S1E116: Take charge of your menopause

Find out more about menopause and what you can do about it.

Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you.

Menopause is a natural part of aging but the time leading up to menopause, known as perimenopause, affects each woman differently.

Associate Professor Rukshini Puvanendran, the head and senior consultant of Family Medicine Service, and the co-lead of KK Menopause Centre at ​KKH, said that while many people are aware of menopause, they do not fully understand it​. There are also many misconceptions surrounding menopause, with the most common being that hormone replacement therapy ​or HRT is harmful.

Still, menopause is a stage of life that also marks a new beginning for women.  ​In the west, there's even a new trend in the travel industry - menopause retreats. Women are embracing their menopausal transition and willing to pay for vacations that combine spa treatments with fitness or yoga sessions and advice on how to deal with symptoms like hot flushes.

​​In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks to ​Assoc Prof Rukshini to find out​ more about how menopause affects women, how safe HRT is as well as other ways of managing the symptoms.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:07 When do women in Singapore experience menopause

2:20 How does it affect the body?

6:46 What other issues should menopausal women be aware of?

13:36 When should women seek help for the symptoms they experience?

19:33 Misconceptions of hormone replacement therapy

Produced by: Joyce Teo (joyceteo@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Amirul Karim & Eden Soh

Edited by: Eden Soh

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