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There are many symptoms associated with the menopause, some physical and some psychological. All symptoms can have an affect your overall wellbeing however, so they need to be understood and remedied as soon as they become a problem. A lot of the symptoms don’t ever become a problem, but if they do, there’s lots of options to counteract them.

Physical signs and symptoms

Hot flashes - these are the most common symptoms associated with the menopause and it is estimated that they affect around 75% of all pre-menopausal women. They regularly last for the duration of pre-menopause, however their frequency decreases as time goes on. Even though they are harmless, hot flashes can be embarrassing and as most are brought on by stress, tiredness, insomnia, irritable moods and occasionally depressive situations they can often be avoided. It may help to wear light, loose clothing when in a social situation and to have a pack of wet wipes handy to cool the skin if a hot flash does occur.

Vaginal dryness - the decrease in estrogen that causes the menopause can affect the walls of the vagina and in addition to them becoming less lubricated they also become more prone to infection. A dry vagina can make sexual intercourse painful and many women lose interest in sex because of this. Using a water-based lubricant can not only help to combat dryness, it can also protect the thinning vaginal walls from infection and irritation.

Dry skin and nails, and hair loss - these problems result because of a loss of elastic collagen. A lot of this loss is simply due to the aging process however the hormonal changes that occur during the menopause also contributes, and women often find they have brittle nails and dry skin patches throughout the pre-menopause stage. A healthy diet with vitamins and minerals may help to some degree - see our herbs for menopause article.

Heart disease and osteoporosis - both of these serious conditions become much more common in women who have reached menopause than those who haven’t. It is estimated that post-menopausal women are three times more likely to develop heart disease than women who have not yet reached menopausal age, and that women who have undergone the menopause are 15% more likely to suffer a broken hip. These problems can be treated to some extent with natural herbal remedies for menopause, or alternatively women can stay fit and healthy and look after their bones while they are still young so that the menopause has a much lesser effect.

Psychological symptoms

Mood swings, irritability, anxiety and depression can all occur as symptoms of the menopause. Most of these symptoms are side effects of fluctuating hormone levels and at times it can seem like PMS all over again. Alternatively women who experience these problems may simply explain to their family, friends and close work colleagues that they are pre-menopausal and not to take their bad moods to heart - most people will understand when told upfront.

Because menopause is an individual experience every women will suffer with her own set of menopausal symptoms. However there is help available to combat most of the common problems. If you can’t find a way of dealing with them yourself then visit the doctor, after all that’s what he/she is there for.