Learn about your menstruation: what your period can tell you about your health
Today we are going to tear down a great taboo. Many women still find it uncomfortable to observe their own menstruation. And there are no reasons for it. Contrary to what it may seem, do it It helps you to better understand your cycles, to detect changes and to know your evolution as a woman.
This reluctance and rejection of everything related to menstruation is the result of hundreds of years in which it has been socially identified as something bad or that had to be hidden.
For years the mere mention of menstruation has been avoided. In fact, throughout history it has been given different names so as not to mention it directly. In Anglo-Saxon countries it came to be called "the curse" (the curse).
There are also many legends in popular wisdom behind menstruation, which luckily we are eliminating. They have said about her, since you couldn't have sexual intercourse during those days, until you cut the mayonnaise if you do it while you are with your period ...
Luckily they are being heard less and less, but obviously those superstitions have not helped us to normalize menstruation.
That is why in this article we are going to help you to permanently eliminate all those mental barriers that prevent you from seeing how healthy and natural your menstruation is and how its observation helps you to know your body and to detect possible pathologies prematurely.
Speaking out about menstruation
Whether you call it menstruation, period or period, it is a natural process in all healthy sexually mature women and that is repeated cyclically every 28 days on average.
The complete cycle consists of preparing the woman's body for pregnancy, and it occurs more or less every month.
It consists of 4 phases: menstruation, the follicular phase before the release of the Ovum, the ovulatory phase and the luteal phase in which the uterus prepares to receive the fertilized egg. If fertilization does not occur, it is when bleeding or menstruation appears.
The whole process is regulated by the hormonal system, which is why it plays an important role in the cycle.
This is all. There is no more mystery behind menstruation. Although each woman experiences it differently and feels more or less discomfort while her menstruation lasts, it is something natural and not to be hidden or to be ashamed of.
Benefits of observing menstruation
As already mentioned at the beginning of the article, it is necessary to break down those mental barriers or possible rejections to menstruation and normalize the fact that observing it is natural and very beneficial.
As you well know, every woman is different.
Therefore, only you are able to know what it is the usual length of your cycles. If this varies or disappears during 3 consecutive cycles, you would have to go to the gynecologist because behind it could be hormonal imbalances, reproductive problems, alterations caused by some treatment, etc.
In addition, the color also gives a clue to how your body is doing. El menstruation color it is bright red. And if not, it may be the warning of a pathology that a specialist should assess.
If the blood has a pinkish color, common in the first periods of adolescents, it may be because you are taking contraceptives. However, darker or almost black tones could be remnants of previous cycles or irregularity.
Un increased or decreased menstrual flow It is common as your age increases, or after pregnancies. Also during the period itself: the first days you may only bleed a little and have a day or two of greater flow.
And finally, the texture of the flow. Not everything is blood, small clots are also expelled. Which are basically the tissues that covered the uterus when it was ready to receive the fertilized egg.
Only you can know what your menstruation is like and what is "normal" in your body. Therefore, if you observe it to know it well, you will be the first to detect all these changes and go if necessary to a gynecological center for a diagnosis.
What to look for: warning signs that menstruation sends us
Some of the most common pathologies that can be detected by observing our own flow are the following:
- Amenorrhea: or total absence of menstruation. As long as it is not associated with pregnancy, lack of bleeding is not a good symptom. The causes can be hormonal, but also caused by stress or anxiety.
- Menorrhagia: which is the increase in menstrual flow or also the duration. If it is older than seven days or the blood loss exceeds 80ml. The cause may be due to an ovulation problem.
- Hypomenorrhea: which is just the opposite, a decrease in menstrual flow. Possibly its origin is a hormonal alteration.
- Oligomenorrhea: when the interval between one menstruation and another exceeds 35 days.
- Polymenorrhea - the opposite of the above. That the interval between two rules is less than 21 days.
Does this mean that if at some point in my fertile life something of the aforementioned happens to me, I have to run to the gynecologist? Absolutely.
Everything that happens to us in our day to day affects us physically. Tiredness, stress situations or even taking some medications cause our hormonal system to vary.
In a timely manner, it is not worrisome. It happens to all of us.
If it remains in time for a few cycles, consult a specialist and have a review.
The important thing is that you pay attention to it. That you dedicate a few seconds a day while your period lasts and know what your menstruation is like. In this way, when you go to the rperiodic gynecology check-ups, you will be able to inform the specialist in detail if there were changes.
Depending on the intimate hygiene products you use, it will be easier for you to observe how your menstruation is.
If you use tampons to avoid losses, it will be very difficult to know the amount of flow you have and the color of the blood. But there are alternatives that will help you with this work. Such as sanitary napkins or the menstrual cup. Thanks to them you will see perfectly even the color of the fabrics.
Maybe until now you have not considered how important it is to learn about your own menstruation, and everything that can help you to know that everything is going well.
We encourage you, if you are not doing it already, to keep a record, with which you will be able to know exactly what is the duration of your menstrual cycle and when will be your days of greatest bleeding, and in which you may want to take special care of yourself.
Take advantage of a small notebook, your personal agenda or if you are more of a technology, look for a specific app to record your data.
Also, remember, your period shouldn't hurt. It can be a hassle, but if there is pain, You have to find the cause of this and improve general health, hormonal and go in search of a healthy and painless menstrual cycle.
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