OOPS! Embarrassing medical conditions can turn you into a pariah. Here’s a quick-fix guide
Your foul breath is as distressing to a prospective lover as a stranger’s fart. Common conditions such as halitosis are not life threatening but are difficult to hide. The good news is that by maintaining precaution you can almost get rid of them.
FLATULENCE
CASE IN POINT: Passing wind in public is distressing. Some people get worse gas than others because of being lactose intolerant. In such a case, your body is unable to break down the lactose in glucose.
PIECE OF ADVICE: Foods like cauliflower and eggs are quite notorious for producing smelly farts. Avoid eating them before an important meeting. Eat slowly as you can trap lot of air and create gas when gulping down food in a hurry. See a doctor.
PAINFUL SEX
CASE IN POINT: You keep dodging him because intercourse hurts. Diseases such as endometriosis cause abnormal tissue development in the ovaries, fallopian tubes or intestines leading to pelvic pain. Fibroid and cervical polyps – non-cancerous tumours growing on the wall and lower part of the uterus, respectively – can cause excessive menstrual bleeding and pelvic pain. Sexually transmitted bacteria, such as chlamydia, also result in pain accompanied with a burning sensation while passing urine.
PIECE OF ADVICE: By not exploring your symptoms further, you could be missing a significant diagnosis. Consult a gynaecologist and rule these out.
INCONTINENCE
CASE IN POINT: Wetting in public seems to be a big issue in women over 40. In an emergency, the pelvic floor muscles squeeze tight to hold up the urine in the bladder. However, these muscles weaken after child birth and with age. If you forget to do your pelvic floor exercises, you could develop urge or stress incontinence. Urge incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine occurring when a person has a sudden need to urinate. Stress incontinence is losing urine without meaning to during physical activity, such as sneezing or exercise.
PIECE OF ADVICE: Incontinence is a physical problem and not normally neurological. But you do need to check that it’s not multiple sclerosis. Your physician might suggest pelvic floor muscle training, bladder training or reducing your caffeine intake. Do this simple exercise the next time you are in the loo – stop the flow of urine, count to five and start again. Do this six to seven times in one session to strengthen the pelvic muscles.