Cause of hormonal imbalance: what is meant by hormonal imbalance?
Get to know the causes of hormonal imbalance; types of hormonal
imbalance and the symptoms.
Hormones are substances sending signals among cells of the body that
is responsible for the regulation of everything starting from the
blood pressure of a person to a sound night’s sleep. They play
significant roles in so many diverse body processes as cell repair,
growth, appetite, fertility, metabolism, regulating pain and
reproduction. Hormones are physiological messengers produced in the
whole body, and because of their communication with your organs and
each other, they are successful in maintaining a balance destined to
make a person healthy and happy.
The signaling process of the hormones start the moment it is
released from a specific gland, an organ responsible for both
synthesizing as well as signaling of molecules apart from secreting
them. Exocrine glands, including sweat, sebaceous and salivary
glands secrete hormones into vessel ducts so that they can be
delivered to the destinations. Endocrine glands, such as the sex
glands (testes and ovaries), adrenal, thyroid, pituitary and
parathyroid gland, instead secrete the hormones directly into the
blood from where they travel to the appropriate organ targeted.
However, there are times when the delicate management of balancing
hormones gets disrupted. Hormonal imbalances have occurrence in both
women and men belonging to any age, though most commonly it is
observed in adults who have crossed their middle ages. The cause of
hormonal imbalance will be dealt and described below.
Causes responsible for hormonal imbalances in
men and women
The cause of hormonal imbalance might attribute to the changes
happening in the chemistry of the body of the people as they age,
such as women going through their menopause, which affects release
of hormones from glands, leading to disturbance in the balance.
Diabetes is a common hormonal imbalance which occurs when the body
is not producing enough insulin, a hormone that the pancreas
produces responsible for metabolism. The under and over production
from the thyroid gland is also common and is sometimes even detected
in children.
All these hormonal imbalances can be manifested in a variety of
emotional and physical symptoms. The cause of hormonal imbalance can
have potentially fatal and severe complications, so the treatment
and diagnosis is crucial for overall well-being and health.
There are several causes of hormonal imbalance,
but mostly it happens because of estrogen dominance and/or
increased estrogen amounts in the system and not having
sufficient progesterone.
Another cause of hormonal imbalance might be the
intake of birth controlling pills.
Stress factors also affect the production of
hormones in the system and become a significant cause of
hormonal imbalance.
Over usage of cosmetics or non-organic products.
Some medical causes for hormonal imbalance
include obesity, tumors and genetics.
Other causes might be pregnancy, lack of
exercising, lactation or autoantibody production.
Among the above causes, obesity is believed to be
the leading medical cause of hormonal imbalance.
Symptoms of Hormonal Imbalance
Affecting different aspects concerning to physiology, the cause of
hormonal imbalance tend to be non-specific and varied.
The patients might feel that they are upset or
tired after a busy or stressful week.
With the cause of hormonal imbalance, a person
might experience anxiety, losing of appetite, insomnia and
inability to concentrate.
Mood swings and irritation are also common
symptoms arising from the cause of hormonal imbalance.
Physical indicators of a probable cause of
hormonal imbalance include hair loss, sudden gaining of weight,
acne, reduced libido and night sweats.
Women often experience intensity in premenstrual
problems, vaginal dryness, hot flashes and yeast infections.
Suffering from very painful, heavy or irregular periods might
also be a symptom.
Infertility also can be a result of hormonal
imbalance.
Diagnosis and prevention of hormonal
imbalances
On suspicion of hormonal imbalance, your doctor might take urine,
blood or saliva samples for lab tests designed for the detection of
hormone levels and for determining whether they fall within the
normal range.
Generally, these tests are simple immunoassays, where they apply
antibodies for certain hormones to the samples taken and then
diagnosed by the use of secondary antibodies which will show how
much hormonal levels were found by the primary antibody.
Immunoassays are streamlined so that most of them can be performed
very quickly in just a single step (like the pregnancy tests you can
do at home are immunoassays, for instance).
Because these antibodies are developed for recognizing specific
hormones, the tests conducted by using them are also highly
accurate. Doctors can conduct many of such antibody diagnostic tests
on your samples and then can generate a hormonal profile which will
be a great aid in determining the future course of the therapies you
can undergo to combat the cause of hormonal imbalance.
In addition to such tests, it is always good to follow certain
preventive measures in order to avoid getting caught by hormonal
imbalances in the first place. Follow a healthy regimen; eat a
healthy diet with herbs and plants like saw palmetto found in
Endosterol that will go a long way in
regulating your hormonal levels!
