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Is the Pill making you ill?
continued from page 1
Hirsutism
If you have a pre-existing tendency for excess hair on the face and body, the Pill could encourage further hair growth. 'But if you're not normally a hairy woman, you're not going to become one if you take the Pill,' says Dr Parry. Talk to your GP about ways to eliminate or hide excess hair.
Photosensitivity
A rare side effect of the Pill for some women is that sunbathing gives them a red blotchy rash, rather than a deep tan. This is known as photosensitivity - a greater sensitivity to the sun. 'It's not dangerous', says Dr Parry 'and, it doesn't mean you're more at risk of skin cancer, for example. However, you should stop the Pill if you get this because it's the only way to avoid getting the rash.'
Hair thinning
Hair has two stages of growth from the scalp - active and resting. The Pill forces the active growth to happen. 'When they come off the Pill, some women complain their hair looks thinner,' says Dr Parry. 'Actually, the hair isn't really thinning - it's just that it has now returned to the resting stage and isn't growing any more. This is definitely only temporary and your hair will soon get back to growing.'
Gallstones
Research suggests that women using the Pill are slightly more likely to suffer from gallstones than non-users - but only if they were already predisposed to the disease. 'Gallstones are most common among overweight middle-aged women,' says Dr Parry. 'If you fit into this category and are on the Pill too, you could find yourself having gallstones at 30, instead of 40.'
DVT - deep vein thrombosis
It's well-known that taking the Pill doubles the risk of getting thrombosis - but the original risk for non-users was already so tiny that although the risk is doubled by taking the Pill, it still means less than 1 in every 100,000 Pill-users will die from blood clots.
However, the increased risk of blood clots for Pill-users does mean a slightly greater risk of DVT when flying or at altitudes. 'Stop taking the Pill if you're sleeping at over 4,500ft because of the increase in pressure,' says Dr Parry. 'So if you're going trekking in Nepal, don't take the Pill.'
'As for flying, lots of air stewardesses are Pill-users and are absolutely fine. Just be more vigilant about moving around and drinking lots of water during flights.'
Hirsutism
If you have a pre-existing tendency for excess hair on the face and body, the Pill could encourage further hair growth. 'But if you're not normally a hairy woman, you're not going to become one if you take the Pill,' says Dr Parry. Talk to your GP about ways to eliminate or hide excess hair.
Photosensitivity
A rare side effect of the Pill for some women is that sunbathing gives them a red blotchy rash, rather than a deep tan. This is known as photosensitivity - a greater sensitivity to the sun. 'It's not dangerous', says Dr Parry 'and, it doesn't mean you're more at risk of skin cancer, for example. However, you should stop the Pill if you get this because it's the only way to avoid getting the rash.'
Hair thinning
Hair has two stages of growth from the scalp - active and resting. The Pill forces the active growth to happen. 'When they come off the Pill, some women complain their hair looks thinner,' says Dr Parry. 'Actually, the hair isn't really thinning - it's just that it has now returned to the resting stage and isn't growing any more. This is definitely only temporary and your hair will soon get back to growing.'
Gallstones
Research suggests that women using the Pill are slightly more likely to suffer from gallstones than non-users - but only if they were already predisposed to the disease. 'Gallstones are most common among overweight middle-aged women,' says Dr Parry. 'If you fit into this category and are on the Pill too, you could find yourself having gallstones at 30, instead of 40.'
DVT - deep vein thrombosis
It's well-known that taking the Pill doubles the risk of getting thrombosis - but the original risk for non-users was already so tiny that although the risk is doubled by taking the Pill, it still means less than 1 in every 100,000 Pill-users will die from blood clots.
However, the increased risk of blood clots for Pill-users does mean a slightly greater risk of DVT when flying or at altitudes. 'Stop taking the Pill if you're sleeping at over 4,500ft because of the increase in pressure,' says Dr Parry. 'So if you're going trekking in Nepal, don't take the Pill.'
'As for flying, lots of air stewardesses are Pill-users and are absolutely fine. Just be more vigilant about moving around and drinking lots of water during flights.'
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