Women's Health
Dedicated to women’s health, offering a range of services that focus on preventive care, reproductive health, and wellness.
Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections
Many women face multiple episodes of urinary tract infections. Around 60% of women will experience one episode in their lifetime. Symptoms include painful urination, discomfort in the lower abdominal region, increased frequency and blood in the urine. The most common organism to cause bladder infection is E. Coli. The gut and vagina get colonized with the bacteria leading to infections. Diagnosis is done with a simple urine culture. The usual treatment is a short course of antibiotics, ranging from a single-dose pill to seven days of treatment. It is important to always do a urine culture before taking antibiotics to avoid resistant organisms. For those who get frequent infections, defined as more than three infections per year, low-dose long term antibiotics, cranberry extracts, probiotics or estrogen cream for local application are prescribed. Taking good hygiene precautions and drinking at least 2 liter of water per day are important prevention measures.
Stress Incontinence
Incontinence of urine refers to involuntary leakage of urine. It is a bothersome condition that can greatly affect the quality of life. Many women may leak few drops to almost a spoonful of urine with small activities such as coughing, laughing, sneezing or exercising. This is due to a weak urinary sphincter controlling mechanism of the urethra. This is a common condition after multiple pregnancies and it needs investigation. Diagnosis is done with a simple in person evaluation with the doctor. This can be managed by physiotherapy exercises, pessary insertion or surgery. Surgery includes injection of bulking agents or insertion of a sling to support the sphincter control mechanism. The sling can be artificial or made with autologous tissue from the patient herself. Another surgical option procedures Burch colposuspension by laparoscopic or open approach. Females with active lifestyle should seek surgical procedure to become completely dry and go back to their normal daily activities.
Breast
A breast self-exam for breast awareness is an inspection of your breasts that you do on your own. To help increase your breast awareness, you use your eyes and hands to determine if there are any changes to the look and feel of your breasts.
If you notice new breast changes, discuss these with your doctor. Though most breast changes detected during a self-exam for breast awareness have benign causes, some changes may signal something serious, such as breast cancer.