Prevention Better than Cure

Hello Beloved! Got screened? We hope so. Today we share with you a few choices you can make to ensure general cervical health. As wise folk of ever walk of life tend to say, prevention is better than cure. Today, we invite you to consider the wisdom of obstetrician and gynaecologist, Dr. Anna-Kay Taylor Christmas.

A Healthy Cervix is a Happy Cervix
How can we keep it healthy?

1. Cervical health is tied to general health. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle through a balanced diet (with lots of water, fruits and vegetables), regular exercise, rest and emotional/spiritual well-being will keep your whole body, including your cervix, healthy. Staying on top of chronic illnesses (especially diseases like diabetes that affect the immune function) as well as following safe sexual practices is also essential.
2. Vaginal cleansing products such as douches are not necessary to maintain the health of the cervix and may in fact harm the vagina and contribute to vaginal and cervical infections.
3. For some women who are prone to frequent infections or who have to take a lot of antibiotics, we may also add probiotic supplements to their diet, to help maintain a healthy pH in the vagina and therefore around the cervix.

What routines or life rhythms (with respect to diet, sex and healthcare visits) can we embrace to ensure or promote cervical health?

• It is very important for every woman, whether sexually active or not, to develop a relationship with a gynaecologist that she trusts. Every woman should have regular (yearly or otherwise as determined by you and your doctor) wellness checks for a review of general gynaecologic health and to deal with any potential problems or new problematic symptoms that may arise.
• Outside of the wellness check, regular cervical cancer screening should be performed, according to the guidelines of the country lived in. Do not delay going to the gynaecologist out of fear, as she may be able to pick up problems in early stages and address them before they become serious.

Happy temple building.

Take care. Bless many.

Dr, Anna-Kay Taylor Christmas is a Christian, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, and Wife and Mother to two lovely girls. She graduated from The University of the West Indies undergraduate and postgraduate medical programmes, and is now completing a fellowship in Gynaecologic Oncology in Australia. She has a special interest in minimally-invasive (key-hole) gynaecologic surgery. She is a member of and attends Providence Methodist Church in Jamaica, where she is currently a part of the praise team. She enjoys singing and reading when out of the hospital and believes that medicine and music are her ministries here on earth. She is looking forward to contributing to the EarthBasic community and increasing women’s health knowledge.