What is HRT? [with sign language]

Dr Louise Newson explains Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). #4 in a series of videos with sign language.

Video Transcript:

I am Dr. Louise Newson. I am a GP and Menopause Expert in West Midlands

HRT are just three letters: Hormone Replacement Therapy. There are different hormones that we use and there are different levels and different preparations. It is not like giving an antibiotic because someone has a chest infection when it is the same dose for the same length of time. HRT is very different and what is really important is that we tailor-make it for the patients so the levels – especially of estrogen – are varied depending on your age, depending on your symptoms – all sorts of things. The other thing is there are different preparations so it is not always an oral tablet. It can be given as a patch or a gel and certainly for people that have risks, for example, of clots, it is very safe to have it as a patch or a gel so because they don’t have an increased risk of clot. Or, for example, for people who have migraine, people who are obese, people that might have had a clot in the past; in the years gone by, they would have been told they couldn’t have HRT because it was only available orally. But if you have it as a patch or a gel, there is no increased risk. So that enables more women to access the treatment, which is great.