Common hormonal imbalances in women

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Hormones play a vital role in regulating various body processes, and they are crucial for the overall well being of the human body. As far as woman’s body is concerned, it undergoes tremendous changes throughout the life of, starting right from the puberty to Menopause.

Hormones are responsible for making the various changes required in the woman’s body according to the milestones she is passing through. If the levels of hormones in the woman’s body are in an imbalanced state, it takes a toll on the overall functioning of her body and as a result of affects health.

So to understand how this hormonal imbalance is caused in the woman’s body we first need to understand what hormone is and how it works.

What are hormones?

Hormones are nothing but certain chemical substances that are secreted by the endocrine glands present in our body, directly into the bloodstream. The hormones reach various tissues as well as organs passing through the bloodstream and regulate the functioning of that organ.

What is a hormonal imbalance?

Hormonal imbalance is a state of the human body when the level of hormones either increase or decrease drastically or is in state of fluctuation.

Each and every woman goes through the stage of hormonal imbalance some time or other in her whole life. So there isn’t much to panic about. But there are certain things, which is taken into consideration hormonal imbalance can be prohibited or brought under control or even reversed in some cases. However, to do this we first need to understand various causes behind hormonal imbalance.

Causes of hormonal imbalance in women

There are several endocrines glands present in the body of a human being. As discussed earlier they secrete chemical like substance into the bloodstream.

However sometimes these endocrine glands do not work properly because of which the amount of certain hormones secreted in the bloodstream gets disturbed, thereby causing imbalance.

In addition to that, various lifestyle factors along with some environmental factors also affect the levels of hormones.The factors that affect the level of hormones in the body are given below:

  1. Diabetes

Having diabetes either type 1 or type 2 diabetes may trigger hormonal imbalance in women.

  1. Thyroid dysfunction

The thyroid is an endocrine gland, which secretes thyroid hormones normally called T3 and T4 hormones. If there is any dysfunction of thyroid glands like hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, then the level of these hormones gets affected, resulting in hormonal imbalance.

  1. Overall Stress

In this fast-paced life, we all are under tremendous stress, stress about work, children or any other things. This stress has quite a detrimental effect on the level of various hormones as a whole. Thereby stressful conditions can lead to hormonal imbalance in women.

  1. Glycemic Dysfunction

If the glucagon production in the body goes off the track, our body either produces less glucagon causing hypoglycemia or produces an excess quantity of glucagon causing hyperglycemia. This glycemic dysfunction of the body results in hormonal imbalance.

  1. Obesity

Yes, obesity in women can also cause hormonal imbalance. Due to obesity, the body produces a higher level of androgens, which are the male hormones, further causes interruption in egg production. Therefore, obesity has a detrimental effect on fertility.

  1. Nutritional Deficiency

The body requires proper nutrition for its smooth functioning. For appropriate nutrition, it is required that one consumes properly balanced food that includes, carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins, macronutrients, micronutrients as well as phytonutrients. If adequate nutrition is not provided, the organs do not work efficiently, thereby causing hormonal imbalance.

  1. Hormonal medications

There may be times when a woman is on hormonal medication for family planning or any other medical reasons. The hormones present in the medication interact with the normal hormone secretion that takes place in the body.

Thereby the level of hormones may fluctuate causing hormonal imbalance.

  1. The carcinogenic tumor on endocrine glands

As mentioned above the hormones are chemical substances that are secreted by the endocrine glands. However, if the person develops a carcinogenic tumor on their endocrine gland the functioning of that endocrine gland is affected as a result of which there is an imbalance in the level of hormones.

Symptoms of hormonal imbalance

  • Heavy, irregular, or painful periods
  • Weakens and softens the bones also known as Osteoporosis.
  • Soreness in breast
  • Dryness in vagina
  • Improper digestion
  • Breakout of acne on the skin
  • Irregular menstrual cycle
  • Hormonal imbalance caused infertility
  • Hair growth on unusual areas of the body like the chin
  • Increase in weight
  • Noticeable hair loss

Treats for hormonal imbalance

There are various treatments available for hormonal imbalance. The treatment of hormonal imbalance depends mainly on the cause behind it hence the treatment varies from person to person. Different ways by which hormonal imbalance can be treated are mentioned below:

  1. Hormonal Medications

The women who are not trying to conceive take medicines that contain progesterone and estrogen can prove to be helpful for the treatment of irregular periods.

  1. Estrogen Tablets

The dryness in the vagina can be caused due to hormonal imbalance. It can be treated by the application of estrogen creams. Estrogen tablets, as well as rings, are also available which can be used for lubricating the vagina.

  1. Hormonal replacement

Hormonal replacement medicaments can help in reducing the severity of various symptoms of hormonal imbalance, especially during the menopause phase.

  1. Eflornithine Cream

Eflornithine cream can effectively reduce the growth of unwanted hair on the face.

  1. Medications that have an anti-androgenic effect

Most of the times acne is caused by the production of male sex hormones in the body of women. Thus, the medicines, which effectively block the production of male sex hormones in the body of a woman, can be used for the treatment of acne.

  1. Improving fertility

The hormonal imbalance results in infertility in women. The medicaments that effectively stimulate the production of an ovum can be used to treat PCOS caused by hormonal imbalance. Thus, increasing the probability of conceiving a baby.

The hormonal imbalance can be caused during any stage of a woman’s life. If you know the causes behind hormonal imbalance as well as symptoms associated with it, then you need not worry at all because different treatments of hormonal imbalance are available. Just get it checked by a doctor to know what you need to do.