Basic HTML Version
WHAT IS AN
INTERNIST?
CHOOSING A DOCTOR
can sometimes be a daunt-
ing task—especially if you’re looking for one that can
manage your overall health care needs.
One option is an internist. ese physicians treat only
adults, from the teen years through old age. Internists are
also called doctors of internal medicine. ( ey should not
be confused with interns, who are in their rst year of
training a er medical school.)
COMPREHENSIVE CARE
Internists take care of the
patient as a whole, working to prevent illness as well
as to diagnose and treat it. at includes both com-
mon and complex problems. For example, internists
treat illnesses from simple infections to cancer or
heart disease. ey can also treat substance abuse and
mental illness. Internists don’t, however, deliver babies
or perform surgery.
Becoming an internist requires seven or more years of
medical school and postgraduate training. Some internists
return to school to become certi ed in a subspecialty,
such as geriatrics or oncology. is training can take an
additional one to three years.
A FOCUS ON YOU
Many adults choose an internist to
be their primary care physician.
A primary care physician is o en the rst medical pro-
fessional you see when you’re sick. ey are speci cally
trained to act as personal doctors, providing long-term,
comprehensive care.
Sources: American Academy of Family Physicians; American College of Physicians
PELVIC ORGAN PROLAPSE
IN YOUR BODY,
you have muscles in places you prob-
ably don’t think about, doing jobs that you may not know
need doing. One example? Your pelvic oor muscles.
ese are muscles that you (and many other women)
may take for granted—that is, until there’s a problem.
Like other muscles, pelvic oor muscles can tear or
become weak with age or stress. And because they hold
in the pelvic organs, damage to these muscles can result
in something called prolapse. at’s when unsupported
pelvic organs—such as the cervix, rectum, uterus, small
intestine or vagina—drop out of place.
You can have prolapse and not know it—or it may be
very painful. “Approximately to percent of women
will experience prolapse symptoms,” says Craig Frayer, DO,
OB-GYN at Perry County Women’s Care. “Or prolapse can
be found on routine exams.” But no matter what, prolapse
is treatable.
RISK FACTORS
Prolapse happens when pelvic oor
muscles are overstressed. In fact, if you’ve had a baby,
you have almost a
percent chance of having some
degree of prolapse, according to the American College
of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Other factors that can increase your risk include:
Pelvic surgery (such as a hysterectomy).
Aging.
Obesity.
Constipation.
Chronic coughing, espe-
cially from smoking.
SYMPTOMS
Common signs of prolapse include:
Incontinence.
is is a loss of bladder control or an
inability to prevent bowel movements.
Pressure in the pelvis or lower abdomen.
e pelvis
may ache or feel heavy or full. e pressure may worsen
with standing, li ing or coughing.
A bulge inside the vagina.
is may make it di cult
to insert tampons or applicators. Organs may actually
bulge out of the vagina and need to be pushed back inside
in order for you to urinate or have a bowel movement.
TREATMENT
Many women with prolapse have no symp-
toms and don’t need treatment. However, if it’s causing
discomfort or pain, a variety of treatment options are
available.
Nonsurgical options include medication, diet and ex-
ercise changes, electrical stimulation, and pessaries. A
pessary is a specially tted plastic device that is inserted
into the vagina to support the pelvic organs.
Surgery is also an e ective treatment for prolapse.
It can help return the vagina to its previous depth and
function. ere are a number of di erent operations used
to treat prolapse.
If you have prolapse, you and your doctor can decide
which, if any, treatment is right for you, depending on
your age, your sexual activity, your health, the seriousness
of the prolapse, and whether you plan to have children.
Normal
female
anatomy
Rectum
Anus
Uterus
Bladder
Pelvic
floor
muscles
Urethra
Vagina
One type
of prolapse
When the uterus drops
into the vagina, it's
called uterine prolapse.
Coffey infographic with information from the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Uterine
prolapse
Prevent pelvic prolapse
Two factors can influence the risk of pelvic organ pro-
lapse: genetics and physical stress.
Genetics plays a role in the strength of your pelvic
muscle and connective tissues. Unfortunately, you can’t
control your genes. Genetically weak muscles are just
more prone to prolapse.
But there are steps you can take to help relieve
stress on pelvic muscles and reduce your risk of
prolapse. Here are some recommendations from the
American Urogynecologic Society:
Maintain a healthy weight. Too much weight burdens
pelvic muscles.
Eat plenty of fiber and get regular exercise. Both can
help prevent constipation and straining during bowel
movements, which can injure pelvic muscles. See your
doctor if changing your diet and exercise habits doesn’t
improve constipation.
Don’t smoke. Smoking can cause a chronic cough,
which puts extra pressure on the pelvic floor.
Do pelvic floor (Kegel) exercises. Strengthening pelvic
muscles can help prevent prolapse. To find those muscles,
imagine that you are trying to stop urinating mid-stream
or trying not to pass gas. The muscles that you squeeze
are your pelvic floor muscles.
Contract those muscles for three seconds, then relax
them for three seconds. Do 10 repetitions three times
a day. Increase the length of the contraction each week
until you can hold it for 10 seconds
.
Call 547-4899 to schedule
your appointment with
Craig Frayer, DO.
To schedule an appointment
with internist Marlon Torrento,
MD, call 768-3410.
S P R I N G 2 0 1 2
3
H E A L T H S C E N E
W
E L L N E S S