Menstrual health guidance

Prioritize your own feelings and avoid proven risky behaviors. There is no need to impose uniform taboos on the Internet, and there is no need to be overly anxious because you have not followed a certain "rule". This is the conclusion I most want to tell you after spending 6 years in a gynecology clinic and meeting thousands of girls with menstrual problems.

Last week, I met a little girl who was a sophomore in high school. She had half a sip of iced milk tea and her eyes were red. She said that her deskmate said that drinking iced milk during menstruation would cause uterine cold and infertility. She had started to have stomach pains and asked me if I would not be able to have children in the future. In fact, half of her pain was the slight stimulation of the ice, and half was the emotional stress caused by the fright.

Regarding whether you can eat ice, different medical systems do have different views. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that raw and cold food will deplete yang energy, cause qi and blood stasis, and aggravate the problems of dysmenorrhea and light menstrual flow. This statement is especially suitable for girls who are usually afraid of cold, have cold hands and feet, are prone to falling pain, and have dark blood clots. Such people are likely to feel uncomfortable when exposed to cold, so there is really no need to force it. But the view of modern Western medicine is that as long as your gastrointestinal tract tolerates it, ice will have already warmed up once it enters the stomach, and will not affect the pelvic cavity at all. Many girls who have been eating ice since childhood have no reaction at all when their aunt eats ice cream. There is no need to forcibly avoid eating ice cream. I have a patient who is from Fujian. He has been drinking iced milk tea every day since he was a child. He didn't miss the visit to his aunt, and there were no problems during the physical examination. However, he once listened to something on the Internet and forced himself to drink hot brown sugar ginger tea. Instead, he got angry and developed ulcers all over his mouth.

Oh, by the way, some people ask if you can wash your hair during menstruation. The same goes for this. Just dry it promptly after washing so as not to catch a cold. I wash my hair every day during my menstruation period and I don’t see any problems. If you have a headache and are afraid of the cold, it’s perfectly fine to avoid washing a lot in the first two days. There are no rigid rules that you must follow.

When it comes to diet, there are two particularly widespread rumors that need to be debunked. One is "menstrual detoxification". There is really no such thing. Menstrual blood is just the shed endometrium, a small amount of blood and cervical mucus, and it does not even touch the toxins. Those who sell menstrual detoxification pills and sewage tea are purely charging IQ taxes. Some people bleed more after drinking them and think they are detoxifying. In fact, unknown blood-activating ingredients are added to them, which will harm the body. There is also a saying that "eating during menstruation will not make you fat". In fact, the basal metabolism during menstruation is only 3%-5% higher than usual, which means you consume half an egg tart more calories. If you show off hot pot milk tea for three days in a row, you will gain no less weight than usual. Last month, I met a girl who ate like crazy during menstruation and gained 4 pounds in a week. She cried and said she was deceived by the claims on the Internet.

In addition to eating, the most common question people ask is whether exercise can be done during menstruation. There is no standard answer to this either. If you were in so much pain that you couldn't straighten your back in the past two or three days, or if your menstrual flow was so heavy that you would leak if you weren't paying attention, then no one would say you were lazy if you just lay down, so there is no need to force yourself to run or jump. But if you only have slight abdominal bloating and have exercise habits, taking a walk or doing gentle yoga for about ten minutes can promote blood circulation in the pelvic cavity and relieve the feeling of bloating. I have a friend who runs a marathon. As long as he doesn't feel uncomfortable during his menstrual period, he still runs 5 kilometers every day. He has been running for five or six years without any problems. On the contrary, I heard someone said before that he should not move during his menstruation. After lying down for three days, his waist became more sore. Of course, it is recommended not to do any movements that increase abdominal pressure, such as handstands, strenuous jumping, and weight-bearing squats, for three days before menstruation. Otherwise, the amount of bleeding may indeed increase. There is no need to take this risk.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that all taboos are bluffing. There are a few things that you should try to avoid no matter what your physique is. The first thing to bear the brunt is sexual intercourse during menstruation. This is clearly not recommended by both Chinese and Western medicine. The cervix is ​​open during menstruation, and intercourse can easily introduce bacteria and induce problems such as pelvic inflammatory disease and endometriosis. There is really no need to save time and leave health risks. There is also the need to change sanitary napkins frequently, no matter how large or small, but no more than 4 hours at most. The hot and humid environment is too easy to breed anaerobic bacteria. I have seen many girls who change sanitary napkins every half a day because they are busy with work. As a result, they get vulvitis and are so itchy that they can't sit still. Also, try not to use scented sanitary napkins or private parts lotions. On the contrary, they will destroy the weak acid environment in the private parts and easily induce inflammation. Just rinse the vulva with warm water every day. Do not irrigate the vagina.

Speaking of discomfort, the most common question asked is what to do about dysmenorrhea. Here we also give you different choices. I don’t say which one is better, just whatever suits you. If you don’t have contraindications such as gastric ulcers or asthma, the fastest way is to take ibuprofen. It is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug and has no addictive properties. Take it 1-2 hours in advance. The analgesic effect can last for 6-8 hours. If you only take it for two or three days a month, you will not be dependent at all, and it will not hurt your stomach. Don’t be frightened by the saying that you are addicted to painkillers. If you don’t want to take western medicine, applying a hot water bag to your stomach, moxibustion on the Guanyuan point, and drinking warm brown sugar ginger tea are also useful. Many girls told me that after drinking it, they will feel warm and the pain will be much less severe. But be careful, if you didn’t have dysmenorrhea before, and suddenly the pain starts to get worse, or if painkillers don’t work, don’t force yourself to do it, go for a B-ultrasound as soon as possible to rule out problems such as endometriosis and adenomyosis, and don’t delay treatment.

In fact, menstruation is a normal physiological cycle for women. There is no need to treat it as a scourge, and there is no need to be bound by all kinds of taboos. Your own body feelings are more accurate than any online standards. If you feel uncomfortable after drinking ice, don't drink it. If you feel uncomfortable after lying down for a long time, move around. Whatever makes you feel better is really better than anything else.