It’s Menopause Month! But what actually is menopause?! Dr Sonia @dermgp explains: “Marking the end of fertility, menopause is diagnosed as a full year since a person’s last period. 51 is the average age for people to reach the menopause, but around 1 in 100 experience symptoms pre-40. In the UK alone that means 3.4 million of us could be experiencing the menopause before we hit the big 4-0. But whatever age you are when you officially hit menopause, many people will find in the years leading up to that they’ll experience a plummeting in oestrogen and other hormones that send their bodies haywire. This phase that precedes the menopause is called the perimenopause – where the shift in hormones can result in changes the menstrual cycle, skin and mood”. #menopause #menopauseawareness #menopausematters