Being a mom comes with a lot of responsibilities. Not only are you responsible to help your infants stay alive and cared for, you’re responsible to ensure they grow up into well-rounded and decent human beings. There are parent teacher conferences, health concerns to address, and so much more. It can feel overwhelming and often means that mom’s needs get pushed to the wayside.
While skimping on getting hair or nails done is not that big of a deal, there are some more important matters that should not be ignored or pushed off to a later date. While the issues could be minor, they could also be indications of something major that needs your attention. Here are six symptoms that moms shouldn’t ignore.
Constant Headaches
While exhaustion, dehydration, and lack of caffeine can easily lead to uncomfortable headaches, if you struggle with migraines or other debilitating head pain, it might be time to check in with your doctor. You can only take so many ibuprofen before you recognize that there is a problem you need to address. Your doctor may want to run tests to ensure nothing major is going on.
They may check for tumors, low blood flow to the brain, polyps, sinus issues, and more. While most of the time headaches are something relatively minor and easily addressed. On rare occasions it could be more serious.
Chest Pain
Did you know that heart attacks kill more women than breast cancer? Chest pain could indicate any number of things. Some women experience chest pain when they have acid reflux. Others get it from anxiety. But because many women don’t know the early signs of heart problems and they don’t know they are at risk; they often ignore this symptom for too long.
Moms, don’t ignore that chest pain. Go to the doctor so they can run the appropriate tests to discover what’s going on.
Vaginal Itching or Burning
While most moms know they should be getting regular pap smears, they often ignore other women’s health symptoms and concerns. They brush off the minor discomfort they feel in their vaginal area as no big deal. But sometimes it is a big deal. Yeast infections can cause long-term pain.
Some STIs present as itchiness at first. And other infections and imbalances in the vagina can cause itching and/or burning as well. It’s important to determine what’s causing the pain or discomfort.
Breast Lumps
It’s breast cancer awareness month, and many women know that they need to check for lumps regularly. This can easily be done at home with a self-exam. If you discover a new lump that won’t go away quickly, a doctor can check to see if it’s something to be concerned about.
They may start with an ultrasound or they could have you schedule a mammogram. Mammograms are used to detect breast abnormalities that could be cancerous. While not all lumps are cancer, all lumps should be taken seriously.
Infertility
If it’s been more than a year since you’ve been trying to have a baby, most OBs recommend getting tested for fertility issues. Places like San Diego obstetrics and gynecology will want to check your hormone levels, they’ll check for blockages in the uterus, and they can test your ovaries to ensure they are producing eggs.
Additionally, they’ll want to test your partner for his sperm count and sperm quality. These tests could show that everything is normal, but they could also indicate an issue like PCOS which can impact a woman’s fertility.
Stomach Pain
There are a few types of stomach pain to consider. You might get pain after every time you eat. This could indicate something like celiac disease, IBD, or another chronic gastrointestinal condition. You might have a sudden onset of pain that doesn’t go away and/or gets worse. You might have pain that’s dull but constant which could point to a hernia.
The important thing is that you don’t ignore it. While celiac disease can be easily treated by eating a gluten free diet, other issues such as IBD have more complex cofactors and might require dietary changes and medications to treat. Sudden pain should never be ignored. It’s important to seek medical help because it could be something like an appendix or other internal infection.