Acupressure for Women's Health

More and more women are seeking alternative treatment options for common symptoms of PMS, menstrual difficulties, menopause, and infertility. Acupressure has become a widely recognized safe and natural alternative offering much relief and for good reason.

Acupressure is an ancient healing art that uses key points along the energy meridians in the body allowing balance and wellness. For over 5000 yrs Asians have used acupressure to access the body's natural self healing ability. Chinese medicine looks at re-balancing the root causes for disease and illness versus the western band aid take a pill approach.

Why do traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners look to the liver when dealing with women's health issues?

The liver is responsible for balancing hormones in the body, cleansing blood and making blood. A sluggish liver can cause many disharmonies and is most often times the root of women's health issues. Our western diets are full of fats and sugars that impede the liver from functioning properly. Habitual frustrations and recurrent feelings of anger also harm the liver. These next liver points are most often used in acupressure to treat women's health issues.

Liver 14- is located below the breast where the bra wire sits. This tender point is located between the ribs in a little nook closer to the sternum or hard part of the breast plate. If this is a tender point for you then chances are your liver could use a little boost. Hold this point with firm pressure usually 1-5 minutes until the pain subsides. You will notice a softening and the point won't be as sensitive to the touch. Liver 14 regulates and re-balances the energy of the liver and if you are experiencing menstrual difficulties such as irregular menses, pms, cramps, heavy bleeding or menopausal disorders this is a great point to use frequently.

Liver 3- is located on the foot between the first and 3rd toe up into the fleshy part of the foot about 2 inches up from the web. It is usually very sensitive. This is one of the most powerful points in the body as well as being the source point of the liver. It is not to be used by pregnant women as it brings energy down in the body and promotes labor. Liver 3- is used for all women's health issues stated in the previous paragraph. It is also beneficial for headaches in front of the eyes as the liver control the eye orifices as well. Once again hold this point for an extended period until the pain subsides.

Using these two acupressure points can help to relieve many women's health problems. Stimulating these points daily will bring quicker results. Consider a liver cleanse and moderating your diet to limit fatty foods, red meats, diary, and alcohol to regain a healthy liver function.

Eating dark green bitter vegetables like asparagus, swiss chard and spinach also cleanses the liver. Most women crave chocolate during menstruation as the bitter flavor in the cacao stimulates the liver's purifying action.

Consider using alternative modalities such as mediation, various breathing exercises and yoga if emotions such as frustration and anger get the best of you. And remember that your body is not working on a microwave time-line. It takes quite a while for an imbalance to manifest and cause various health problems. So be patient with your body and give it time to heal, and do its job properly again.

About the Author

Vanessa Simpkins is an acupressure practitioner who specializes in teaching others how to stay healthy using natural alternative therapies. If you want to get in touch with Vanessa or learn more about acupressure please visit:Free Information On Women's Alternative Health

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Birth Control Options - A Hard Look At The Morning After Pill

Of the birth control options available, none have been so embroiled in controversy as AR486 or The Morning After Pill. Birth control and birth control options have been a hot topic in religious circles since (no pun intended) inception. But you can't dispute the fact that most forms of birth control have been effective in preventing unwanted pregnancies.

The Morning After Pill is designed to be a birth control method that prevents pregnancy after sperm has been released into the woman’s body. While conception isn't guaranteed at this time, given the right set of circumstances, there is a good probability that the woman could get pregnant.

The Morning After pill has been a birth control option available in Europe for many years and has recently made its way to the United States. There has been much debate over whether or not the morning After Pill is a viable birth control option and it’s availability without a prescription has all come under fire.

Birth Control Options – Is the morning after pill for you?

What is the Morning After Pill? Well actually the Morning After Pill is a series of high dosage birth control pills that are taken over a 12-hour period. Women that have had unprotected sex in the last twenty-four hours can take the Morning After Pill in an attempt to prevent pregnancy.

Morning After Pills contain estrogen and progesterone, as do regular birth control pills. The concept is that the high doses of these hormones will work to prevent conception and the menstrual cycle will begin. Of course, the Morning After Pill isn't guarantee against pregnancy and should only be considered on an emergency basis.

Birth Control Effectiveness

The Morning After Pill is a form of birth control and has also been referred to as an emergency contraceptive. The large dosage of hormones works to prevent ovulation or fertilization. RU486 may also stop the implantation of the blastocyst after fertilization has already taken place.

Progesterone based Morning After Pills have progestin lenonorgetrel in 1.5 mg doses. Users can take the progestin in one dose or two equal doses. The progestin only Morning After Pill is available in 44 countries around the world.

The Yuzpe regiment of pills is a combination of estrogen and progestin. Two doses must be taken in 12-hour intervals and it is considered to be a bit more effective than the progestin only regimen.

Mifepristine is a drug that is used as emergency contraception or as an abortifacient. In the US Mifepristone is not used as emergency contraceptive method. However, in China, it is often used for this purpose. In the US, Mifepristone is not among the emergency contraception measures that are approved.

Birth Control Options

The Morning After Pill is not the same as the Abortion Pill. Abortion Pills are taken after the fetus has attached itself to the wall of the uterus. A pregnancy is already established whereas with the Morning After Pill, no pregnancy has been determined.

Emergency contraception is frowned upon by Pro-Life groups that consider that life commences the moment the wheels of conception begin to turn. All the same, groups that support the use of the Morning After Pill site that the process prevents ovulation and the egg is not released. Consequently the Morning After Pill is along the equivalent to birth control pills. The egg is not released and is not imbedded in the lining of the uterus.

The Morning After Pill can now be purchased without a doctor’s prescription. The side effects that women may get with Morning After Pills include nausea, vomiting, breast tenderness and blood clot formation. It is also important to note that the Morning After Pill provides no protection from any sexually transmitted diseases.

Again, the Morning After pill should not be considered contraception. This is an emergency measure that shouldn't be abused. If you are having sex, then use other forms of birth control that will work to make pregnancy less likely and protect against STD’s. Apply responsible sexual behavior and guard yourself from undesirable results and learn more about your birth control options before you engage in any sexual activity.

About the Author

Tess Barksdale is your average new century woman, author, mother, daughter, friend, and businesswoman. Tess writes on many topics but loves discussing all things women. Find out more about birth control options by visiting Tess at her website at http://womenshealthreport.org or her blog at http://womenshealthreport.org/blog

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Menopause—Important Time of Women’s Life

Menopause, in simple words, is the medical term for the end of a woman's menstrual periods. That means end of pregnancy. It is a natural part of aging, and occurs when the ovaries stop making hormones called estrogens. This causes estrogen levels to drop, and leads to the end of monthly menstrual periods. Although its time period varies from individual to individual (generally happens between the ages of 45 and 60), but it can happen earlier. Menopause can also occur when the ovaries are surgically removed or stop functioning for any other reason.

Low estrogen levels not only make pregnancy difficult, but also linked to some uncomfortable symptoms in many women. The most common and easy to recognize symptom is hot flashes (sudden intense waves of heat and sweating). Some women find that these hot flashes disrupt their sleep, and others report mood changes or also called mood swing.

Other symptoms of menopause may include:

• Irregular periods

• Vaginal or urinary tract infections

• Urinary incontinence (leakage of urine or inability to control urine flow)

• Inflammation of the vagina

Because of the changes in the urinary tract and vagina, some women may have discomfort or pain during sexual intercourse (either because of vaginal dryness or lack of desire). Many women also notice changes in their skin, digestive tract, and hair during menopause. And in the long term, some women experience problems linked to the low levels of estrogen found after menopause. These may include osteoporosis and increased risk for heart disease.

Undoubtedly, menopause is an important time in a woman's life. Her body is going through changes that can affect her social life, her feelings about herself, depression and even her functioning at work. In the past, menopause was often surrounded by misconceptions and myths.

Now, it is recognized that menopause is a natural step in the process of aging. The hot flashes, changing moods, and confusion usually disappear eventually as your estrogen stays at a low level. However, you still have to protect yourself from bone loss and heart disease. Contrary to the old-fashioned view that graph of life starts downward after menopause; many women today find that the years after menopause offer new discoveries and fresh challenges.

Basically, the symptoms of menopause arrive when your estrogen levels start changing and normally these symptoms stop when estrogen level settles down. A woman's body can go through several kinds of changes at the same time. Early in menopause, estrogen levels can rise sharply and then drop, which means you, may skip periods or even have heavier flow than usual some months. Your period may become increasingly irregular, and then eventually stop altogether. Menopause can affect your body organs and systems in many different ways.

Treatment for the symptoms of menopause can be approached in two phases. During the early time period of menopause, you and your doctor should discuss your symptoms and whether to treat them as they occur. You should be evaluated for your risk of getting breast cancer, osteoporosis (severe bone loss), and heart disease. If you're not at high risk for breast cancer, you may want to consider taking estrogen for a limited time, and using the lowest effective dose, which can help manage several symptoms at once. If you are at risk, other treatments are available. Similarly, during the later part of menopause you should focus on effectively preventing disease. Your earlier symptoms will probably disappear.

For diagnosis and then treatment of your specific symptoms you and your doctor should discuss frequently and share information that will help you make the best decisions about your health. There are many things to keep in mind, because menopause and the years that follow it usually cover the second half of a woman's life. Talk to your doctor about all of the treatment choices to decide what is right for you.

Many women want to replace the estrogen their body is losing, because estrogen does relieve many symptoms of menopause. Women who still have a uterus usually take a combination of estrogen with a form of progesterone, called progestin. Tamoxifen (used to prevent breast cancer) and raloxifene (used to prevent osteoporosis) are drugs known as "designer estrogens." These drugs have been developed to act beneficially as estrogen on some tissue and to act as estrogen-blockers (anti-estrogens) on other tissue. These drugs also are known by the more technical name Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators or SERMs.

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