Menstruation. The one thing that some people hope and wish for, that some people pray comes just a bit later. The period. The menstruation process is a cycle that all women have to go through, and it can never hurt to know just a little more about our bodies. So, let’s take a trip through one of the most stigmatised bodily changes a human can go through— Menstruation.
Now, how does menstruation work? Let’s go though the biology of the process first.
The menstrual cycle is usually 28 days, and it can be divided into three stages: the follicular phase, the luteal phase, and the menstrual period.
The follicular phase starts the first day menstruation (the actual losing of blood) finishes and lasts about nine days. During this phase, follicles will begin to develop on the ovary under the influence of hormones, which increases the amount of estrogen (the female hormone) in your body. Meanwhile, the endometrium (a membrane lining the uterus) begins thickening.
Next we have the luteal phase, which lasts about half a month. During this phase, the egg is discharged. If the egg is fertilized, some nutrients in the luteal phase secretion can be used for the implantation of the fertilized egg. The remaining follicles turn into corpus luteum, which secretes progesterone (a hormone that get’s your body ready for pregnancy). Under the influence of progesterone, the endometrium thicken even more.
Now, if the egg is not fertilized, it will not fall on the endometrium. Your corpus luteum will shrink, leading to progesterone secretion decreasing, and the endometrium will begin to thin. Did you think this was the end?
Oh please. That was just the prequel.
Once the endometrium begins to shrink, we reach the menstrual period, which lasts for five to seven days. Endometrial tissue lose nutrition supply and necrosis (death of the tissue) occurs, resulting in the whole piece of endometrial tissue falling off at once. This phase is the phase more commonly known, the actual bleeding (you know, your monthly bleedings?)
Now that we are familiar with the actual biology of the menstruation cycle, how can we apply that knowledge to our everyday life? Three things:
How do we deal with the actual bleeding?
Period diseases?
Extra facts that might be useful?
First things first: hygiene products. When we are on our period, there are three main hygiene products that we can choose: period pads, tampons, and menstrual cups.
The pad is probably the one that is both most common and most accepted, so let’s start with that. It is the only type of hygiene products that used during the cycle that aren’t inserted into the body. It’s basically a pad that soaks up the blood you lose that you stick on your underwear. Simple in execution.
There are still things that need special attention paid to them to when using the period pad, namely:
Change pads every two to three hours to prevent bacteria from growing. (And also, the pad gets gross and heavy after a while. CHANGE IT.)
Buy sanitary napkins without sensitive ingredients, and purchase them through official channels to prevent, you know, sensitive stuff getting on your sensitive parts.
Don't store too many pads at a time to avoid expiration and bacterial breeding. (This goes against all of my instincts as a hoarder, but don’t hoard these.)
Try not to use scented pads because that may result in gynecological diseases.
Compared to period pads, tampons are less popular since they need to be inserted into the body to work. They are less damp and muggy when using them, and more convenient for movements since it doesn’t feel like wearing half a diaper on your underwear. However, blood acts as lubrication for insertion into your body, and if your blood loss isn’t enough, then it might not feel comfortable taking out, so if you have less blood flow, tampons may not be the best choice for you.
Another important point to mention is that using tampons may lead to TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrome), even though it is very, very, very rare (0.0034% of women rare). Since tampons absorb not only blood but also liquids in the vagina, toxic bacteria might grow when the protective water is gone. Tampons with stronger absorption capacity are more likely to cause TSS, but this has nothing to do with the material and brand. Also, just a BTW, younger women are more likely to suffer from TSS.
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) suggests women to do the following to avoid TSS:
Insert tampons according to the instructions of the product packaging.
Select proper tampon size with the lowest absorption rate according to the blood volume.
Replace tampons every 4 to 8 hours.
Mix usage of tampons and pads.
Understand the symptoms of TSS (dizziness, nausea, dry throat, rash, sudden serious fever, and shock in severe cases).
The third and final most common products for usage during the menstruation cycle is the menstrual cup. It’s a bell-shaped silica gel cup that is inserted into the body, and needs to be cleaned every 12 hours. A menstrual cup costs 200-300 RMB (basically 33 to 50 dollars, depending on the exchange rate), but can be used for up to a decade, so is the cheapest in terms of long run costs.
Other advantages of the cup include convenience for movement (like the tampon) and because it does not absorb water, the risk TSS is even lower than from the tampon. It will also not produce as much plastic waste as the usage of 6 period pads in a day.
However, the reason why you have probably never used this type of product is because it’s as big as a baby’s fist, which means it will damage the hymen, so some culture are not quite acceptant of it. Another, more common reason, is that it’s also hard to clean. Washing hands fully before taking out and washing the actual cup fully with neutral detergent is important to prevent diseases.
Other things to note about the cup: If you’re a patient with vaginitis, using a cup may lead to repeated infection. Also, because fingers need to guide the menstrual cup when placing it inside the body, long or sharp nails may scratch the inner wall of the vagina, so cut your nails before handling cups!
Now, menstrual adverse reactions and menstrual diseases! (The exclamation mark just means this is important not that I like it.) (Just thought I’d clarify that.) A few common ones:
Most people have no obvious adverse reactions to their periods, but the symptoms of differ by person. Some may have a slight abdominal distension, dizziness, headache, and bellyaches. But for people with severe dysmenorrhea (the science word for severe period pains), cold limbs, cold sweat, loss of consciousness, and other symptoms are not uncommon.
Now, for those of us who don’t have periods, the common question might be: how painful is dysmenorrhea? Dysmenorrhea is usually sharp pains, but it can also be persistent dull pain, which can hurt all the way to the thigh. In addition, dysmenorrhea is often accompanied by headaches, nausea, constipation or diarrhea, frequent urination, occasional vomiting, and loss of consciousness in severe cases.
There are two types of dysmenorrhea, primary and secondary. Primary dysmenorrhea usually occurs shortly after puberty. With the increase of age and possibility of pregnancy, the symptoms reduce. Secondary dysmenorrhea starts after puberty and becomes more serious over time, and might be related to diseases. However, stress, lack of sleep, and fatigue can all lead to sudden pain in a menstrual period. No need for panic at the occasional dysmenorrhea. For normal dysmenorrhea, just keep warm or take painkillers.
On paper, the monthly cycles should be pretty regular. But in real life, women's menstrual cycles are often not completely regular. Stress, irregular work and rest, and emotional problems can all lead to irregular menstruation. Sometimes, doctors will advise women to take contraceptive pills (short-acting contraceptive, not emergency contraceptives, which are very different). Short-acting contraceptives can regulate cycles, and some contraceptives can relieve excessive blood flow and dysmenorrhea. However, the side effects of contraceptives also need to be noted: mood fluctuations, headaches, breast pains, nausea, weight gain, and even blood clots, heart disease, and so on. So, basically, what is important to remember is：lister to the doctors’ instructions.
Abnormal uterine bleeding is another common problem people face. Its symptoms include too much or too little blood, bleeding between two cycles, bleeding after sex, and postmenopausal bleeding. Abnormal bleeding may be caused by a variety of factors and may not require special attention, or, it may be a symptom of a severe disease. Two sides of a coin. Just remember, if you are feeling extremely unwell, no matter why, see a doctor and get it treated by a professional.
Regular menstruation can also lead to iron deficiency anemi leading to fatigue, weakness, pallor, and even pica (wanting to eat play-doh, for instance). Once the symptoms of iron deficiency anemia appear, see a doctor, and they’ll probably prescribe taking pills with iron in them.
So, that was a lot of information, and a lot of diseases that most people do not ever have to worry about. Still, it’s good to know about this kind of stuff so that you can always make sure your body is good. But, there is one particular disease that is much more common and probably more useful for everyday knowledges: urinary tract infection. UTIs are easily caused because of people’s physiological structure, and menstruation is the peak of UTI infections, because the humid environment makes it all too easy for bacteria to grow. If hygiene products are not replaced in time, it can easily lead to UTIs. UTIs are often accompanied with fever, inflammation, and urinary tract pain. If it occurs, seek medical attention.
Finally, extra facts that might be useful to know:
Menstruation usually occurs after 15 years of age.
Menstruation usually occurs within 3 years after the breast begins to develop.
Blood clots often occur during menstruation and it’s not a big problem to have blood clots on the days with a large amount of menstruation, but too many blood clots during menstruation often mean that the uterus may need to be treated).
Okay, that was a lot of information. Basically, though, at the end of the day, just remember this: listen to your body, and remember that everyone’s body is different, so don’t worry until a professional tells you to.
Happy Learning!
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