How Often Should I Get A Pap smear ?
Those women who are confident in the health of their reproductive organs should be interested in this article on; “How often should I get a Pap smear ?“. You will get an original answer from this site, and one to ponder closely.
The Center on Disease Control, commonly known as the CDC, has come out with a blaringly blunt statement. Yearly Pap smears are not necessary. In between the years of 1991 and 1998 an enlightening study was accomplished. Researchers had analyzed close to 130,000 women who had a Pap smear test with results of “normal”. These same women had another Pap test inside the next nine to thirty six months. Many times the women who had a small aberration from normal were given biopsies and other “treatments” that were totally unnecessary. In other words, needless suffering, needless expense, and needless “treatment”. Treatment is to be used for sickness or other health problems. These women had no such sicknesses or health problems. For a quick and explicit answer to the question, the answer is clearly; “Less than once a year.“.
When was this information published ? Believe it or not, it was back in the year 2000. That was ten years ago ! When you think about the above information in light of your personal reproductive health, let it sink in. A Pap smear may do no good whatsoever and may even do more harm than good. Clearly the medical industry is at a disadavantage once again with egg on their faces. If you are being screened annualy because you “were told it was the right thing to do”, please reconsider.
The “Morbidity and Mortality Report” is called the bulletin board of health information for the United States and is the source of the above information. They have graciously provided the information to the public on the dangers of overdoing Pap smears. Indeed, when you ask, “How Often Should I Get A Pap smear ?” a correct response should be, “Once every three years if you are thirty or over.”. If you are under thirty, the correct answer is; “Once every two years.”. The needless treatments mentioned earlier from slightly abnormal Pap smears can cause negative things such as preterm labor for those women who later get pregnant.
The question about how often to be getting a Pap smear is just one of many health questions you should be asking yourself. You should also be asking in other non-medical places that have original remedies for such areas like the reproductive system in women. The internet is a great place for this and this site can be used to understand more about health. Dig in !
How Often Should I Get A Colonoscopy ?
No doubt you have heard about the somewhat dated equipment that the medical industry uses to check for polyps inside the lower intestine. This check has been given the name of “colonoscopy”. If you have the question; “How often should I get a colonoscopy ?” in the back of your mind at times, read this compelling article and make an informed conclusion.
If you are overweight and are a woman, and living within the United States, you will be one of the people targeted by colon cancer. Women that have a high BMI ( Body Mass Index ) are significantly higher risks for colorectal neoplasia. Other women who are not overweight and men in general are at a lesser risk than obese women. If you are in the obese category, and are a woman, consider getting a colonoscopy yearly or even more often.
If you have a family history of colorectal ( colon ) cancer you should be asking yourself; “How Often Should I Get A Colonoscopy ?”. You may want to also consider what to eat before a colonoscopy. A colonoscopy procedure is one where a lighted tube is inserted into the rectum and a view is afforded to a medical worker ( and likely to you also ). You will be instructed to eat a very light breakfast and to only drink clear liquids after twelve noon if your colonoscopy is in the afternoon. Get a colonoscopy at least once a year.
If you find that you have blood in your stool it is not a time to be asking; “How Often Should I Get A Colonoscopy ?”. You should get down to the office of a medical professional as soon as possible. Here is a tip for you to think about. If you want to make sure your insurance company pays for the colonoscopy, just mention to him or her that you have blood in your stool. Mention the other pains you have had in your intestinal area. A simple change in bowel habits is enough, and your insurance company is going to have to pay for the colonoscopy.
Asbestos and Mesothelioma: Five Tips for Avoiding Both
Aside from causing the largest running civil tort (string of lawsuits) in the history of the country, asbestos has also established itself as one of the public health disasters of the twentieth century and one that lingers into the new millennium. Asbestos was ubiquitous in industrial products and construction materials through about 1975 in the United States. Exposure to asbestos products, especially repeated exposure, can result in a person inadvertently inhaling microscopic asbestos fibers that the body finds itself unable to excrete through natural methods. As a result they remain in the body and years, even decades later can result in the onset of asbestosis or mesothelioma cancer, two diseases for which the only known cause is asbestos. The average latency period for mesothelioma is over twenty years.
Today there are still about 3,000 cases of mesothelioma diagnosed annually in the U.S. even though asbestos usage was reduced to near zero by the end of the 1970s. Part of the reason for the continuing development of asbestos related diseases is the extraordinarily long latency period: retired workers who were exposed during factory or construction jobs in the 1950s and 1960s are just now getting sick. Part of the issue is the exposure military veterans suffered on Navy ships, in shipyards and in military facilities through the Vietnam War. And part of the reason for future asbestos illnesses is going to be exposure for construction workers and homeowners on remodeling jobs.
If you live in or have purchased a home built prior to about 1975 there’s a good chance it contains materials laced with asbestos. Those materials could be home siding, cement in the foundation or yard, roofing, ceiling tiles, floor tiles, spackling, insulation, joint compound used for wall board, textured paint, and insulation for the ceiling, walls and pipes or ducts for the heating system. During demolition and remodeling jobs this material, if improperly handled, can lead to unnecessary and dangerous exposure to asbestos.
Taking up old floor tiles, taking down old wall surfaces, taking off old roofs or house siding generates dust. Lots of dust. And that’s where young homeowners today can run into a lethal toxic material. Asbestos was used in most adhesives used for flooring, so removing those old tiles or linoleum is going to mean scraping old adhesive that contains asbestos. Cutting down old wallboard or removing old insulation can lead to exposure. The dust may seem harmless, but you don’t know what you’re inhaling. So here are five tips for avoiding asbestos exposure if you’re launching do-it-yourself projects at home.
1. Learn what’s in those old floor tiles, plaster and textured walls. Contact your county or state health agency and find out how to get products like this tested.
2. Use breathing protection. It makes sense anyway when you’re sanding, scraping or cutting crumbly products and it’s an important health protection when asbestos is involved.
3. Clean up the site every day. Get the dust off the floors, out of the rafters and off every surface where it’s collected. Even if you’re working in a stripped down shell, getting the dust up daily is a sensible health habit with or without the presence of asbestos products,
4. Recognize that some jobs may require a professional. IF you have asbestos insulation in the walls you may want a professional, licensed asbestos removal firm to tackle it. The same applies to asbestos roofing materials or siding.
5. Undisturbed asbestos materials are not health threats. Millions of homeowners have left asbestos insulation in place, because it’s buried in the walls and does the job. Many people cover over old floor tiles with a new surface.
Asbestos is a benign threat for people who live around it if they are aware of its presence and how to either manage its removal or seal it off – and to be aware of its presence in future architectural changes such as a new heating system. But there’s no escaping the fact that tens of millions of American homes contain significant amounts of asbestos products; if yours is one of them learning about construction materials is an excellent health maintenance activity.
Guest Post By:
Ben Stillwater is a freelance writer for Asbestos News, an online resource for asbestos and mesothelioma cancer information.
