Menstrual health education

There are no uniform guidelines that are universally applicable. All care methods must be based on your own actual feelings and combined with evidence-based medical evidence to choose the most suitable plan for you. There is no need to abide by a bunch of anti-human taboos.

The reason why I put this sentence at the top is because in the five or six years I have been doing gynecological outpatient consultation, I have seen too many girls trapped by various miscellaneous menstrual taboos. Last summer, I treated a little girl who was a sophomore in high school. She came to visit her aunt during military training. She heard her mother say that she should never wash her hair during menstruation. She endured it for seven days. Finally, she developed a patch of folliculitis on her scalp. It was so itchy that it made yellow water flow when she was scratched. After visiting the dermatology department, she even went to the gynecology department and asked me, "Is it true that washing your hair during menstruation will cause the disease?" In fact, there are many similar controversies, such as whether you can eat ice, whether you can exercise, and whether you can drink milk tea. Traditional Chinese medicine theory believes that raw and cold food can cause qi and blood stasis and induce dysmenorrhea. Modern evidence-based medicine believes that as long as there is no discomfort after eating, there is no need for taboos. To put it bluntly, this is essentially a matter of individual differences. When the older generation was young, they were generally undernourished and physically weak. It is true that eating cold water and ice can easily trigger painful uterine contractions. But now many girls always have iced milk tea and iced coffee. There is nothing wrong with eating a cone during menstruation. If you feel the pain and break out in a cold sweat when you touch ice, then of course don't touch it. There is no need to argue about who is right and who is wrong.

When it comes to menstrual cramps, which is the most troublesome thing for girls, it is actually not as scary as everyone thinks. First of all, we must make it clear that if you have pain since the first two years of menstruation and there is no organic disease in the examination, it is primary dysmenorrhea. Regular doses of ibuprofen are the most cost-effective solution. Don’t believe in the sayings of “you will become addicted if you take too much painkillers” or “you will get better after having children.” Just take it for two or three days a month. The dosage is small, your metabolism is fast, and you will not become dependent at all. It is much less harmful than rolling around in pain and triggering stress hormone disorders. Last month, a young girl from an Internet company came to see me for consultation. She was so painful that her face turned pale, but she still refused to take medicine, saying that she was afraid that it would not work if she took too much. I gave her an ibuprofen, and she recovered in half an hour. In the afternoon, she went back to have a project meeting as usual. Of course, some people will suffer from gastric reflux and discomfort after taking ibuprofen, so they can switch to indomethacin suppositories for anal use, or find moxibustion or warm acupuncture by a regular Chinese medicine practitioner, which is also very effective. There is no need to fall in line with Western medicine or Chinese medicine. Use whichever one makes you feel better. If you start to have dysmenorrhea later, and the pain gets worse every time, then you should be alert to secondary dysmenorrhea, which is most likely caused by endometriosis, adenomyosis and other problems. Don’t just take painkillers and find a doctor in time to diagnose the cause and provide targeted treatment.

In addition to physical pain, many people tend to ignore the emotional fluctuations during menstruation. My bestie had a joke in the past two years. She would have a huge quarrel with her boyfriend a week before coming to visit her aunt. I thought that their relationship was over. Later, after keeping a menstrual diary for three months, I discovered that every quarrel happened exactly during the luteal phase, which was actually a manifestation of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Many people attribute irritability, crying, and lack of energy during menstruation to "poor emotional management" and "hypocrisy." But in fact, these are normal physiological fluctuations caused by the decline of progesterone in the luteal phase. If it is mild, it can be relieved by taking more walks and getting a good sleep. If you have uncontrollable irritability, depression, or even affect your normal work and life for three or four months, it may be premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). See a doctor in time to prescribe some medicine or supplement with vitamin B6 to improve it. There is really no need to force yourself to "emotionally stable."

Oh, by the way, there are a few common IQ taxes that I really want to remind everyone to avoid: Don’t believe the nonsense about “menstrual detoxification”. Menstrual blood is the shed endometrium, blood and cervical mucus, and contains not even half a dime of toxins. Those who sell you menstrual detoxification pills and blood stasis removal health products may even secretly add estrogen, which will disrupt your menstruation. It is also nonsense to say that you cannot take a bath during menstruation. As long as you use a shower instead of a bath or a hot spring, the risk of reproductive tract infection can be reduced. As for whether you can have sex, there is currently no absolute prohibition in evidence-based medicine. As long as both parties are clean and you are not uncomfortable, it is perfectly fine. If you feel awkward or painful, don't force it and always put your own feelings first.

Sometimes after I tell patients this, some people ask, "What should I do if my mother insists on me drinking brown sugar water and won't let me use the air conditioner?" ”In fact, there is really nothing to worry about. You know your own body best. If you feel better after drinking brown sugar water and you feel more at ease by doing what the old man said, then there is nothing wrong with you. If you don’t like sweets and your stomach becomes bloated after drinking it, then no one will say anything wrong about you secretly drinking iced Coke. Menstrual health is never a matter of multiple-choice questions. You don’t have to be hijacked by various “musts” and “forbiddens” on the Internet. Observe your body’s reactions, which is more effective than what any expert says. If you really encounter situations where the pain is unbearable, the cycle is so disordered, and the bleeding is so heavy that you feel dizzy, don’t take it hard. Go to the gynecological department to register in time. It is more effective than drinking ten pounds of brown sugar water.