Menstrual health education

The core principle of menstrual health has never been about adhering to a bunch of “must/can’t” standards; Respect individual differences, put your own comfort first, avoid health risks that are clearly scientifically based, and refuse to be kidnapped by a single "menstrual norm"。

Not long ago, when I was helping out at a community gynecological clinic, I met a little girl who had just entered high school and stood in front of me with half a cup of iced milk tea in her hands. Her face turned pale and she said she secretly took a sip of ice. Her roommate said, "If you touch ice during your period, you will definitely get cold and infertile." She was so nervous that she suffered from stomachache for three days, and she didn't even dare to go to the school running exercises. In fact, different medical systems do have different conclusions about whether you can eat ice during menstruation: There is currently no evidence from western medicine evidence-based medical research that consuming low-temperature food during menstruation will directly cause dysmenorrhea, gynecological diseases or infertility. After low-temperature food enters the digestive tract, it will gradually warm to body temperature and will not directly "freeze the uterus". However, there are indeed some sensitive people. Eating ice will stimulate vasoconstriction and aggravate the dysmenorrhea reaction caused by elevated prostaglandins. ； Traditional Chinese medicine believes that qi and blood flow into the uterus during menstruation, and eating cold food will cause cold coagulation and blood stasis, aggravating stasis-type dysmenorrhea and blood clots during menstruation. In fact, to put it bluntly, there is no absolute guarantee. If you eat ice, nothing will happen. What will happen if you drink a cup of iced milk tea? If it hurts after eating it, then don't touch it. There is no need to impose other people's standards.

In fact, it’s not just about drinking ice. There are so many prohibitions on menstruation on the Internet right now, such as not washing your hair, not taking a bath, not exercising, not drinking coffee. Many people are comparing them one by one and panicking if they cross the line even slightly. Last month, a 28-year-old Internet operator came for consultation. She said that she often had to go out to work during her menstrual period. When her colleagues saw her, they advised her to "don't risk your life, as you will get sick when you get old." She didn't feel uncomfortable even when she ran away, but she was told that she was upset. I told her that there is really no need to feel guilty. If your back is so sore that you can't stand up, then it is definitely okay to lie down and rest. However, if you only have slight abdominal distension, slow walking, low-intensity yoga or even daily commuting can promote blood circulation in the pelvis and relieve the swelling sensation caused by congestion. If you lie still all the time, the blood stasis may make the pain worse. Oh, by the way, many people ask whether they can drink coffee during menstruation. The logic is the same. If you drink it every day, and you don’t feel flustered or have aggravated menstrual cramps during menstruation, then drink it as usual. If you feel uncomfortable after drinking it, stop. There is no unified requirement.

Of course, this does not mean that there are no taboos during menstruation. There are some things that are clearly risky and are not recommended regardless of the school. For example, having sex during menstruation has clear dangers: the cervix is ​​open during menstruation, and the resistance of the reproductive tract is weaker than usual. Sexual intercourse can easily bring in bacteria from the outside, induce pelvic inflammatory disease, endometritis, and may also increase the risk of endometriosis. Regardless of whether you feel uncomfortable or not, try to avoid this. There is also the replacement of sanitary products. No matter how large or small the quantity of sanitary napkins is, it is best not to change it more than every 4 hours, and tampons should not be changed more than 8 hours at most. Otherwise, it is easy for bacteria to breed and induce vulvar inflammation or even infection. This is a real risk, so don’t be lazy.

I have also seen a lot of girls kidnapped by "standard menstruation" and asked, "Is my 32-day cycle abnormal?" and "Is there something wrong with the fact that it takes me 7 days to get clean every time?" Some people even take conditioning drugs indiscriminately in order to adjust the cycle to the legendary "28-day standard value." To put it bluntly, your menstruation is like your own little alarm clock. Other people’s alarm clocks are set to ring at 7 o’clock, and yours are set to ring at 7:30. As long as it rings on time every time, there is nothing wrong with it. There is no need to force it to synchronize with others. The clinical normal range is very wide: the cycle is 21-35 days, each time lasts 2-8 days, and the menstrual volume is 5-80ml. As long as your own pattern is within this range, even if it happens every 35 days and every 7 days, it is completely normal. Oh, by the way, don’t believe that “low menstrual flow means bad detoxification”. There is no such thing as “menstrual detoxification”. Menstrual blood is a mixture of shed endometrium, a small amount of blood and cervical mucus. It has nothing to do with “toxicity”. As long as the amount of the entire menstrual period can soak through half a daily sanitary napkin, it is not considered a small amount. There is no need to blindly consume so-called “detoxification products”.

Another controversial point is whether to drink brown sugar water during menstruation. Western medicine believes that brown sugar water is essentially sucrose plus water. It can at most replenish energy and has no effect on primary dysmenorrhea caused by elevated prostaglandins. If you feel comfortable after drinking it, then drink it. If you are prone to hyperacidity during menstruation, and drinking something sweet will cause acid reflux, there is no need to drink it forcefully. ； Traditional Chinese medicine believes that brown sugar is warm in nature and has the effect of warming and unblocking the meridians. It can indeed relieve dysmenorrhea and cold lower abdomen due to deficiency and cold type. Again, if it works for you, drink it, and if it doesn’t, stop drinking it. No one stipulates that you must drink brown sugar water during menstruation.

Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to mention about painkillers. Many people say, "You should not take painkillers for dysmenorrhea, as it will cause dependence and harm the body." This is really a big misunderstanding. Commonly used non-steroidal painkillers such as ibuprofen are not addictive as long as they are taken according to the dosage instructions. The side effects are at most occasional stomach discomfort, which can be avoided by taking them after meals. On the contrary, dysmenorrhea is so painful that it makes you vomit, and it is so painful that you can't go to work and go to school normally, but you still have to carry it, which really affects the quality of life. Of course, if your dysmenorrhea becomes more and more severe and cannot be suppressed by taking painkillers, then don’t bear it. Go to the hospital in time to check whether there are pathological problems such as endometriosis and adenomyosis. Don’t take painkillers blindly and delay treatment.

I've been doing women's health science for almost three years, and I've seen too many girls who are so anxious about the so-called "menstrual standards". Some of them clearly had nothing to do with drinking ice, but they forced themselves to drink brown sugar water that was so hot that it scalded their mouths, and they got ulcers.； Some suffer from menstrual cramps so bad that they break into cold sweats and refuse to take painkillers, saying that taking them will affect their future pregnancy. In fact, it is really not necessary. Your body is more honest than all popular science articles. If you feel comfortable, try it. If you feel uncomfortable, stop. Don’t touch anything that is clearly harmful. The rest will be as happy as you want. This is what menstrual health education should tell everyone.