Find Out The Causes Of PMS!

Do you experience mood swings before your period start? Do you feel irritable, tired, and just don’t seem to have any patience?

Do these changes in your demeanor affect the people around you? If your answer is YES to any of these questions, then you might be suffering from a menstrual condition known as PMS (premenstrual syndrome).

It is estimated that three out of every four women who are menstruating can experience the problem of premenstrual syndrome.

These problems are more common in women between their late 20s and early 40s.

Exactly, the cause of premenstrual syndrome is still unknown. However, various factors can trigger the condition of PMS.

The most common cause for PMS is hormonal changes during menstrual period. Generally, ovaries make two hormones at this period, one is estrogen and the other is progesterone.

Estrogen is produced by the ovaries throughout the entire menstrual cycle and reaches it higher levels at second and third week and again declines during the last week. In the last two weeks of menstrual cycle, ovaries can also produce progesterone. These last two weeks of the cycle is called as luteal phase.

The hormones both estrogen and progesterone are responsible for preparing your womb to accept a fertilized egg and they also affect your mood.

How do hormonal changes influence premenstrual syndrome?

Estrogen and progesterone can greatly alter the brain chemicals called as neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters that are most commonly affected are:

Endorphins: Endorphins play a major role in experiencing pain and pleasure. These two hormones can greatly alter endorphin levels.

Serotonin: PMS causes variations in serotonin levels thus triggering depression and carbohydrate cravings. Serotonin is produced by your body from amino acid tryptophan.

Norepinephrine: This chemical can also trigger your mood and also play a great role in monitoring heart rate and blood pressure.

GABA: Called as gamma-aminobutyric acid is essential for feeling calm.

Could vitamin and mineral imbalances trigger PMS?

Studies showed that low levels of vitamins and minerals such as magnesium and calcium can trigger premenstrual syndrome. Magnesium and calcium are responsible for blood vessel opening or closing and nerve cell communication. These functions may be involved in PMS symptoms.

Low levels of vitamin A, vitamin B6 and vitamin E can play a great role in PMS.

Could diet trigger PMS?

Eating salty foods can cause fluid retention. Drinking caffeinated and alcoholic beverages can trigger mood and energy levels.

Higher stress levels can also make your PMS symptoms become worse.

Kegel Exercises For Urinary Incontinence!

Kegel exercises mainly strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, which support your uterus, bladder and bowel.

Doing kegel exercises regularly to keep the pelvic floor muscles strong can help to reduce the risk of incontinence and other similar problems as you get older.

But, learning how to do the kegel exercises is somewhat tricky. It is difficult to know whether you are working on correct muscles or not.

Various conditions can cause stress on your pelvic floor muscles, such as:

• Aging


• Being overweight


• Childbirth


• Chronic cough


• Pregnancy


• Genetic predisposition to weak connective tissue

When your pelvic floor muscles become weak, the pelvic organs fall down and bulge into the vagina, which is called as pelvic organ prolapse. The symptoms can range from uncomfortable pelvic pressure to leakage of urine or feces.

Doing the kegel exercises can strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and delay or prevent pelvic organ prolapse.

Kegel exercises are particularly important during your pregnancy. Strong pelvic floor muscles make you feel more comfortable when you are near to the due date.

So here is how to do the kegel exercises:

Identifying pelvic floor muscles need lot of attention. Here is how to identify the pelvic floor muscle:

Do you know how to contract the pelvic floor muscles? There is nothing difficult, just try to stop the passage of urine when you are going to the bathroom. If you succeed in stopping the urine, you have got the basic move.

You can also try another method: put your finger in the vagina and attempt to contract the surrounding muscles. Then you will feel that your vagina becomes tight and the pelvic floor move somewhat upward. Then try to relax the muscle and let the pelvic floor move downward.

But, don’t make a habit of starting and stopping the urine flow. Practicing kegel exercises with a full bladder or while emptying the bladder makes pelvic muscles weak. It leads to incomplete emptying of your bladder thus increasing the threat of urinary tract infection.

After identifying the correct pelvic floor muscles, pass the urine and lie or sit down. Then gently squeeze your pelvic floor muscles. Hold the muscles for at least 3 seconds and relax. Repeat it for 10-15 times.

In order to get the maximum benefits, only concentrate on tightening the pelvic floor muscles. But don’t flex the muscles in thighs, buttocks or abdomen and also don’t hold the breath. Do the kegel exercises three times a day.

How kegel exercises are beneficial?

• Strong muscles make the childbirth process easy.


• Strong muscles prevent pelvic organ prolapse.


• Sexual enjoyment is enhanced for you and your partner.


• Strong muscles prevent leakage of urine when you cough or sneeze.

What Type Of Genital warts You Have?

Do you have pain or itchiness around the genital area? Then suspect this with genital wart symptoms.

Genital warts can also be called as venereal warts or condylomata acuminate and they affect the moist tissue around the genital area.

Warts appear like small, flesh-colored bumps or have a cauliflower like appearance. They can grow as small bumps or into large clusters.

Usually, they transmit by direct skin-to-skin contact during oral, genital or anal sex with an infected person.

More than 30 HPV strains are responsible for the formation of genital warts. Half of sexually active women are infected with HPV at some point in their life.

Usually, genital warts won’t cause any symptoms to appear. In some cases, you will develop small, hard bumps within 3-12 weeks after exposure. Symptoms are different from one person to another and sometimes they can be mistaken for other medical conditions.

Most common genital wart symptoms that you notice will be soft, moist pink, flesh colored warts or gray swelling around the genital area. The bumps can be flat or raise, single or group, small or large warts. In some rare cases, you can experience pain in the genital area and some bleeding during or after having sex.

Generally, warts are painless. You will only experience pain when they are bumped or irritated. Sometimes, there is bleeding from warts. In contrast, plantar warts are very painful when you put pressure on them while walking.

Warts can also develop on your vagina, vulva, cervix, urethra, and around the anus where you will notice increased vaginal discharge, abnormal vaginal bleeding, itching around your vagina, urethra, cervix, vulva, and anus.

Most of the genital warts won’t pose any significant health risks. If the warts left untreated, you will notice some serious health conditions. For example, untreated genital warts can lead to anal and cervical cancer.

Genital warts spread easily and are very contagious. If you have an active outbreak of genital warts, it is best to refrain from all types of sexual contact until the warts completely disappear.

To prevent genital warts from occurring:

• Avoid unprotected sex with multiple partners.


• Avoid having sex with a partner whose sexual history is unknown to you.

For treating genital warts, your doctor can suggest any of the following procedures:

Cryotherapy – Destroying warts by using liquid nitrogen.

LEEP – Loop electrosurgical excision procedure, in which a sharp instrument shaped device like a loop is passed underneath the wart to cut it out from the skin.

Laser treatment – Physically destroy the lesions.

Electric current – Current is passed to physically destroy the lesions.

Aware Of 8 Common Miscarriage Causes!

Miscarriage is the spontaneous loss of pregnancy before 24 weeks. In the vast majority of cases, there is no way to prevent miscarriage.

Having a miscarriage doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to get pregnant again and most of the women go on to have a successful pregnancy.

The most common symptom of miscarriage is vaginal bleeding that can range from light spotting to heavier than a period.

You can also experience blood clots, brown discharge or other tissues that are not identifiable.

Here are the common causes of miscarriage:

Miscarriage is more common in women who become pregnant during their 30’s. Here are some causes:

1. Chromosomal abnormalities

According to the research, up to 70% of first trimester miscarriages and 20% of second trimester miscarriages are only due to a glitch in the fetus’s genes. As you age, your eggs are more likely to have faulty chromosomes.

Abnormalities in the chromosomes of the fetus are the most common causes for the loss of pregnancy. About half of the miscarriages in the first 13 weeks are due to chromosomal abnormalities. Normally, miscarriage removes about 95% of the fertilized egg.

This type of spontaneous abortion usually occurs before you know that you are pregnant. Sometimes, these chromosomal irregularities are due to parents’ genes.

This is more possible when you have had recurrent miscarriages or if there is a family history of birth defects.

Genetic tests and analyzing the fetal material after the miscarriage can help your doctor to determine the exact problem.

2. Chronic illnesses

Chronic illnesses, particularly those that restrict blood flow to the fetus can increase the chance of miscarriage.

Among those, certain conditions include: thyroid disease, diabetes, heart disease, lupus and certain illnesses such as rubella, Chlamydia and herpes. Controlling the conditions before and during the pregnancy can reduce the threat of miscarriage.

3. Hormone balance

Some women can not produce enough progesterone, which is the hormone that makes the uterine lining to nourish the fertilized egg. If the womb lining can not hold the egg, it finally leads to miscarriage.

To avoid this problem, you can take progesterone supplements in the form of an injection or in rectal or vaginal suppositories. Blood test and a biopsy of small amount of tissue removed from the uterine lining can find whether you are producing enough progesterone or not.

Sometimes, hormonal imbalance is also due to thyroid disease or diabetes.

4. Uterus and cervical abnormalities

Anything physically mistaken in the cervix or uterus can cause miscarriage. You can have some of these abnormalities right from the birth. Some conditions such as fibroids and widening of the cervix too early during the pregnancy without any labor signs can release the fetus from uterus.

About 15% of the miscarriages are due to these types of problems. In order to diagnose these conditions, your doctor injects some fluid into the uterine cavity and then takes an X-ray of the uterus and fallopian tubes.

Other method to examine your uterus is inserting a long and thin instrument through the vagina. Sometimes, cervix condition can not be determined until you reach 15^th week.

5. Immune system abnormalities

Some women experience recurrent miscarriages since their bodies consider each baby as an invading organism and attack it with antibodies.

Generally, all the elements of the immune system of the mother’s body should work together in order to hold the baby. If there is any problem in providing the coordination, a miscarriage occurs.

Other immune abnormalities and autoimmune diseases can cause miscarriage. If the mother’s blood contains high risk antibodies, then chances of miscarriage are more. 70-75% of pregnant women with lupus associated antibodies are at high risk of miscarriage.

6. Excess caffeine intake

Consuming 200 milligrams or more caffeine each day can keep you at twice the risk of having miscarriage. This is because chemicals present in the caffeine cross the placenta and disturb the developing cells.

7. Excess alcohol, smoking and drug use

Exposing the fetus to large amounts of alcohol, drugs and cigarettes can cause miscarriage as they can pose poisonous effects on the developing cells.

8. Maternal stress

Stress increases the hormone cortisol. Some amount of cortisol is normal during pregnancy, but elevated levels can lead to miscarriage. High cortisol levels during the first three weeks of pregnancy can keep you three times at risk of having miscarriage.

Know Six Types Of Hysterectomy!

Hysterectomy, a surgical procedure used for the removal of uterus and cervix.

This is an invasive procedure, but today with advanced technology and innovative surgical devices and techniques make the procedure as less invasive.

Some of these techniques can only remove your uterus allowing you to keep your cervix, ovaries and fallopian tubes. Also, there is reduced hospital stays and recovery time.

Before undergoing the surgery, get some knowledge about the types of hysterectomy so that you can remove the fear about undergoing the surgery.

Here are the types of hysterectomy:

1. Total abdominal or open hysterectomy

In this traditional and most invasive type of hysterectomy, uterus and cervix are removed through large abdominal incision. This type of hysterectomy is recommended for women who have large fibroids and are not removed with any type of hormone therapy or can’t be removed vaginally.

This procedure can also be preferred if you have pelvic infections, cancer, severe endometriosis, and scarring from previous pelvic surgeries. This procedure is performed under general anesthesia and it needs a hospital stay for 3-6 days.

Abdominal hysterectomy leaves a visible scar on your abdomen. Women undergoing abdominal hysterectomy can not give birth to a child. So, it can not be recommended for women in their childbearing age unless there is any serious condition like cancer.

2. Vaginal hysterectomy

Uterus and cervix are removed by making an incision deep inside your vagina. Usually, this method is considered to treat uterine vaginal prolapse, cervical dysplasia, endometrial hyperplasia and also for treating early uterine and cervical cancer.

Vaginal hysterectomy needs less post-operative discomfort and shortened hospital stay, recovery time. During the procedure, you need to keep your legs raised up in a stirrup device. This procedure can not be considered

• If you have large fibroids


• If your uterus is too large


• If you can not keep the legs raised in the stirrup device for longer periods


• If there is a need to examine your entire abdomen

3. Laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH)

It is a most expensive and has higher complication rates when compared to abdominal hysterectomy. This procedure is very similar to vaginal hysterectomy.

Uterus and cervix are removed by making an incision deep inside the vagina and also a laparascope, a thin lighted telescope is inserted by making a small incision in the vagina.

It needs longer hospital stays and recovery time. Having too large uterus, history of prior surgery, or large pelvic mass makes your surgeon to consider abdominal hysterectomy.

4. Laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy (LSH)

This is a less invasive and less traumatic procedure. This procedure uses a thin, lighted telescope like device that acts like a video camera along with various small surgical instruments that are inserted through your vagina.

During the procedure, your surgeon carefully separates uterus from the cervix and removes it through an opening. Cervix i.e. the bottom part of the uterus is left undamaged.

This procedure puts less stress on your body than an open hysterectomy. This procedure is mainly developed to reduce the pain, minimize scarring and shorten the recovery time.

It keeps the cervix undamaged, which helps to reduce the risk of pelvic floor prolapse, urinary incontinence and other types of complications associated with open hysterectomies.

5. Supracervical hysterectomy

This procedure removes the uterus while sparing the cervix leaving it as a stump. Women who are at a risk of cervical cancer or undergo Pap smear are not good candidates for this type of hysterectomy. If you have severe endometriosis, cervix is better kept in its place. It is very simple and needs less recovery time.

6. Radical hysterectomy

It involves more extensive surgery than a total abdominal hysterectomy. Similar to abdominal hysterectomy, this also includes removal of tissues surrounding the uterus and upper vagina.

For treating cervical cancer in its early stages, this procedure is most commonly preferred. Severe complications associated with radical hysterectomy include damage to your urinary system and bowels.

Ovarian Cancer Stages To Seek Early Treatment!

Ovarian cancer is one of the sixth most common cancers that affect women today.

Ovarian cancer has most dangerous effect on your health and fertility sometimes it can be life-threatening.

Every year, more than 20,000 women in North America develop this condition every year.

Among which most of the women are not diagnosed until the final stages of the condition.

Consequently 16,000 women die every year. So, it is essential that, every woman should aware of ovarian cancer symptoms.

All most all of us have heard about ovarian cancer, but what exactly is it? Ovarian cancer develops when the cells in the ovaries start to increase and grow out of control.

Due to this, tumors begin to develop.

Based on the ovarian cancer stages, your doctor can tell how far the disease has spread.

During the diagnosis, the scans and tests will give some information about the cancer stage. Knowing the ovarian cancer stages is very important because treatment is often decided based on the stage.

Ovarian Cancer Stages:

Usually, your doctor uses one to four stage systems for detecting ovarian cancer.

Stage 1: During this stage, cancer if confined to one or both the ovaries.

Stage 1A: This is the initial stage of stage 1 cancer. In this stage, cancer is present only in one ovary. No cancer cells are observed on the outer surface of ovary or in the abdomen or pelvic region.

Stage 1B: In this stage, cancer is found in both the ovaries. No cancer cells are observed on the outer surface of ovaries, abdomen or pelvis.

Stage 1C: Cancer is found in both the ovaries and also on the outer surface of one or both the ovaries. Cancer cells can also be found in the tissue samples from the abdomen.

Stage 2: In this stage, cancer is found in one or both the ovaries and also spreads to various other organs in the pelvis like fallopian tubes, uterus, rectum, sigmoid colon or bladder.

Stage 2A: Cancer is found in one or both the ovaries and also spreads to the uterus or fallopian tubes, but not in the abdomen.

Stage 2B: Cancer is found in one or both the ovaries and also spread to other organs in pelvis such as colon, bladder, uterus or rectum.

Stage 2C: Cancer is found in one or both the ovaries and also spread to lymph nodes or cancer deposits larger than 2 cm are seen across your abdomen.

Stage 3: In this stage, cancer is found in one or both the ovaries and also spread from pelvis to abdominal lining and to the near by lymph nodes.

Stage 3A: Cancer is found in one or both the ovaries and some cancerous cells are also found in parts of the abdomen.

Stage 3B: Cancer cells found in the parts of the abdomen are now less than two centimeters.

Stage 3C: Cancer spreads to the nearby lymph nodes or cancer cells are found in greater amounts than two centimeters in parts of the abdomen.

Stage 4: Stage 4 is the most advanced stage of cancer. Cancer is found in one or both the ovaries and also spreads to various organs of the body like lungs and liver.

Benefits Of HRT For Menopausal Women!

HRT or hormone replacement therapy, a treatment used to replace the hormones, which your body can no longer produce because of menopause.

In this therapy, the hormones that can be replaced include estrogen and progesterone.

The average age at which menopause can strike your life is 52 years, but some can experience menopause during their 30s only.

Role of estrogen hormone: Estrogen can be used to encourage the release of eggs. If your body can not release the eggs, it means that there is no more estrogen hormone in your body.

Also, estrogen helps to perform various bodily functions such as bone density, temperature of your skin and also vaginal lubrication.

Estrogen deficiency can greatly linked to various other health problems such as:

• Vaginal dryness


• Hot flashes


• Lack of sex drive


• Joint pain


• Back pain


• Mood changes like depression or irritability


• Night sweats


• Thinning of the bone that can lead to osteoporosis

Role of progesterone: Major function of progesterone hormone is to get ready for the possible pregnancy. Also, progesterone helps to protect the womb lining.

Deficiency of progesterone can increase the risk of cancer of the uterine lining, which is called as endometrial cancer.

So, progesterone can be used in combination with estrogen.

Know About HPV Facts!

HPV, called as human papilloma virus is a most common infection nowadays.

There are more than 100 types of HPV. Studies showed that more than 80% of the population is infected with HPV at some point in their life.

Among 100, 30 various strains of HPV are considered as sexually transmitted ones.

Some of these strains can lead to genital warts. These strains can also affect the skin outside the vagina and the lining of cervix and rectum.

What are the symptoms and possible health consequences of HPV?

People with HPV can not develop any symptoms or health problems. But sometimes, certain HPV types can cause genital warts.

Some others can cause cervical cancer and other less common cancers such as uvular and vaginal cancer. HPV types that trigger genital warts are not the same that cause cancer.

Often, HPV types can be categorized as low-risk or high-risk types. Low-risk HPV types cause warts and high-risk HPV types cause cancer. 90% of HPV cases can get rid of the infection within two years. This is true for both low-risk and high-risk types.

Here are the most common symptoms of HPV:

Genital warts: In the genital area, small bumps or groups of bumps begin to appear. Warts can be raised or flat, small or large, single or multiple and sometimes in cauliflower shape.

Warts can appear on the vulva, in or around the vagina, or on the cervix. Usually, warts develop within few weeks or months after the sexual contact with an infected person or they may not appear at all.

If the warts left untreated, they may disappear, left unchanged, or rise in size or number, but they won’t become cancerous.

Cervical cancer: You won’t experience any symptoms until the cancer reaches its advanced stage. So, it is essential for you to get regular screening for cervical cancer.

Some other rare HPV related cancers, such as cancers of vagina and vulva also won’t cause any symptoms to appear until the cancer reaches its advanced stage.

How does HPV infection transmit?

HPV transmits through genital contact, usually during vaginal and anal sex. Most of the infected people can not realize that they are infected and passing the virus to the sex partner.

In rare cases, pregnant woman with HPV can pass the infection to her baby during vaginal delivery. During these cases, the child can have warts in the throat or voice box. This condition is called as recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP).

How HPV causes genital warts and cancer?

HPV infection causes normal cells on the areas of infection to turn abnormal. Most of the cases, you won’t observe or feel these changes. During many instances, your body naturally fights against the HPV and the infected cells become normal.

How common is HPV infection?

About 20 million Americans are now infected with HPV and every year 6.2 million people become newly infected. Throughout the world, 440 million people are diagnosing with this condition.

Sexually active adults can most often get this infection at any time.

How to prevent HPV infection?

HPV vaccine can prevent women from four types of HPV that cause genital warts and cervical cancer. Usually, this vaccine is recommended for 11 and 12 years old girls.

Sexually active women can prevent the risk of HPV by using condoms. Also, condoms can lower the risk of HPV related infections like cervical cancer and genital warts. Sometimes, HPV can infect the areas that are not covered by condoms. The only way to prevent HPV is by completely avoiding the sexual contact.

What are the tests for detecting HPV?

Visual inspection can only detect genital warts. Vinegar solution can be used to recognize flat warts.

Pap test is considered to identify cervical cell abnormalities. HPV test can also recognize the high-risk HPV types on your cervix.

How to treat HPV?

Till now, there is no treatment for the virus. Healthy immune system can naturally fight against the infection. Here are some treatments for HPV infection:

• Genital warts can be treated by using medications or by applying ointments.


• Cervical cancer can be treatable if it is detected and treated during the early stages.


• Surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy are various treatment options you can consider.

15 Contraception Myths And Realities!

You will find various birth control options that are effective in preventing your pregnancy. Also, you will find lot of misinformation about how to use contraception.

Here are some myths and realities about contraception:

1. You can not become pregnant if you don’t have an orgasm

Pregnancy only occurs when a man’s sperm combines with your egg. This can happen whether or not you have an orgasm.

2. You can not become pregnant if you have the sex for first time

If you are ovulating, you will definitely become pregnant when you first time have sex regardless of your age and sexual history.

3. You can not become pregnant if you are breastfeeding

Though breastfeeding postpones ovulation, it is not a guarantee. You can ovulate even you are breastfeeding. Breastfeeding mothers should use contraceptives to avoid pregnancy.

4. You won’t become pregnant if you douch after sex

Douching is not a method of contraception. After ejaculation, man’s sperm enters into your cervix and are out of reach of any douching solution.

5. You don’t need any contraception because you only have sex during the safe time. You are fertile only one day a month

This type of myth arises due to lack of understanding on menstrual patterns. Mainly menstrual cycle is associated with four major hormones such as: follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone, estrogen and progesterone.

Subtle balance in these hormones can regulate the release of egg and if the egg is not fertilized, menstruation begins.

If your menstrual cycle is irregular at most of the times, the balance between these hormones can be disrupted by various factors such as: age, stress, medicines, etc. So, it is difficult to predict the right ovulation period.

6. You can use a balloon or plastic wrap instead of a condom

Balloon and plastic wrap are not the alternatives for condoms. They don’t fit well and they can be easily torn during the sexual activity. Condoms are particularly made to give a good fit and good protection during sex. Condoms are tested thoroughly for its maximum effectiveness.

7. You won’t become pregnant if your partner pulls out right before ejaculation

The method of pulling out before ejaculation is also called as withdrawal method. It is not a perfect method of contraception. Some people can release the fluid before they actually begin to climax and some are not able to withdraw in time.

8. Your won’t become pregnant if you urinate or bath right after sex

Urinating or bathing after the sex won’t stop the sperm from entering into your uterus through the cervix.

9. Having sex while standing up or you are on top won’t make you to become pregnant

People think that having sex in standing position will make the sperm to come out of the vagina. In reality, whatever position it might be, nothing will stop the fertilization.

10. Birth control pills are effective as soon as you start taking it

After taking, it needs one complete menstrual cycle to work the birth control pill effectively to prevent the pregnancy. Definitely, you should depend on other birth control method.

11. Contraceptive pill should only be taken for limited period

Healthy women can safely take the pill right from puberty to menopause. The effectiveness of the pill won’t go away as the age.

12. Birth control pills make you fat

Using low dose oral contraceptives won’t make any significant difference in your weight.

13. The pills can cause cancer

In reality, birth control pills can lower cancer risk such as ovarian and uterine cancers. Some women under 35 years, pill can cause slight increase in breast cancer.

14. IUDs can cause infertility

If a woman has sexually transmitted infection, IUD can spread the infection to uterus and also fallopian tubes, which can damage her fertility. As long as a woman does not get STI, IUD can be used safely.

15. Contraceptives guards against STIs

Pills and IUDs won’t give any protection against STIs. The only contraceptive that offers full protection against STI is condom.

5 Common Types Of Arthritis That Affect Women!

Nowadays, arthritis is the most common condition that affects every one out of six women in United States.

About 50 million people have some form of arthritis.

Arthritis simply refers to an inflammation of joints. There are about 100 types of arthritis.

Among those, five affect nine out of ten arthritic cases, such as: fibromyalgia, gout, osteoarthritis, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Among those, rheumatoid and osteoarthritis are most common in women.

Arthritis can affect anyone, no matter what your age, gender, or race. But, it is especially important for women to know about these conditions because arthritis affects women at much higher rate when compared to men.

60% of people who have arthritis are women only. Here are the most common forms that affect women.

Fibromyalgia: This syndrome is characterized by musculoskeletal pain. Usually, this condition is associated with muscular pain, stiffness, fatigue, depression, anxiety and loss of sleep.

Fibromyalgia is a kind of soft tissue or muscular rheumatism. This means, there is no joint deformity when you affect with this condition. Currently 3.7 million Americans are suffering from fibromyalgia.

Sometimes, people confuse with chronic fatigue syndrome as a sign of some other conditions.

Gout: Also called as metabolic arthritis, is a crystal deposition disease hallmarked by elevated levels of uric acid in your bloodstream. About 5 million people in United States have gout. Gout affects women after entering into the menopause stage.

Factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, high alcohol consumption, excessive weight gain and certain drugs can increase the levels of uric acid in your blood thus leading to gout.

Osteoarthritis: Also called as degenerative joint disease, is the most common type of arthritis. Among the 27 million people who have osteoarthritis, 16 million are women.

Usually, women can affect with this condition after the age of 40 years. This degenerative joint disease causes damage to your bones and cartilage thus causing joint pain, stiffness, loss of function and swelling.

Rheumatoid arthritis: This condition affects women between 25-50 years of age. However, children can also be affected with this condition. It is a systemic disease that can affect your whole body.

Abnormalities in your body’s immune system make it to work improperly thus leading inflammation in lining of the joints and various internal organs. Sometimes, chronic inflammation can cause pain, deterioration and restricted movement.

Lupus: Also called as systemic lupus erythematosus, is an inflammatory condition, which affects your joints, kidneys, skin and various other body parts. Lupus usually affects women during their childbearing age. African American women are more susceptible to this condition when compared to Caucasian women. Also, Asian and Latino populations can get this condition.

Osteoporosis is also a form of arthritis that causes loss of bone mass and makes them brittle. This condition can lead to painful fractures, rounded shoulders and loss of height.

About 28 million Americans have osteoporosis among those every four out of five affected people are women. Postmenopausal women are more prone to this condition.

Women with rheumatoid arthritis and who take glucocorticoid medications are at high risk of osteoporosis.