On April 22nd, the second National Women Health Awareness Day took place. ONDA (National Observatory for Women Health) devoted the week between April 18 to 24. These days were aimed to promote information and services for preventing and treating the main feminine diseases.
The female world has always been at the core of ONDA’s work. In 2007, they created the Pink Marks, a recognition for women-friendly Italian hospitals, that offer services to prevent, diagnose and treat the main feminine diseases. These Marks (ranged from 1 to 3) are valid for two years.
The hospitals that participated in the initiative and are awarded with Pink Marks, offered free clinical, diagnostic and informative services to the female patients.
Humanitas took part in the initiative by offering multidisciplinary specialized examinations, related to menopause, focusing on hormone replacement therapy and osteoporosis.
What does the examination for menopause and osteoporosis entail?
This examination is dedicated to menopausal patients that had no menstrual cycle for over a year. These patients will have a gynecological examination and pelvic ultrasound, and they will get advice from a rheumatologist.
The gynecological visit and the pelvic ultrasound aim to ascertain the symptoms of menopause, its risks and the prospective need for a hormone replacement therapy (with proper hormones or natural hormones).
Moreover, this is an occasion for women to get a complete check-up of the genital tract.
The weakening of the bones, one among the many changes brought by menopause, is caused by decreases in estrogen levels and nowadays it is simple to pinpoint and treat. During the examination, the patient will be visited by an osteoporosis specialist and she will be able to program a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) or other tests. This allows her to get information about her own lifestyle, and to know her levels of osteoporosis-related risk.
The patients are invited to bring to the examination any DXA report or results of previous examinations.
