“Let’s Talk Health, Let’s talk about Endometriosis”

The Guyana Association of Women Police hosted a health talk with female ranks of the Guyana Police Force, on February 20, 2019, at the Officers’ Training Centre, Camp and Young Street, Eve Leary.

This initiative was welcomed by all ranks who were present because education on female reproductive health is very important and was facilitated by Dr. Faqueeda Watson.

Dr. Watson who is a Government Medical Officer at the Adolescent Health Unit of the Ministry of Public Health responsible for promoting health and rights within schools and an advocate for girl’s and women’s health and rights; the need to educate woman and girls about sexual health due to gaps in knowledge.

The ranks were engaged in interactive sessions where they were placed into different groups and asked to act out scenes on different topics such as; mental health, physical health, abuse, sex positions, empowering women and being the “Side Chick”. In this session, ranks were asked to identify some of the issues which were portrayed in the skits.

The topic of focus was Endometriosis which occurs when the tissues that make up the uterine lining (the lining of the womb) are present on other organs of the body. Endometriosis is usually found in the lower abdomen, or pelvic area, but can appear anywhere else in the body. Common signs of Endometriosis include: painful periods, pain with intercourse, pain with bowel movement or urination, excessive bleeding and infertility.

Endometriosis is not easily diagnosed, however, your doctor can check for physical signs to determine if you do have this disorder by way of a pelvic examination where they manually feel (palpates) the pelvic area for abnormalities, such as: cysts on your reproductive organs or scars behind your uterus.

This disorder can, however, be treated with the use of different medications according to the symptoms of the patient.

The ranks in attendance were empowered and are now better informed about possible health risks.

By: Odellis Dos Santos Lance Corporal 22035