What Does Gender Mean To Medicine?
There are loads of gender equality issues floating around the web at the moment. With some people having to fight for their rights, and others looking for big change, a lot of people are experiencing an altered perspective of what their gender means, especially compared to just a couple of decades ago. Most people would agree that everyone should enjoy the same freedoms and protection, and the world is always doing better to see the similarities between the genders.
Of course, though, there are some parts of life where men and women simply aren’t the same. When it comes to something like medicine, physical variations alone can account for a huge amount of the issues people face. This isn’t a matter of politics or social justice; it’s a matter of biology. To help you out with this, and to give you a clear understanding of what you have to do to meet your own needs, this post will be exploring some of the key areas which you will have to consider when you’re handling your health.
The Big Physical
With a quick search of the web, it’s easy to find loads of physical differences between male and female humans, and this part of science is only becoming more popular. A big part of this can be seen when it comes to reproductive organs. For example, it’s very unlikely that a man will suffer breast cancer, while it’s impossible for a woman to find themselves with prostate cancer, even though they are two of the most common conditions in the world. This makes keeping an eye on these parts of your body very important.
On the inside, ladies are very different to men, all thanks to their ability to carry a child. This process and part of life is a very big one, but is something which only females will go through. This has created a very large sector in the medical field, and the only patients are females, showing how large a divide there can be in this industry. Of course, it isn’t this way with most conditions, but it’s still worth thinking about the unique issues you may face thanks to the gender you were born with.
The Little Physical
Alongside the larger physical aspects of genderhood, there are a couple of other little differences which aren’t noticeable to people looking at you. A male’s chromosomes are labeled as X and Y because they follow the same as the female’s Y Y structure, only with one leg having been dissolved. Information stored on DNA was in this leg, and not having it can lead to things like faster baldness in men. These sorts of variations can have an impact at all levels. For some, it will mean minor physical changes, but others may suffer with much bigger issues as a result of the little things.
The Chemical
It’s very hard to get away with such huge physical differences between the two genders without there being a chemical balance to think about. To promote different kinds of growth and behaviour, human bodies use a range of hormones which give your organs and other parts instructions. For example, muscle production and conversion is greatly aided with boosted testosterone. On the other side of the coin, though, estrogen can be very beneficial to a woman who wants to stay young.
Of course, though, having chemicals like this at play isn’t always a good thing. If you have too much of one of them, it will be hard to maintain a normal mood, and you may even start to notice physical changes occuring. Likewise, you could also face issues if you don’t have enough. Thankfully, a doctor can easily measure and track the levels of hormones in your blood, giving you access to a clear picture of what is happening inside your body. From here, treatments can be used to make sure that the imbalance doesn’t come back.
Finding A Doctor
Knowing what to look for when you’re searching for a doctor for gender-related health can be a challenge. There are loads of people out there to help you, and they won’t always make it clear as to what they actually do. To help with this, it will be important that you do plenty of research at this stage, using the web to point you in the right direction. It doesn’t matter if you find someone with great credentials; they have to be proven with actual patients.
Women: It can be a little harder for women to find medical professionals who make them feel comfortable. In the past, this has been a largely male-dominated field, and, though women are becoming more common, it can be hard to find a doctor of the same gender as you. To help with this, there are loads of forums around the web which are dedicated to sharing this sort of information. Not only will this help you to find someone with the right skills, but it will also ensure that you trust them to work on you.
Men: Finding a male doctor should be nice and easy. Getting your hands on one with the right skills to work on men’s issues, though, will be another challenge entirely. Clinics like International Andrology London have made huge waves over the last few years with their dedication to researching and supporting conditions which only impact men. Having a place like this will make it a lot easier to find the help you need. Along with this, though, you will also be helping other men to treat their struggles.
Hopefully, this post will inspire you to start paying more attention when it comes to the way your gender impacts your health. It can be hard to find the time to dedicate to this part of your life, and a lot of people find themselves ignoring it as they get older. It should never be this way, though, with all of the help and support you can get, along with the resources you have available to help you.
Category: Health