Osteoporosis Dangers

Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease affecting the bones. The word osteoporosis means porous bones. The condition affects both men and women although women are more prone to the condition. Recognizing, and more importantly, preventing the disease is extremely important.

Thin Bones

• Osteoporosis makes bones thinner and weaker. This makes it possible to break, fracture, or sprain a bone doing normal daily activities. A simple sneeze may cause a break in someone with osteoporosis.

Silent Killer

• Osteoporosis kills more women than all gynecological cancers. One in six women who enter the hospital for a hip fracture will not survive and men in this category fare worse.

Tricky Diagnosis

• Some women who are diagnosed with osteoporosis through a bone scan may never experience a break or a fracture. Others who appear to have normal bone density may have several or even fatal breaks.

Advice

• Many doctors still do not offer unsolicited advice about osteoporosis. Precautions should begin in childhood to keep bones healthy and strong through adequate calcium intake and exercise.

No Prefect Treatment

• Many new drugs are on the market to help deal with osteoporosis but they are limited in their effect and many have side effects. There is no cure and the disease can be debilitating.

Fact

• Osteoporosis causes 1.5 million fractures a year. Estimates are that one out of every two women over 50 years of age will be diagnosed with osteoporosis in her lifetime.