Womens Health
Mother’s Day in the United states was May 13, 2007 and this was the beginning of National Women’s Health Week. National Women’s Health Week is sponsored by the Office On Women’s Health. So often women are so busy taking care of others that they do not take the time to take care of themselves so it is the belief of some that by celebrating Women’s health week each year that it will remind women to take some time for themselves and get the medical checkups they might need on a yearly basis. Some of the yearly screenings women need are pap smears, breast exams (monthly self exams are needed too), and other tests as needed. Many women die from heart attacks each year because they are not aware of the symptoms of a heart attack for women. The symptoms for a women are usually different than the symptoms for men and for years it was believed that only men had heart attacks. Women need an overall health checkup and not just the basic female exams. There are other parts of the body that are affected sometimes so medical help does not stop at just the female parts.
Every woman wants to live a long healthy life and that is what they want for their families but they usually neglect their own health. There are several reasons why women neglect their own health. Sometimes they are just so busy with work, home and their families that they just forget to stop long enough to check on themselves. Many times it takes an illness to the individual woman before she realizes that she isn’t superwoman. Another reason many women do not get the checkups and tests needed is because they do not have insurance and can not afford them. Sometimes they can get a free mammogram or one at a discounted rate during certain promotional activities such as National Women’s week. Some hospitals will offer mammograms to women on a given day. There may be clinics which also offer free or discounted mammograms or pap tests on a given day. The only problem with this is that many women are not aware of them so they can not take advantage of them. Even if a woman has health insurance, it may not pay for an exam or mammogram unless there is an illness and the doctor recommends it.
Every woman should have an annual pelvic exam and pap test whether or not they are sexually active. If the woman is sexually active before they are 18, they should have one annually from the time they begin having sex. Mammograms are recommended for women every year after they reach the age of 40 and even before that if the family has a history of breast cancer.
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