and so
on but all these
are temporary. The body adjusts and the symptoms reduce or end.''
are temporary. The body adjusts and the symptoms reduce or end.''
Adeolu advised women who
entered menopause before the stipulated age to seek medical help and guidance,
adding that
various factors could lead to early menopause such as premature ovarian failure.
various factors could lead to early menopause such as premature ovarian failure.
He noted that ``women who
had their wombs removed could experience early menopause.
``However, there are medications
a woman can take to block the production of hormones which lead to early
menopause.''
The medical practitioner
advised women experiencing symptoms of menopause to approach the condition
symptomatically.
``Address the problems one
at a time because this symptoms will not last a life time; it is only for a
short period of time because the body is trying to adjust to the changes,"
he said.