A NEW contraceptive pill that lets women go four months without a period will go on sale this week.
A NEW contraceptive pill that lets women go four months without a period will go on sale this week.
Yaz Flex comes in packs of 120 pills and women who use it continuously will have three periods a year.
The pill comes with a palm-sized dispenser that records usage, notices when a tablet has been missed and provides an alert that alternative contraception must be used.
The Clyk digital tablet dispenser can be programmed to sound a daily alarm to remind women to take the pill.
More than 80 per cent of women admit to forgetting to take their contraceptive pill at some stage and 31 per cent forget it once a month, according to a survey funded by Bayer, the drug company that makes Yaz.
Alex Trevor, who has used the new pill for a week, loves the new digital dispenser which "keeps me on track". "There have been times when I've forgotten to take the pill in the past," she said.
Yaz Flex is a new version of the existing monthly contraceptive pill Yaz and both contain a combination of hormones that over time help reduce acne. Australia is the launch market for the pill, which is made in Germany.
Associate professor and gynaecologist Dr Rod Baber said many medical studies had found skipping periods was safe and it could be useful for women who have heavy periods, their periods are painful or they get migraine associated with menstruation.
Ms Trevor, whose mother Dr Christine Read works for Bayer, said she had skipped periods on her old pill but Yaz Flex with its digital dispenser made it easier to keep track of where she was in her cycle.
Common side effects of Yaz Flex include nausea, depression, headache, breast pain and unscheduled bleeding.
Women using it also face twice the risk of a blood clot as women using older versions of oral contraceptives, but Dr Baber said the risk was still low - 2.7 in 100,000 women. In pregnancy the risk of a blood clot is six in 100,000.一种可以让女性四个月只来一次月经的新型避孕药将于本周上市发售。
这种名为Yaz Flex的药品每盒有120片，长期服用的女性一年只会来三次月经。
盛装药片的盒子仅有手掌大小，可以记录使用量，如果有漏服则会马上发出警报，通知使用者必须利用其它避孕方式。
这种名为Clyk的药剂数字分发盒可以根据使用者的设置，每天自动报警提醒服药。
根据生产这种新型避孕药的拜尔药物公司资助的调查，超过80%的女性承认曾经漏服避孕药，31%的女性一个月就会漏服一次。
亚历克斯-特雷弗已经服用这种新药一周了，她很喜欢使用新型的数字药剂分发盒，这种分发盒可以使她的服药更有规律。她说：“我以前经常忘记服药。”
Yaz Flex的前身是每月服用的避孕药Yaz，两种药物都含有一种复合激素，长期服用时可以帮助治疗青春痘。Yaz Flex由德国制造，但在澳大利亚首先发售。
副教授兼妇科学家罗德-巴伯尔说，诸多药物研究发现，减少月经次数很安全，对月经量大的女性来说尤其有用，她们经常痛经，或者患上经期偏头痛。
特雷弗说，她服用之前的避孕药也可以减少月经次数，但Yaz Flex配有药剂数字分发盒，这让她能很清楚自己的周期。她的母亲克里斯汀-里德就在拜尔公司工作。
Yaz Flex的常见副作用包括恶心、抑郁、头痛、胸痛、以及不定期出血。
而且与其他服用旧式避孕药的女性相比，服用Yaz Flex的女性患上血栓的风险是其两倍。但巴伯尔博士说，这种风险(10万分之2.7)仍然很低。孕妇患上血栓的风险是10万分之六。
Vocabulary:
acne: 痤疮，也叫粉刺，青春痘
migraine: 偏头痛
menstruation: 月经，月经期间
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