As your period approaches, you run to the pharmacy for a supply of painkillers. You experience the same nightmare every month. Unnecessarily. You don't have to suffer at all! Find out about the causes of painful periods and find out when to go to the doctor with a problem.

What ArePainful Periods ? Most women experience a slight stomach ache in the first days of their period. But there are those that can cut their menstrual times out of life becausestabbing pain in the lower abdomenprevents them from carrying out their normal daily activities.

Painful menstruation - uterine contractions

The uterus is a muscle - it can contract and relax. Thanks to this, it can get rid of the unnecessary mucosa in which the egg has not nested every month. Most contractions are gentle, but severe pain occurs as they increase in intensity or frequency. The biological mechanism is simple. If a muscle contracts too much or when the contractions occur quickly, one after the other, too little blood and oxygen flows into the blood vessels. Too strong or too frequent contractions of the uterus may be caused by structural defects (acquired or congenital) in this organ or an excess of certain hormones. Painful menstruation (dysmenorrhea) is considered a disease. But only when ailments prevent a woman from functioning normally, they cause absences from school or work and require pharmacological treatment. Doctors divide painful menstruation into primary and secondary depending on the causes that cause it.

Painful menstruation - primary pains

They are associated with the overproduction of prostaglandins that cause uterine contractions. Overproduction is triggered by the increasing concentration of progesterone during the ovulatory cycle. The pains appear after several years of regular menstruation, when the girl's body is fully mature. This is a sign that the cycles are ovulating, which means that you can become pregnant. Pain is strongest before or during the first hours of bleeding. Nausea and vomiting may appear, sometimes diarrhea or headache and dizziness. The pain is usually less on the second day of your period. The spark that starts the cycle of painful periods can be stress (it also affects the prostaglandin levels) - problems at home, unhappylove. The ailment often affects ambitious girls who want to perform their tasks to perfection.

Important

What makes symptoms worse?

  • Use of poorly sized tampons.
  • Use of contraceptive intrauterine devices.
  • Vaginal thrush and urinary tract infections.
  • Spine curvature and lack of movement.
  • Stress that causes your back and pelvic muscles to contract.

Painful menstruation - secondary pains

The most common cause is extra- and intrauterine endometriosis. It may also be caused by repeated inflammation of the appendages, submucosal fibroids, narrowing of the cervical canal (e.g. after procedures) or uterine malformations. Painful menstruation often occurs in women with a retroverted uterus. Ectopic endometriosis causes pain that starts a few days before menstruation and usually subsides after the period begins. Soreness can also occur with intercourse. Uterine malformations that provoke severe pains during the period include, for example, the vestigial horn with an intact cavity, from which menstrual blood flows into the peritoneal cavity. Then the pains accompany the first bleeding in my life. The final diagnosis of the causes of pain is possible after ultrasound and specialist gynecological examinations.

Don't do that
  • Avoid deficiency of vitamin B6 (50-100 mg daily), which protects against depression and regresses the hormonal balance.
  • Avoid caffeine and s alt from the middle of the cycle, as they retain water in the body.
  • Do not eat sweets or fatty cheeses.
  • Replace meat with fish, because the omega-3 acid contained in them helps in the fight against period pains.
  • Evening primrose oil, which can be taken in capsules (the effects can be expected after a year of regressive treatment), will perform the same function.

Painful menstruation: help from the pharmacy

Recommended are, among others paracetamol, ibuprofen and naproxen administered rectally - then the drug works faster and the gastric and duodenal mucosa are spared. One tablet of aspirin a day also helps. Start taking this medicine one week before your expected period and stop on day 1-2. However, the most effective method is oral contraception (birth control pills). If the symptoms occur only in the ovulation cycles, blocking ovulation should eliminate them. In addition, with longer hormonal treatment, the weight of the exfoliating uterine membrane is much smaller, so contractions are weaker. There is no concern that treating ailments with hormonal contraception will negatively affect the development of a young woman. Painfulmenstruation confirms ovulation, and ovulation proves that the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovary system is fully mature.

Painful periods: surgery is sometimes necessary

Surgical treatment is used only in exceptional circumstances. Young women who are not helped by medication may be offered cervical dilation. This treatment may alleviate the discomfort, but usually only for a short time. In extreme cases, you can cut the sacro-uterine ligaments or the so-called pre-sacral neurectomy. Removal of the uterus is not an option in young women. However, such surgery may be the procedure of choice for older women with intrauterine endometriosis that cannot be well controlled by known methods.

You must do it
  • Eat dairy products, because a diet rich in calcium (1,200 mg per day) relieves pain.
  • A large slice of white cheese, yogurt, buttermilk or kefir will strengthen the delicate capillaries that are quite fragile in the uterus. Calcium helps blood clot and reduces the amount of muscle cramps.
  • Drink 2-3 liters of fluid a day - it also tones the tissues.
  • Herbs help in treating painful periods. Pour a glass of boiling water over 1 teaspoon of valerian, viburnum or calendula. Set aside for a few minutes, covered. Drink 3-4 times a day.
  • As for natural methods, women praise the effects of aromatic oils, such as marjoram and lavender, which they use to massage their belly.

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Category:

Female diseases