The desire for silky, smooth and easy to manage hair, which makes many women use hair relaxers and texturizers may be causing them health complications, studies have found.
One of such conditions is fibroid.
Fibroid, often regarded as a disease of black women, is one of the most prevalent gynaecological problems among women, affecting about eight out of every 10.
Though not new, it has become very prevalent, with doctors saying that 85 per cent of women who report to hospital with gynaecological problems are often found to have the disease.
Fibroids are abnormal growths that develop in or on a woman’s uterus. The noncancerous tumours are sometimes so large a woman may look pregnant. They are largely asymptomatic but sometimes cause severe abdominal pain and heavy periods.
A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, which looked at hair relaxer use and risk of fibroids in African American women found that the use of hair relaxers for long periods of time could cause burns or lesions on the scalp, which makes it easier for the chemicals to enter the body. The study found a direct correlation between women who frequently use chemical relaxers and more fibroids by at least 5% and the researchers concluded that there might be a link.
Similarly, the Silent Spring Institute said many of the hair products marketed to black women are full of harmful chemicals, adding that they “smell so bad” basically because of “the poisons inside them.”
According to the research, chemicals such as Cyclosiloxanes, nonylphenols and phthalates, found in hair products, besides their toxicity, share a common bond as they have all been linked to hormone disruption as well as an increased risk of developing fibroids and other diseases such as asthma, infertility, and even cancer.
The Silent Spring study further revealed that 80 per cent of Black hair products they tested contained “endocrine-disrupting and asthma-causing chemicals.”
The chemicals, research found, not only damage hair roots, but can also absorb into the scalp’s abundant blood supply and enter the bloodstream, causing the body to produce hormone-disrupting chemicals that affect both the reproductive system and breasts.
Faith Uwa, a fibroid survivor said she had a near death experience.
She said it started with abnormally heavy periods but she didn’t take it to be anything serious until that fateful day that she lost so much blood, passed out and was taken to hospital.
“It was at the hospital fibroid was diagnosed and I had to undergo a surgery to take it out as it was a huge mass.”
Another survivor, Lilian Onwa said she found out about her fibroids when she decided to carry out checks after trying fruitlessly to conceive for two years.
Causes
Specialist Gynaecologist and IVF expert at Fertility Diagnostics Global Care, Dr Akinnagbe Fernandez said there is no known cause of fibroid, even though it is linked to genes, as it occurs more in black women.
He said about 85 per cent of women with uterine fibroids usually have no symptoms because it is largely asymptomatic.
“It may just be an incidental find during ultrasound while carrying out checks for fertility.”
“If you carry out an autopsy of the uteruses of 10 black women, you’ll find that six to eight have various degrees of uterine fibroid. The main risk factor is the genes, it is about the black race.”
Prevention
Fernandez said because the causes are not known, prevention tips are not very clear.
He, however, said because nature abhors vacuum, it is easier for a woman who has never used her womb, either by having babies or carrying pregnancy to a certain age to develop fibroid.
“You know if a baby does not grow there something must grow inside,” he stated. He, however, said balance was of the essence as women would not continue to have babies just to keep fibroids at bay.
According to him, during pregnancy, the estrogen level drops and after having a baby, the woman begins to breastfeed and all these offer some sort of prevention.
Continuing, the gynaecologist pointed out that fibroid is more common among women in their 30s up to early 40s who have either never been pregnant or were pregnant but didn’t carry the baby to a certain age of maturity, thus giving room for fibroid to keep growing.
Management
The Gynaecology expert said many treatment options abound, depending on the size of the fibroid, age of the woman, her fertility options and severity of symptoms.
While pointing out that at least 85 per cent of women with fibroids do not have any symptoms, others, he noted, often report heavy and prolonged menstrual bleeding, which makes some anaemic and have anaemic heart failure, some become disfigured with excessively protruding tummies that make people wonder if they’re pregnant.
“For those whose stomachs become so big, the mass exerts pressure on the bladder and they have a frequent urge for urination, some have constipation, the blood vessels carrying blood from the legs to the heart, the inferior venal caval, that pressure can compress it and the legs become swollen.”
He said the management would therefore be conservative, holistic or surgical, depending on the factors and peculiarities of the person involved.
“For a woman who is about to get into menopause for instance, the moment the oestrogen supply is cut short, the fibroid will shrink. That is conservative management.”
Asked if herbal remedies for shrinking fibroid can be trusted, he said those using such herbs must be sure they have undergone clinical trials and are certified by the National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to verify the claims.
“However, there are some certain fibroids that you cannot waste your time saying you are taking herbal medicines because before it works, it would have knocked down your kidneys.”
Fernandez further averred that for young women of child bearing age, they must be counselled about the risk of reoccurrence, especially if she doesn’t get pregnant.
On claims that relaxers are linked to fibroid, he said while it was a possibility, he was not sure what the link was, especially as he wasn’t privy to the details of the research.
He, however, reiterated that the strongest risk factors remained race, genes and nulliparity.
“A woman who has given birth to ten children is not likely to have fibroid. Women who are trying to conceive are usually more at risk and it is when they go for investigation that it is often found that they have fibroid.”
