Health Advice Women Only

Let's Talk about Menstruation

Menstruation is still in the dark ages as far as people talking about it, what is so shameful about saying I am menstruating at the moment, instead people come up with all these weird words, such as 'The Rags', 'Thingies' 'Visitors' and other odd terminologies for quite a normal word, menstruating.

Menstruation isn't gross, or shameful it is a sign of normal growth and development. In other words, you're healthy and you're growing up just the way you should! This is a natural process that each woman experiences every month. Yet, it is still considered to be a sensitive topic in our daily lives.

Menstruating is part of the normal menstrual cycle, which helps a woman's body prepare for the possibility of pregnancy each month. A cycle starts on the first day of a period. Menstruation is a woman's monthly bleeding, also called a period.

Menstruation is one part of a woman's menstrual cycle which includes the shedding of the endometrium (lining of the uterus) that occurs throughout a woman's reproductive life. With each monthly (on average) menstrual cycle, the endometrium prepares itself to nourish a fetus, as increased levels of estrogen and progesterone help to thicken its walls. When pregnancy does not happen your body then sheds this lining, which causes the bleeding and the cycle starts all over again.

Irregular menstrual cycles can be caused by a variety of reasons, other than pregnancy or cysts, such as an imbalance of hormones, amenorrhea, excessive stress, contraceptive use, and drug abuse.

Menstration is different for everyone, some women breeze through their monthly cycles, where others may be bedridden for a few days. The amount of bleeding is also different for each individual with some very heavy bleeders and other very little.

If you are at all worried about the normality of your monthly cycles, please talk to your doctor, he/she will give you a thorough check over and prescribe medications to help you through these periods, if needed.

Period Pain
A lot of women suffer from Period pain, this is usually felt around the abdomen, or it can spread up and around the back, and down the legs. Some women also experience nausea, vomiting or even diarrhoea. Period pain can be defined as cramping and soreness in the abdominal region during normal menstruation.

The medical terminology for this condition is dysmenorrhoea. Period pain can be prevented and can be treated without going on the pill or any other chemical intervention.

Period pain can be greatly reduced or even eliminated, allowing you to enjoy your activities and work without the monthly interruption to your life.

Other than period pain some women may suffer from hormonal mood swings, this usually happens just before a period starts but again some may suffer these feeling until towards the end of the period.

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Menstrual Pads
Pads are often called "maxi" pads or "mini" pads. They come in several different thicknesses and absorbencies for heavier or lighter menstrual periods or for day or nighttime use. That way, girls who have a lighter flow don't need to feel like they're wearing a pad that's bigger than necessary — and girls with a heavy flow don't need to worry that they'll leak through their pad.

Tampons for Menstrual Cycles
I recommend that teenage girls starting menstruation should talk to their doctor before using Tampons. Menstrual TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrome) is associated with tampon use. This is more likely to occur in teenage girls and women under 30 than in older women.

Tampon users are encouraged to select lower absorbency products to further decrease risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome. Standardized absorbency labeling permits consumers to compare absorbency between brands.

Tampons should also be used with care. Ideally they should not be left in for more than four hours, and they should be alternated with pads. Tampon-related disease is less likely in women who avoid constant tampon use during menstruation. Because of their association with toxic shock syndrome, super-absorbant tampons should not be used when the menstrual flow is mild or moderate.

Menstrual Odor
Menstrual odor happens when menstrual fluid meets air. When menstrual fluid is absorbed within the vagina, it is not exposed to the air, so there shouldn't be an odor. And again change pads and tampons regularly to avoid odors.

Everyone is different so when you first start menstruating, talk to your doctor for help and guidance