By Marissa Velazquez


It is not a strange phenomenon that some people who were born male feel like they should be female while the others who were born female feel like they were meant to be males. This has brought about substantial debate on how to handle this class of people with regard to gender. With their ever-growing numbers, the society is compelled to accommodate them and provide to them the essential services too. This has even necessitated for the provision of transgender health services. Here are some therapeutic measures employed to attain the desired body for a male transforming to a woman.

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 present in the body in different quantities. Men always have an increased level of testosterone as compared to women while women have a raised level of estrogen compared to their male counterparts. Testosterone is the hormone responsible for the masculinity of a mans body. The objective of this procedure therefore is to raise the levels of estrogen in transwomen to reach the levels present in the female. This is an important substance since it controls the menstrual cycle, moods and even 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 is good to know that hormone replacement therapy cannot reverse the changes experienced by an individual during puberty. For instance, the location of body hair will require another procedure to deal with. This will diminish slowly over time with the falling levels of testosterone in the body. There are many other changes like the bone size and length which reaches the DNA predestined size at puberty.

Therapeutic procedure is not enough for one to experience a complete change. One has to undergo surgery to change the sex organ to the desired gender. This procedure is quite delicate and requires a lot of expertise for optimum functionality of the organ after the surgery.

You will agree that we cannot segregate this people since they are in our midst as family members and friends therefore we should be accommodative and provide good transgender health care to them. Stigmatization may push them to the edge leaving them with no option other than seeking health care from non professionals thus risking their lives. They can also explore herbal options to fulfill their dreams.




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