Women's Health
Mother-of-four Kate Leighton, 43, found out she had PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) as a teenager. Although physicians had recommended various treatments, such as oral contraceptives to manage her menstrual cycle and Clomid (clomiphene) for fertility, no one mentioned the role of diet and exercise in PCOS management. She found those…
Learn about the side effects of “The Pill”, and other hormonal birth control methods.
Pot, marijuana, reefer — whatever you call it, cannabis is the hot, new cure (some say) for everything from PTSD to cancer. It’s quickly being legalized in countries worldwide and, so far, in 33 US states. Yet there are still major gaps in our knowledge and evidence about its medicinal…
While the benefits of birth control are obvious, each method has its drawbacks. Keeping up with daily birth control pills, for example, can be a real hassle, and making a trip to the doc every three months for a Depo-Provera shot may be inconvenient. Plus, several methods don’t have high…
By Alyson McGregor, MD Brown University If you think that drugs interact in men and women the same way, you are wrong. Because of this, side effects can be different in men and women for a given drug. A prime example is the sleeping pill Ambien (zolpidem), which was largely…
A federal task force has again recommended that all women between the ages of 21 and 65 receive a screening for cervical cancer as often as every 3 years. The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has concluded that in women between 21 and 29, the benefits of screening for…
A new guideline recommends that women of all ages — including adolescents — receive an annual screening for urinary incontinence. The Women’s Preventive Service Initiative, composed of women’s health organizations and patient advocates, said the screening should determine if a woman suffers from incontinence, and if so, if it impacts…
By Sarah Kiley Watson Side Effects Public Media For most women under 65, a visit to the gynecologist often includes an unpleasant necessity: a Pap smear to check for cervical cancer risk. The test involves letting a doctor or nurse scrape cells from the back of the cervix, which are…
A medication commonly prescribed for morning sickness may not be effective, according to a new report published in the journal PLOS ONE. Canadian researchers reported that the drug, Diclegis (doxylamine and pyridoxine), did not show a clinically important benefit during the trial period, and suggest that the FDA re-evaluate its…
No woman wants to be caught too far from a bathroom, especially when the ability to hold your bladder is a struggle. But if it gets to the point where the thought of coughing or laughing leads to leakage anxiety, or you have to wear pads due to wetting your…
