Health care depends on where you live
February 1, 1998 4 minutes read
Health care depends on where you live
Women are receiving different kinds of medical treatment depending on where they live in the country. An article in the January issue of Good Housekeeping discussed various medical procedures and how women across the country are treated differently.Women in the upper Midwest have the most mastectomies, according to the 1998 Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, which has documented geographic differences in medical treatment for the past four years. In the South, women have more lumpectomies than women in other areas. Doctors said lumpectomy rates are higher near major cities where clinical trials are performed. But in more rural areas in the Midwest, doctors accept new information more slowly, according to the article.
Women in the South have the most cesarean births. Doctors outside of the South more often encourage women to have a vaginal delivery after their first cesarean. Most women who choose to deliver vaginally, even after having a C-section, are doing so successfully, the article says.
Southern women are more likely to have a hysterectomy and at a younger age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Seven out of every 1,000 women in the South have their uterus removed, compared with five per 1,000 in the Midwest and West and four per 1,000 in the Northeast.
Women can help ensure they receive proper medical care by following these guidelines: asking their doctor why they are recommending certain treatments and what the alternatives are; getting a second opinion from a specialist; researching information on different treatments on the Internet; and finding the names of experts in the field and contacting them for referrals.
Women with certain medical conditions can and often should continue to take medications throughout their pregnancies, says an article in the January issue of Glamour magazine. It’s safer for women with chronic conditions such as asthma, epilepsy, or diabetes to keep taking medications than to stop. If a pregnant woman stops taking epilepsy medicine, she could suffer from a seizure that could cause miscarriage or preterm labor. Asthma medication is safer than uncontrolled asthma, which could retard fetal growth and increase the risk of prematurity. Even a fever brought on by the flu left untreated in a pregnant woman can increase the risk of neural-tube defects — in which the brain and spinal cord fail to develop normally — or cause premature labor, the article says. Many remedies have been found to be safe for pregnant women, including:
• Monistat cream for yeast infections;
• acetaminophen for headache, fever, achiness;
• Sudafed or pseudoephedrine for colds;
• amoxicillin for sinus, urinary tract infections;
• chlorpheniramine or Chlor-Trimeton for allergy symptoms.
Researchers and pharmaceutical companies are taking steps to increase
information available about pregnancy and medications with the Antiepileptic
Drug Pregnancy Registry in Boston, MA. Introduced by epilepsy researchers
and five pharmaceutical companies that make antiseizure drugs, the registry
will track pregnancy outcomes and give current information to those who
call (888) 233-2334. Glaxo Wellcome in Research Triangle Park, NC, also
has set up a tracking system for pregnant women taking their medications
such as Wellbutrin, Imitrex, Zovirax, and Valtrex, Call (800) 722-9292.
An increasing number of women are having trouble falling asleep, an article in the January issue of Family Circle reports. Women are twice as likely as men to have trouble falling and staying asleep, the article says. One common reason is fluctuation in hormone levels brought on by menstrual cycles.
Women going through menopause or other conditions in which their estrogen levels are low can find it hard to sleep because of night sweats, heart palpitations, or other problems. Richard A. Parisi, MD, a sleep disorders specialist at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, suggests women take a warm shower or bath an hour and a half before bedtime because it will help body temperature drop, thus promoting sleep.
Stress is one reason for sleep problems. Women can use relaxation techniques such as guided imagery (imagining themselves in a place they love) or aerobic exercise to work off tension. Chronic health problems such as allergies, asthma, or arthritis can cause sleep discomforts as well. Having these problems diagnosed and treated properly will help ease symptoms.
Sleep apnea, in which the upper airway in the throat collapses and causes people to gasp for air, can interrupt sleeping. Menopausal women are more likely to develop this condition, the article says, and so are those with a soft palate or large tongue or nostrils. Losing weight, quitting smoking, and sleeping on your side may help to ease sleep apnea. Consider these additional guidelines:
• Stick to a regular sleep and wake schedule.
• Don’t use alcohol as a sleep inducer.
• Avoid stimulants such as caffeine from late afternoon on.
• Have a light snack such as crackers and a glass of warm milk.
• Sleep in a dark, quiet, cool room.
• Don’t lie in bed tossing and turning. Get up and do something relaxing until you are sleepy.
• See a doctor when sleeplessness affects performance and mood.
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content