Friday Findings

TGIF
This month is women's history month so I want to something about a women's issue, endometriosis. Below you will find some stats that should make think twice before getting to young ladies for not having kids. Some young ladies, can't.
And as always...live Blessed

Symptoms
There are many symptoms of endometriosis, but not everyone will experience all, most or even any of the symptoms. Most commonly endometriosis patients experience pelvic pain.  Pain usually coincides with menstruation, but some women may have symptoms throughout their entire cycle.

The other symptoms will vary depending on where the endometriosis lesions are growing, but may include:

*“Killer cramps” – cramps that do not go away with NSAIDS and/or impede the activities of daily living

*Long periods – periods that last longer than 7 days long

Heavy menstrual flow – having to change your pad or tampon every hour to two hours throughout most of your period

*Bowel and urinary disorders – including but not limited to painful urination or bowel movements, frequent urge to urinate, or diarrhea
*Nausea or vomiting
*Pain during sexual activities
*Infertility

Over time, cyclic inflammation causes the scar tissue and adhesions to build up around the lesion, giving the impression of the lesion increasing in size. 

These may cause their own issues, such as organs which are bound together or anatomy that is moved out of place.
Some women do not realize they have endometriosis until they try to become pregnant.

Approximately 30-40% of women who have endometriosis experience issues with their fertility. However, studies have shown that fertility may improve after undergoing excision surgery to treat endometriosis.
Epidemiology and Disease Patterns

Endometriosis affects 176 million women worldwide, and 1 in 10 girls and women in the US.

Endometriosis usually causes symptoms during reproductive years (~12-60 years old), however many women and girls are undiagnosed.

Endometriosis affects women equally across all racial/ethnic and socioeconomic lines.

As of now, researchers have not identified one specific cause for endometriosis. Multiple theories exist but none can adequately explain every aspect of endometriosis.

Endometriosis is not contagious and cannot be passed from person to person through contact.

We do know that there may be a genetic component to endometriosis. Girls who have a close female relative are 5-7x more likely to have it themselves, but more research  is necessary to fully understand the genetic characteristics of endometriosis.

For many years, doctors believed that retrograde menstruation was the main cause of endometriosis. However, it is now understood that 90% of women have retrograde menstruation and only 1 in 10 have endometriosis.

More research is required to determine why retrograde menstruation affects women differently.

Research has also shown endometriosis can be present during fetal development and may simply be activated at puberty when estrogen levels increase in the body.

Autopsies performed on infants have shown evidence of endometriosis.
The immune system and the body’s inflammatory response also contribute to endometriosis, although the mechanisms are poorly understood