Online Women's Health

I have been asked many times to talk about urinary tract infections, shortly known as UTIs. They have been commonly confused by some ladies with vaginal or even sexually transmitted infections. But the question is: what are UTI? How can you tell if you have one? And what are the behavioral changes that can allow you to decrease the chance of their occurrence? Well, before talking about the infections of the urinary tract, you should become more familiar with your anatomy. The urinary tract is a group of organs that handle your urine; starting from the kidneys (the two bean shaped organs that filter your blood from many toxins) , to the ureters (the tubes that take urine from the kidneys to the bladder) , the bladder (the urine reservoir) ending with the urethra (the tube that takes urine from your bladder to the outside during the process of urination) . Infection of any of the previously mentioned organs falls under the definition of a urinary tract infection. If the infection...

 (This article is based on the latest data concerning COVID-19 and pregnancy. This information is amenable to change in case new data emerge) Since its beginning in Wuhan China in December 2019, more than 14 million people were inflicted with COVID-19, with more than half a million deaths worldwide. It occupied the headlines of all medical and non-medical journals and was a hot topic on every tongue. It was capable of infecting everyone without any discrimination, however some individuals were more negatively impacted by the virus as they were considered to be part of a “vulnerable population”, such as people with existing medical conditions, lung disease and advanced age. But what about pregnancy? Are pregnant women at a higher risk for infection or disease progression? And should they seek more preventive measures? The name COVID-19 was designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2019, and it represents the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV...

Have you ever felt the need to explore the reasons behind your diminished sexual desire? Did you ever think about the causes of a painful intercourse? Do you fantasize about sex, yet when it comes to practice you just cannot do it? Do you enjoy sex but fail to reach a satisfying orgasm? This article aims to explore the different aspects of sexual dysfunction, and to elaborate the risk factors behind it. Sexual function is of utmost importance! Some communities label any talks about sexual concerns as “Taboo”, but believe me, one of the most frequently described complaints we encounter in our clinics as gynecologists, is related to sexual function. Actually, studies have shown that sexual complaints are reported by around 40% of women worldwide, and approximately 12% of women report a sexual problem that is negatively impacting their personal and interpersonal lives! Which means that 1 out of 8 women will have a sexual problem that is severe enough to cause her impairment and perso...

The menstrual cycle, frequently referred to as “the period” is a sensitive yet very common topic we, as gynecologists, deal with on a daily basis. It is actually linked to many complaints we encounter in clinics and emergency room settings. Because of peer pressure and self-comparison to others, some women tend to judge their menstrual cycles as “abnormal”. So, the aim of today’s article is to look into what is considered to be physiologically normal? How much can menstrual cycles differ between women and yet remain in the spectrum of “normal”? And, what are the different period related physiologic abnormalities we commonly see? Starting with the basics, the normal menstrual cycle is tightly coordinated by a series of hormonal changes that result in the release of a mature egg on a monthly basis. The first day of bleeding (menses) is day 1 of the cycle which in turn is divided into two phases; the first is called the follicular phase which differs among women, and the second is calle...

Most women tend to have a fear from fibroids, and this fear originates from the misconceptions about them and the main belief that they will transform into cancer. So, I decided to tackle this topic with the purpose of clarifying some general concepts about fibroids, and hopefully to make you more familiar with the medical indications for their treatments and the different available treatment modalities. Fibroids are the most common benign gynecologic tumors we see. Actually, the woman’s lifetime risk for developing fibroids is 70-80%. They are muscular tumors that arise from the already muscular uterus (womb). They can be in different locations (in the uterine cavity, in the wall of the uterus or on the surface of the uterus, or any combination of the three), and can be found in different numbers, sizes and locations in the same patient. Of course, there have been multiple risk factors associated with fibroids, yet a cause effect relationship is still to be elucidated. So, what a...