What causes menstruation? How does the menstrual pain go?
Menstrual pains, also known as menstrual cramps, are the most important aspects of menstruation in daily life. More than half of women experience these pains during menstruation. Pain can sometimes be mild and sometimes severe. Severe menstrual pain is called dysmenorrhea in medical language.
What causes menstruation?
Bleeding, usually called menstruation, occurs when the uterine wall, normally prepared for infant development, is removed by the body as a result of lack of fertilization. The uterus, the uterus, is actually a muscle tissue. Here, this muscle tissue begins to contract to help throw the soft wall surrounding the inner side. The hormone prostaglandin triggers these contractions of the uterus. Prostoglandin reaches high levels in the blood one to two days before the start of menstruation and begins to decrease after the first two days of menstruation. The higher the prostaglandin level, the more severe the menstrual cramps are. This is why menstrual pains are felt at the very beginning of menstruation. Menstrual pains felt due to the menstrual cycle are called primary dysmenorrhea. In addition, menstrual pains felt due to the following medical conditions are called secondary dysmenorrhea:
Cervical stenosis: In some women, the opening of the cervix is small enough to prevent menstrual flow. This small opening may cause increased pressure in the uterus, causing more severe pain.
Endometriosis: It is called the development of the tissue covering the uterus from the uterus to the fallopian tubes, ovaries or other tissues covering the pelvis. It can cause chocolate cysts, painful menstruation and pain during sexual intercourse.
Uterine fibroids: Uterine fibroids consisting of muscle and fibrosis tissue in the uterine wall are tumors that are not cancerous but can be stiff and large. Those carrying uterine fibroids may feel more severe pain during menstruation.
Adenomyosis: In this condition, the tissue covering the uterus begins to grow towards the muscle walls of the uterus.
Pelvic inflammatory disease: This infection of the female reproductive organs is usually caused by sexually transmitted bacteria.
What are the symptoms of menstrual pain?
Menstrual cramps and other symptoms that can be observed together in these cramps are as follows:
Pain in the lower abdomen.
This pain, which can begin 1 to 3 days before the menstrual period, reaches its peak 24 hours after the start of menstruation and decreases within 2 to 3 days.
A constant pain (also felt in the groin or inner legs) with a feeling of weight.
Pain that can spread to the waist and cause numbness.
Some women also show the following symptoms:
Nausea,
Soft defecation,
Headache,
Dizziness.
Who is at risk of more severe menstruation?
The risk of menstrual cramps may be more severe if:
Those under 30,
Those who enter puberty early, 11 years or younger,
Those with heavy bleeding during menstruation,
Irregular menstruation,
Family history of menstrual pain,
Smokers.
Menstrual cramps do not cause other medical complications, but may affect school, work and social activities. However, some conditions associated with menstrual cramps may have complications. For example, endometriosis can cause fertility problems. Pelvic inflammatory disease may increase the risk of a fertilized egg being implanted outside the uterus (ectopic pregnancy).
When should you see a doctor due to menstrual pain?
If menstrual cramps occur intensely every month, affect your daily life, if your symptoms gradually worsen, or if you do not experience severe menstrual cramps after 25 years of age, you should immediately consult a specialist.
What tests can the physician ask for in severe menstrual pains?
Your doctor may require a number of tests to eliminate the possibility of another underlying medical condition for very severe and increasing pain.
Ultrasound: This test uses sound waves to generate an image of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries.
Other imaging tests: CT scan or MRI scan provide more detail than ultrasound and can help your doctor diagnose the underlying conditions. CT combines X-ray images taken from many angles to produce cross-sectional images of bones, organs and other soft tissues in your body. MR uses radio waves and a strong magnetic field to produce detailed images of internal structures. Both tests are painless.
Laparoscopy: Although usually not necessary to diagnose menstrual cramps, laparoscopy can help identify an underlying condition such as endometriosis, adhesions, fibroids, ovarian cysts, and ectopic pregnancy.
What's good for menstruation?
Nasıl How does menstruation go? ”And" What is good for menstruation? ” These questions are especially the answers of young girls who are beginning to menstruate. Lifestyle changes can be made with medications or supplements to relieve menstrual pain.
What medications are used for menstrual pain?
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: Drugs containing the active substances ibuprofen or naproxen both suppress prostoglandin levels and help relieve the feeling of pain. It can be used in the dose recommended by the doctor from the first day of menstruation. However, if you are susceptible to any of the substances in the medicines or have any other medical condition that interferes with these medicines, you should consult your doctor.
Contraceptives (Oral contraceptives): Oral contraceptives contain hormones that prevent ovulation and reduce the severity of menstrual cramps. These hormones may also be administered in the form of injections, skin patches, an implant placed under the skin of the arm, or a flexible ring placed in the vagina. In some cases, intrauterine devices may also be recommended.
What are the lifestyle changes that are good for menstruation and the treatments that can be applied at home?
"What's good for menstruation?" Those who seek the answer to the question can alleviate their pain with various lifestyle changes. In addition to rest, the best practices for menstrual pain are:
Heat treatment: Filling the tub with hot water and entering it or putting a hot water bag on the underside of your abdomen can alleviate menstrual cramps. However, you may also benefit from some heat patches sold for menstrual pain.
Regular exercise: Regular exercise for at least half an hour, 3 days a week, helps to release a substance called beta-endorphin. This substance is the body's natural painkiller. In addition, exercise may lead to more rapid destruction of prostoglandins.
Dietary supplements: Some studies have shown that vitamin E, Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B-1 (thiamine), vitamin B-6 and magnesium reduce menstrual cramps.
Stress reduction: You may have observed that menstrual cramps and pain are more severe when you are under psychological stress. In such cases, you can benefit from meditation and yoga.
What are the alternative medicine methods that reduce menstrual pains?
While there is not enough scientific work on most alternative therapies to treat menstrual cramps, these methods may help some people. All these methods must be consulted with the doctor's advice.
Acupuncture: Acupuncture is an alternative medicine method that treats various ailments by inserting very fine needles into strategic points in your body. Some studies show that acupuncture helps relieve menstrual cramps.
Subcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS): A TENS device is attached to the skin using adhesive patches containing electrodes. The electrodes provide various levels of electrical current to stimulate the nerves. TENS raises the threshold of pain signals and stimulates the release of the body's natural painkillers (endorphins). In the studies, TENS was found to be more effective than placebo in relieving menstrual cramping pain.
Herbal remedies: Some herbal products, such as picnogenol, fennel, evening primrose oil, can reduce menstrual cramps.
Acupressure (acupuncture): Like acupuncture, acupressure stimulates certain points on the body, but it does so by applying gentle pressure on the skin instead of needles. Although research on acupressure and menstrual cramps is limited, acupuncture has been shown to be more effective than placebo in relieving menstrual pains.
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