10 Self Health Checks Every Woman Should Do (Part One)

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By Ndidi Adekunle

Living, for today’s woman, is certainly made easier, albiet faster paced. When it comes to health matters, the information age is agog with how to’s and simple DIYs. For obvious reasons, good health remains a top priority for every woman. We bring you then, these DIY health checks to keep you monitoring basic aspects of your health as you live to see those beautiful dreams come true.

1. Your Pulse Rate: From different stages of stroke to heart attack, talk about heart diseases are numerous everywhere. Everyone is weight and cholesterol watching, all in the fight for a healthy heart first, before the ‘looks’ even.

You can do this simple test right away. Hold up the index and middle fingers of your right hand together, place them both on the inner wrist of your left hand, just at the base of your thumb. You should be able to feel your pulse which shows your heart beat. Count the number of beats you feel, per minute. A healthy heart beat for an adult, should be between 60 and 100 beats. If your count is consistently more or less than that, go see a doctor.

2. Your Blood Pressure: Another major cause of heart disease, is the dreaded high blood pressure or hypertension as it’s often called. This is another number 1 women killer. The rate at which sufferers of this disease abound, is alarming.

It used to be known as a disease for the aged or the middle aged at best but hypertension now occurs amongst young people in their late twenties and early 30’s! Yes!

What can you then do at home to help you monitor this disease and keep danger at bay? Here’s the deal, invest in a high blood pressure self check kit.

Low blood pressure is another evil that must be nabbed on time. So, do watch out for readings lower than your usual range (ask your doctor) and inform your doctor.

3. Self Breast Examination: With your birth suit on, look candidly into the mirror at your two breasts. What you’re looking for? Any form of scaliness in either breast on your nipples, any dimpling, redness or even any difference at all between the two breasts, minus the perfectly normal occurrence of most women having one breast bigger than the other.

Then, lie down flat on your back. Raise one hand above your head. With the first 3 fore fingers of the other hand, start to feel all over your breast for any lumps. Start from your armpit, feel down to your breast and all around it. Alternating hands, repeat the process with the other breast.

If you notice anything, then it’s time to see the doctor. Not to worry though, every lump isn’t necessarily malignant. In fact, most lumps are benign tumours. Early detection of a malignant lump though, is the major survival factor for patients. Regular self breast exam is crucial.

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4. Check For Malignant Skin Tissues: Skin cancer is so common these days amongst women. Perhaps, it’s due to the upsurge of harmful skin products and the harsh atmosphere these days as result of the endangered ozone layer. Again in your birthday suit, look all over your skin for such things as spots, moles, any changes in coloration, bleeding and growth. A dermatologist is the expert to show the mole or whatever to. He will then carry out a proper examination to detect if you do have skin cancer.

5. Check for Slack Vaginal/ Urinary Muscles: One of the common problems of child bearing and old age is the loss of control of the muscles that help to hold urine. It is called incontinence. This kegel muscle in question, is the very same that controls sexual pleasure. Once this muscle starts to slack, a woman may start to leak urine when she laughs, sneezes or unconsciously make a move that exerts some pressure since her level muscles aren’t strong enough to hold her flow of urine. This will affect her sexual pleasure as well.

How to test? While doing a pee, try holding your flow of urine for about 60 counts (1 minute approximately). If you find that difficult, it means your kegel muscles are slack and need tightening. Doing kegel exercises will fix this.