While everyone will usually show up at the doctor when things go
wrong, regular checkups, especially for women, are a way to stay
healthy and catch potential health problems early on.
An important part of staying healthy is making an annual visit
to a doctor for a physical exam. The doctor will perform a breast
and pelvic exam, and it’s a good idea for young women to
start performing their own breast exams once a month ““ the
doctor can show you how.
While it is extremely uncommon for a woman in her 20s to get
breast cancer, self exams are a good habit to form now rather than
later.
Women should get an exam once a year, but no one knows the
characteristics of a woman’s breasts better than herself, and
she will be the first to notice changes that occur over time.
Women who do find a lump in their breasts should know that it is
much more common for college-aged women to have fluid-filled cysts,
or masses of fibrous tissue, than cancer. These conditions are not
dangerous, and a doctor can help decide what the lump really is and
what to do to treat it.
While most women don’t find the pelvic exam very pleasant,
it should not be painful. Don’t be afraid to speak up and
tell a doctor if or when experiencing discomfort or pain.
Women can watch themselves be examined and get to know their
body better by asking their doctor for a handheld mirror at the
beginning of the exam.
The first part of the exam is to inspect the external genitalia
to look for any bumps or sores on the labia. Next, the doctor will
place a metal or plastic speculum inside the vagina until she can
see the cervix. She will use a small wooden spatula and round
circular brush to sample some cells from the cervix. This is for
the Pap smear, which detects any cells that look abnormal and may
be a precursor to cancer.
For women who are sexually active, the doctor will take some
cultures with a Q-tip to check for the presence of chlamydia or
gonorrhea. These are bacterial infections that can be easily
treated, but some women don’t experience any symptoms with
the infection, so it is important to check for them.
The last part of the physical exam is called the bimanual exam.
The doctor inserts two fingers inside the vagina and places her
other hand on the lower belly in order to feel the uterus and
ovaries between her two hands and to check for the size and shape
of these organs and the potential presence of any masses.
One of the best reasons for women to have an annual exam is to
develop a relationship with their healthcare provider, whether it
is a nurse practitioner or a doctor.
Annual gynecological visits for young women can also provide
them with important information about their health during an annual
visit. Women can ask about topics ranging from nutrition and eating
disorders to stress management techniques, sexual activity and
menstruation.
It is common for young women to experience menstrual problems
such as heavy bleeding, irregular bleeding, severe cramps or other
PMS symptoms. Most of the time these symptoms are not dangerous and
can be treated.
For women who are having problems with their period, one option
is to begin using a birth control pill, even if they aren’t
sexually active.
A woman’s body has a natural cycle of hormones that
increase and decrease throughout the month. This fluctuation in
levels of certain hormones causes your ovaries to release one egg
per month in a process called ovulation. The pill provides a
steady, constant low dose of those same hormones throughout the
month, and without the fluctuation, the body does not ovulate. This
means that a woman can’t get pregnant, and by suppressing
ovulation, many of the other symptoms described above are also
lessened.
Women can experience mood changes or irritability when they
start taking the pill. The good news is that these feelings usually
stabilize within a few months of starting a pill. It helps to
discuss these feelings with a doctor and try different pill brands
and doses to find a right fit.
When problems or questions do arise, it is always nice to have
someone who already knows you. Don’t be afraid to ask
questions, and be an active participant in your care.
The Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center offers
Women’s Health Services, which offers comprehensive health
care and counseling to UCLA students. For more information, visit
www.studenthealth.ucla.edu.
Prehn is a third-year medical student and a writer for
“The Diagnosis.” “The Diagnosis” was
created by Ronney Shantouf. E-mail him with questions and topic
ideas at ronney19@ucla.edu.