Women's Health - Essential Facts for Australian Women ( Dr Sandra Cabot MD author of Liver Cleansing Diet )

492 Pages·1994·19.811 MB·English

by  Dr Sandra Cabot

WOMENS
HEALTH
bringing together
conventional and
naturopathic
¥ medicine
> by Dr sandra
| yy Cabot
Pan

Dr Cabot has worked in private practice and in 3, A
hospitals for 12 years. In 1985 she founded the =
Women’s Health Advisory Service—aninformation = = —
_ resource and postal centre for all Australian women i
— which now has branches in Holland and the
United States.
Dr Cabot was born in Adelaide and aie lives
in Sydney, Australia.
“
AtPSseeeOee e ee er
* ~
ai .
aetS

WOMENS
HEALTH
Dr Sandra Cabot
Pan Books
Sydney and London
This book is dedicated to my father, Ronald Charles
McRae and my mother Jacqueline Mary.
First published 1987 by Pan Books (Australia) Pty Limited
63-71 Balfour Street, Chippendale, Sydney
987654
Reprinted 1987, 1988 and 1989
Cabot, Sandra, 1952-
Women’s health.
ISBN 0 330 27094 X.
1. Women — Health and hygiene. 2. Women — Diseases.
3. Self-care, health. I. Title.
613’.04244
This book is sold subject to the condition that it
shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold,
hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior
consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which
it is published and without a similar condition including this
condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Printed and bound in Australia by
The Book Printer, Victoria
CONTENTS
_ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 10
11
_ PREFACE 13
_ CHAPTER ONE | 15
Introduction .
~ CHAPTER TWO 2T
Understanding what makes you a woman
_ The physical structures; physiology of the female
hormones; menstrual irregularity; the internal
- examination.
CHAPTER THREE 44
_ Exploring Sexuality
_ Orgasm; masturbation; physical factors that affect the
_ female sex life; libido; coping with a partner who has
sexual problems; adolescent sexuality; sex and the older
woman; sexual problems between longterm couples;
sexual assault.
_ CHAPTER FOUR 74
Pandora’s Box — the premenstrual
syndrome revealed
Definition, symptoms and cause; naturopathic treatment
_ of PMS; hormonal treatment — progesterone therapy;
_ other methods of treating PMS; post-natal depression.
CHAPTER FIVE 108
Dysmenorrhoea (period pains) — we have
come a long way!
Causes and types of dysmenorrhoea; treatments for
primary dysmenorrhoea — anti-prostaglandin drugs,
hormonal therapy, a versatile approach, pain at the time
of ovulation.
CHAPTER SIX 120
Contraception — the bare facts
The oral contraceptive pill (OCP) — the combined OCP,
the mini pill, the morning after pill (MAP); mechanical
methods of contraception — the intrauterine device,
diaphragms and spermicides, condoms and spermicides;
surgical contraception; contraception after childbirth;
natural family planning (NFP) — the rhythm method or
keeping a menstrual calendar, body temperature
measurement, observation of cervical mucus;
contraception in the future; abortion.
CHAPTER SEVEN 167
Diseases of the female organs
Diseases of the cervix — cervical erosion, cancer; diseases
of the uterus — cancer, polyps, fibroids, endometriosis;
diseases of the ovaries — physiological cysts, other cysts
and tumours, cancer; other cancers of the pelvic organs;
urinary tract infections (UTI); hysterectomy; nutritional
protection against cancer.
CHAPTER EIGHT 199
Diseases of the breast
Painful lumpy breasts (benign breast disease); breast
lumps (noncancerous); breast cancer — diagnosis and
treatment; disorders of the nipples.
CHAPTER NINE 214
Sexually transmitted diseases
Herpes; chlamydia; gonorrhoea; syphilis; pelvic
inflammatory disease (PID); vaginal infections and
discharges; the toxic shock syndrome; genital warts;
AIDS.
CHAPTER TEN 249
Pregnancy
_ Nutritional requirements during pregnancy; minor
problems of pregnancy; anaemia; vaginal bleeding in the
first half of pregnancy — miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy;
vaginal bleeding in the second half of pregnancy —
accidental haemorrhage, placenta praevia; pre-eclampsia;
breastfeeding; exercise during pregnancy; sexual activity;
congenital abnormalities of the newborn; the story of
Madeleine.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
288
Infertility
The rendezvous of sperm and egg; basic causes of
infertility; the infertile female — disorders of ovulation,
disorders of the Fallopian tubes, endometriosis, disorders
of the cervical mucus, mechanical causes, unexplained
infertility; the infertile male — hormonal disorders,
_damage to the testicles, abnormal function of the
testicles, disorders of the accessory tubes and glands,
genetic disorders, disorders of sexual intercourse; the
treatment of infertility — artificial insemination by a
donor (A.I.D.), in vitro fertilisation (I.V.F.), gamete
intrafallopian transfer (G.I.F.T.); the prevention of
infertility; adoption.
CHAPTER TWELVE 310
The menopause and beyond
Definition; immediate symptoms; longterm
complications — osteoporosis, atherosclerosis, cancer;
‘treatment of the menopause — hormone replacement
therapy (HRT), the naturopathic approach.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN 339
A little basic psychiatry to help with
emotional disorders
The causes of mental illness — constitutional, physical,
psychological; a general look at modern day psychiatry;
anxiety; depression; insomnia; alternative psychiatry. —
meditation, hypnosis.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
373
Chronic painful conditions
The causes of pain; prostaglandins; headaches — types,
conventional drug treatments, naturopathic treatments;
arthritis — types, naturopathic treatments.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN 390
Skin disorders
Structure and function of the skin; acne; eczema and dry
skin; superfluous hair; skin cancer and damage caused by
exposure to the sun; cosmetic surgery for the face; aging
of the skin.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
405,
Obesity and eating disorders
Your desirable weight; the causes of obesity — inherited
fatness, disorders of the hormonal glands, medical drugs,
disorders of the brain; the risks of being obese; eating
disorders — bulimia, anorexia nervosa; dieting, fasting
and exercise; the use of drugs to stimulate weight
reduction; surgical procedures for weight loss —