Women's health is her Capital’ - the saying is quite true as it is extremely necessary for a woman to take proper care of herself first as she is the foundation of a family and the prime person to look after everyone else’s wellbeing. Although it is essential to look after others, but one should never forget how taking care of our own emotional, mental and physical well-being is equally important for staying happy and healthy always.

Every year March 8 is observed as International Women's Day to celebrate women all across the world. Since the year 1977, United Nations recognized and observed March 8 as the International Women’s Day throughout the world to celebrate women around the world, recognize their contributions, their achievements in cultural, political, social and economic development and raise awareness about women's equality, and more.

The slogan for IWD2022 is #BreakTheBias whereas the theme for the International Women's Day 2022 is “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”, recognizing the contribution of women and girls around the world, who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build a more sustainable future for all.

Also Read: International Women’s Day 2020: Regular Check-Ups Are Vital For The Health Of Every Woman

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It's true that the twenty-first-century woman has literally set foot on moon and reached zenith across each and every sphere. Yet, throughout the day, amidst shuffling through the various roles she plays, as a caring mother, loving wife, affectionate sister, cute daughter or an independent career-oriented woman, she often fails to take care of her own personal well-being. Additionally, a sedentary lifestyle with more work and littler to no exercise, has led to an increasing number of health issues in women of all age group. Every woman’s body goes through tremendous changes during the different phases of life, depending upon the play of hormones, beginning in infancy, childhood, adolescence starting the reproductive age group towards adulthood ending the reproductive period & post-menopausal stage.

In this context, it is pivotal for each and every woman to be mindful of the various changes that takes place within her body with passing time and be aware of certain signs and symptoms that might crop up every now and then.

We bring you five such red-flag symptoms that a woman should never ignore and get prompt medical care.

5 Surprising Health Signs To Watch Out For

Excessive Bleeding

Excessive menstrual bleeding, medically termed as menorrhagia is experiencing abnormally heavy or prolonged bleeding often during, after or in between periods. For many women, this extreme menstrual bleeding is accepted as a usual order but be wary as it can be an underlying symptom of a totally different health problem. From hormonal imbalance (caused due to PCOS, obesity, insulin resistance and thyroid problems), dysfunction of the ovaries, polyps, cancer, adenomyosis, inherited bleeding disorder like von Willebrand's disease, medication side effect to kidney and liver anomalies, a heavy, prolonged vaginal bleeding can be a grave sign to be aware about.

Also Read: International Women’s Day 2021: Remedial Yoga Postures To Ease 5 Common Gynec Problems

Depression

Depression is quite a serious and ubiquitous mood disorder. It can be mild to moderate characterized by feelings of sadness, helplessness, hopelessness, worthlessness, low self-esteem, crankiness, excessive crying, little appetite, difficulty sleeping, losing interest in pleasure activities and low-grade fatigue. Or it can be more severe leading to even suicidal thought. There are several underlying causes of depression. The biological and hormonal factors include issues with pregnancy, fertility, postpartum depression, persistent depressive disorder, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, perimenopause, menopause, and menstrual cycles whereas psychological factors mainly occur due to the emotional nature of women that often rehash negative thoughts during bouts of depression. Other psychological factors that tend to affect women are negative body images and stress-induced depression. Even social causes like marital or relationship problems, work-life balance issues, financial troubles, and stressful life events, including the loss of a loved one can often lead to depression. Hence, it is necessary to notice slight changes in mood swings and get necessary help at the earliest.

Lack Of Sleep

Loss of sleep or insomnia is a common sleep disorder that can make it quite hard to fall asleep, hard to stay awake, or cause you to wake up too early and not be able to get back to sleep. It is quite common in females due to a combination of biological and social factors. Insomnia can be acute or chronic stemming preliminarily from stress about work, health, finances, school, or family, an unlikely life event, or even loss of a loved one. Insomnia can also occur due to poor sleeping patterns, having a heavy meal late at night, excessive consumption of caffeine, nicotine or alcohol, or irregular travel or work schedule disturbing the circadian rhythm. Although the primary factors can often be managed be careful about lack of sleep as it can also be an underlying symptom of a major health issue like anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, chronic pain, cancer, GERD, overactive thyroid, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Loss Of Hair

Hair loss, medically termed as Alopecia refers to excessive loss of hair often characterized by circular or patchy bald spots, gradual thinning on top of head, sudden loosening of hair, or patches of scaling that spread over the scalp. Although gradual aging and heredity plays an important role in loosing hair gradually, sudden hair loss in excessive amounts can also be a reason due to hormonal changes arising from pregnancy, childbirth, menopause or thyroid problems, medical conditions like ringworm infection on the scalp, trichotillomania (a hair-pulling disorder), side effect of medications and supplements used for cancer, arthritis, depression, heart problems, gout and high blood pressure. Additionally, hair loss can also be a sign of a stressful event or malnutrition.

Breast Lumps

It is extremely necessary to pay attention to the breasts. In addition to checking changes in breast size or shape, or nipple discharge, watch out for the presence of any lumps inside them. Although one might get stressed out thinking of it as a precursor of breast cancer, but it is still necessary to get it checked right away as it can be a sign of breast cysts, milk cysts, fibrocystic breasts, hamartoma, fibroadenoma, lipoma or intraductal papilloma, mastitis or any other physical injury.

If you notice any of the above-mentioned symptoms that doesn’t feel quite right, do listen to your intuition. You know your physical being best and can sense when something might be wrong. Do seek medical care, as an early prognosis can help ensure the best possible treatment option.