by Phoebee Johnson | Jul 20, 2020 | Uncategorized
Recent studies show that men are more likely to suffer severe symptoms of COVID-19 compared to women. They are also three times more likely to die from the disease. Some researchers are looking at estrogen to help solve this mystery.
In addition to differences between men and women with COVID-19, there are some other differences that may point toward estrogen’s role in COVID-19 protection. Menopausal women who use estrogen hormone therapy are less likely to have severe symptoms compared to women who don’t use HRT. In fact, in Stony Brook, New York, researchers noticed that they didn’t have any pre-menopausal women or women on hormone therapy in their intensive care unit. Therefore, estrogen may offer some protection against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Hormone therapy with estrogen may help make your immune system more efficient at fighting infections.
As scientists work to understand many of the different implications of COVID-19, a common theme is that men and women are different. While men and women contact the virus approximately at equal rates, women seem to be experiencing fewer complications. They’re also less likely to die of COVID-19 compared to men. Also, because women on estrogen hormone therapy are less likely to have severe symptoms, scientists suspect hormones may impact how the infection affects people.
Women on Hormone Therapy May Have Better Immune Responses to COVID-19
Researchers are now looking toward estrogen to learn if it has potential protective effects against SARS-CoV-3, the virus that causes COVID-19. Many scientists suggest this hormone may help the immune system fight the infection with less severe effects. This may be why women are experiencing fewer complications from the novel coronavirus.
During menopause, your hormone levels start to decline. However, many women turn to hormone therapy to help bring estrogen levels back into baseline ranges to help reduce menopausal symptoms. Now, some researchers suggest that HRT may also help with COVID-19 during menopause.
Estrogen’s Role in the Immune System
Why might pre-menopausal women and menopausal women on hormone therapy experience less severe symptoms of COVID-19? This may be due to estrogen’s role in the immune system, as women with low estrogen levels also tend to have more severe symptoms from COVID-19. There is still much to learn about estrogen and COVID-19. However, many studies show that estrogen may help your body respond to infections.
Those with healthy estrogen levels may experience more efficient immune responses to viruses like COVID-19. For example, pre-menopausal women and women on hormone replacement treatment. Estrogen may influence the number of immune cells your body produces, like interferons and antibodies. Interferons help turn on the immune cells that help fight infections. Antibodies attack the germs that make you sick. Therefore, estrogen may help your immune system respond to COVID-19 and other infections.
In addition, estrogen may also offer anti-inflammatory benefits. This may help with lung inflammation with COVID-19. This inflammation may cause the difficulty breathing and lung damage associated with the infection. The cells that help produce inflammatory responses are called cytokines. Estrogen has been shown to help reduce the number of cytokines in your body. Pre-menopausal women and those on estrogen hormone therapy may experience less inflammation during COVID-19 because of this.
In a recent study, researchers decided to test how estrogen affected female mice with SARS, a viral infection similar to COVID-19. The mice with lower estrogen levels had fewer inflammatory cells in their lungs. Therefore, estrogen hormone therapy may help reduce the risk of serious lung inflammation.
Common Conditions During Menopause That May Worsen the Effects of COVID-19
Also, several conditions can increase your risk of severe illness due to COVID-19. Your risk for many of these conditions increases with menopause. For example, obesity and diabetes. During menopause, declining hormone levels can affect how your body distributes fat. Many women notice that they have more belly fat, also called visceral fat, during menopause. Visceral fat increases your risk for diabetes and many other serious conditions. Diabetes and obesity are also both associated with inflammation. This may explain why these conditions are often linked with severe COVID-19 symptoms.
Hormone therapy during menopause, however, may help fight belly fat and help you maintain a healthy weight. This can help reduce your risk for the health complications often associated with severe COVID-19 symptoms. Estrogen hormone replacement treatment can help your body redistribute fat. Also, it can help reduce menopause symptoms that make it difficult to maintain a healthy weight. For example, hot flashes can make it hard to keep to an exercise regimen. Additionally, it can help improve mood changes that may affect your motivation with diet and exercise. Therefore, HRT may also help you improve your overall health. This may, in turn, help your body fight COVID-19 if you become infected.
Hormone Therapy for Menopause Symptoms
In addition, many of the symptoms of menopause may also increase your risk for complications from COVID-19. For example, you might experience higher levels of stress or sleep difficulties. These common issues can affect your life and sense of wellbeing. They can also negatively impact your immune system.
Studies show that stress and sleep deprivation can lower your immune response. They can also increase the number of cytokines your body produces, which are often responsible for lung inflammation during COVID-19. Many women experience heightened stress and anxiety during menopause, as well as difficulty sleeping.
However, hormone replacement treatment may help reduce these symptoms of menopause. For example, night sweats are a common reason women have difficulty sleeping during menopause. Estrogen hormone therapy can also help with mood changes and other factors that may affect your immune system.
Therefore, it’s important to take care of your overall health during these uncertain times, as even elevated stress levels may affect your immune system. If you have menopause symptoms like hot flashes or mood changes, our provider may recommend hormone therapy to help you feel better. Additionally, our team can help you develop healthy habits for diet and exercise to help you maintain your health during menopause.
At HerKare, we’re dedicated to helping women feel their best. Our providers listen and offer personalized solutions to help you improve your health and wellbeing. Whether you’re experiencing menopause symptoms or you need help with other conditions like diabetes, hypertension, or allergies, we are here for you. Schedule an appointment today to talk to our team about your health concerns and learn how we may be able to help. We are here for you.
by Phoebee Johnson | May 5, 2020 | Hormone Replacement Therapy, Menopause, Uncategorized
Estrogen replacement therapy can redistribute fat and help you feel well enough to exercise regularly.
Estrogen replacement therapy helps reduce many symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes and vaginal dryness. However, it may offer another benefit. During menopause, you may notice that you seem to accumulate more fat in your abdominal area. Studies show that estrogen replacement therapy may help you avoid this issue. Learn more about how hormone therapy can help you reduce your belly fat during menopause.
Menopause and Abdominal Fat
The hormonal changes we experience during menopause can affect how our bodies store fat. While age-related weight gain happens for both men and women, menopausal women specifically may start to notice more fat in their abdominal area. Estrogen levels help control how your body distributes fat. Declining estrogen levels during menopause can lead to accumulating fat in your belly. This not only affects many women’s self-esteem but is also a risk factor for serious health complications such as diabetes and heart disease.
Your hormone doctor may recommend estrogen replacement therapy to help reduce your symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, mood changes, and difficulty sleeping. In addition to helping with these disruptive symptoms, it may also help with belly fat during menopause.
How Estrogen Replacement Therapy Can Help with Belly Fat During Menopause
Recent studies show that menopausal women on hormone therapy tend to have less body fat, especially visceral belly fat. Because estrogen affects how your body distributes fat, low estrogen levels can contribute to gaining fat in your belly area. However, estrogen replacement therapy can help your body redistribute this fat to different areas on your body, rather than your abdominal area. This is a key benefit of estrogen therapy, as belly fat specifically increases your risk for many negative health consequences.
In addition to fat redistribution, estrogen replacement therapy may help add to a healthy exercise regimen. Researchers have found that menopausal hormone replacement therapy may help the effects of exercise on body fat. Additionally, estrogen replacement therapy can help you feel well enough to exercise regularly. Therefore, if you have symptoms of menopause that interfere with your life and also notice you’re gaining more belly fat than you used to, talk to your hormone doctor about your options. In many cases, hormone replacement therapy can help you feel better and improve your overall health.
At HerKare, we provide personalized healthcare for women. Our clinic is owned and operated by women for women, and we understand the unique concerns that you may have. We want to help you feel great and help you discover the source of your symptoms. Book an appointment online with one of our warm and welcoming women’s health clinics today to start your path toward better wellness. We are here to listen and to help you feel better again.
by Phoebee Johnson | Mar 20, 2020 | Uncategorized
Hormone replacement injections are a common treatment for menopause symptoms. If you’re going through menopause symptoms, it’s easy to see how they can affect your life as a whole. Therefore, it’s important to understand how menopause and hormone replacement treatment can affect you.
Hormone replacement treatment can help you feel better and enjoy everyday things during menopause.
What is Health-Related Quality of Life and How Does Menopause Affect It?
Health-related quality of life refers to how your physical health can affect your mental, emotional, and social wellbeing. Because menopause can lead to unwanted symptoms, menopause can negatively impact your health-related quality of life. For example, vasomotor symptoms, or hot flashes, can often affect how you go about your daily activities.
Luckily, menopause treatment for symptom reduction can help with the undesirable symptoms of menopause such as vasomotor symptoms, vaginal dryness, and mood changes. Therefore, hormone replacement therapy may be able to improve your overall wellbeing.
How Do Hormone Replacement Injections Improve Health-Related Quality of Life?
Estrogen hormone replacement therapy can often treat and alleviate menopause-related symptoms. Women experiencing significant and disruptive symptoms like hot flashes, irritability, and difficulty sleeping may benefit from estrogen replacement treatment. Researchers have analyzed how hormone therapy may affect health related quality of life for menopausal women. They found that hormone replacement treatment improved certain factors of health-related quality of life, like usual activities, vitality, and sexual activity. This is likely because hormone therapy can help reduce the frequency and severity of menopause symptoms. Therefore, if you are suffering from menopause symptoms that may be affecting your wellbeing, a menopause treatment plan may be able to help.
At HerKare, our goal is to help women manage and treat their wellness needs. From annual gynecological exams to menopause treatment, we help you nurture your health. Our medical professionals provide holistic, quality care to help you address your symptoms and feel better. As a women’s health clinic that’s owned and managed by women, we understand your needs. To talk to one of our physicians about your health concerns and help developing a personalized treatment plan for menopause or other health conditions, schedule an appointment online today. We are here to support you.
by Eric Mulder | Mar 16, 2020 | Uncategorized
PLEASE READ: COVID-19
In response to the COVID-19 virus, HerKare is taking extra precautions for your safety, and the safety of our staff. We have implemented enhanced cleaning and sterilization procedures in the centers and are taking additional actions which meet or exceed the standards set by the CDC.
If you have (i) traveled outside the United States to a high risk area (China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, or Japan), (ii) been exposed to a person known to have COVID-19, or (iii) are currently experiencing the symptoms associated with COVID-19 (fever or symptoms of lower respiratory illness (e.g., cough, shortness of breath), please call us at 817-533-8853 before coming to the center. Your HerKare provider will be able to discuss options for you to that will allow your therapy to continue, uninterrupted, keeping you, other patients, and our staff safe.
HerKare is OPEN, but in efforts support the CDC’s suggestion of social distancing, we are also offering interim treatment plans for our current clients that might not feel comfortable traveling to and from our locations for treatment or for those with compromised immune systems. We can help with interim take-home treatment options for most of our services in efforts to support suggestions from the CDC. Please reach out to your local HerKare center for more information and further directions.
If you have questions or concerns regarding these issues and need guidance, please call 817-533-8853 to speak with one of our professionals. You can also request a call back from one of our physicians or providers who are available to respond to your requests.
All the best in good health,
The Medical Team at HerKare
by Phoebee Johnson | Mar 5, 2020 | Uncategorized
A common, uncomfortable symptom of low estrogen levels is atrophic vaginitis, also known as vaginal dryness. Typically, menopausal women experience this condition due to declining estrogen levels in their bodies. Atrophic vaginitis is often a cause for discomfort and embarrassment in women. However, treating your low estrogen levels may help with this condition and improve vaginal dryness symptoms.
Low Estrogen and Vaginal Dryness
Treating your low estrogen can help you feel comfortable during menopause.
Symptoms of Atrophic Vaginitis
There are many symptoms of vaginal dryness during menopause, including:
- Irritation when wearing certain clothing
- Painful urination
- Paleness or thinning of the labia and vagina
- Painful intercourse
- Abnormal discharge
In addition, women with low estrogen who are experiencing atrophic vaginitis may be more at risk for urinary tract and vaginal infections. Therefore, women may also notice more frequent UTIs as a side effect of vaginal dryness.
Estrogen’s Role in Vaginal Dryness
Declining estrogen levels during menopause cause your vaginal walls to thin and your vaginal pH to increase. Low estrogen levels also cause a decrease in vaginal secretions and a thinning of vaginal walls. This is typically the cause of vaginal dryness. Many women try moisturizers and lubricants to help with their atrophic vaginitis. However, these products generally only provide temporary relief for less than 24 hours. By contrast, bioidentical hormone therapy may be able to treat your vaginal dryness in the long term.
How Estrogen Hormone Therapy Can Help with Vaginal Dryness
Because declining estrogen levels typically cause menopausal vaginal dryness, it makes sense that bringing levels into normal ranges can help with the condition. Bioidentical hormone therapy for menopause can help restore the pH balance, thicken vaginal walls, and increase blood flow to your vagina. Therefore, ERT may help relieve your vaginal dryness.
Your physician may prescribe hormone therapy when you have symptoms of atrophic vaginitis or other menopause symptoms like hot flashes. Estrogen injections can help reduce symptoms, which can lead to increased comfort during and after menopause, as well as improved overall wellbeing.
Unfortunately, many women may avoid talking about their vaginal dryness due to embarrassment. However, this is a very common condition that can cause major discomfort. If you are experiencing symptoms of atrophic vaginitis, your doctor is here to help you feel better. Therefore, speak to your physician about treatment options for vaginal dryness and other symptoms of menopause.
At HerKare, we understand that you know your body better than anyone. Therefore, our medical professionals listen to your concerns and work with you to find a treatment plan that works for you. We are a women’s health clinic that is owned and managed by women, so we understand how you feel. For individualized women’s care, schedule an appointment online today and take a step toward feeling great again.
