Pages

What Is Involved In Transgender Health Services

By Marissa Velazquez


Today, the term transgender is most used by people who feel that they belong to a gender that they were not assigned at birth. Some trans people use hormones or even go through surgeries to feel more comfortable with their body. The number of this class of people is growing on a daily basis and the debate goes on how to best handle them and accommodate them in the society. Thanks to transgender health program, this provides a holistic approach to individual well being. This ranges from behavioral wellbeing to violence recovery program to substance abuse among others.

Due to the differences in designation depending on the original roles, the males body is usually different from the womans. For a man to shed his masculinity to attain the feminine body, he must undergo a process called hormone replacement therapy. The therapy should be administered by a competent person since mismanagement can lead to undesired effects. This is usually aimed at changing the secondary sexual orientation.

Testosterone and estrogen are hormones that men and women have in their bodies in different quantities. Men are known to have a higher level of testosterone to women while women too have a higher level of estrogen to their male counterparts. Therefore, one of the objectives of this treatment is to increase the level of estrogen to bring the levels to that of an individual born as a woman. This is an important hormone in women since it is responsible for regulating the menstrual cycle. It is also known to have a relationship with moods and libido.

Progesterone is given to a transwoman to effect changes like skin appearance, sexual urge and breast development. Some people also undergo surgery to transform their breasts. This has to be done carefully to ensure that mammary glands and alveoli are developing as they should.

To be able to deal with the hormone testosterone, anti-androgens are introduced. This is important to suppress the testosterone especially before the client can go for a surgery for sexual reassignment and still has his testicles. The introduced anti- androgen does not stop the production of the unwanted hormone, but it is rendered weak to enable the estrogen to bind with the androgen receptors in its place.

It will be unfair not to state that hormone replacement therapy can not alter the effects of puberty. An example is the location of body hair, which in most cases is handled by laser removal. The hair will take some time to eliminate depending on the drop of testosterone in the body. The bone size and length is also dictated by the gender at puberty that might not be reversed.

Many people go through this therapeutic process but to attain the complete change one has to undergo surgical procedure. This process is aimed at changing the sexual organ to the desired gender. This is a delicate procedure that requires a qualified and experienced medical practitioner to attain proper functionality of the organ after the surgery.

Transpeople have particular health disparities as compared to the overall population. One should understand these disparities and when attending to transgender health, the practitioner should ask the patient their well being history. This should be done before administering any drug, be it herbal or artificial.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment