What do these days mean for women? Information about menstruation, menstruation or menstruation

Menstruation, menstrual cycles or a woman's period.

Almost every moon month mature woman faces critical days or menstrual cycle, as it is commonly called. This is how nature prepares a woman to become a mother. Whether it is good or bad, whether it is convenient or not, is pointless to discuss, it exists and cannot be changed. But to know in more detail what and how happens to a woman during menstruation, makes sense, forewarned is forearmed.

Normal female cycle (aka normal) lasts 28 days This is, in fact, a lunar month, which is why women's days are also called lunar days.

Average European girl who experiences menstruation for the first time at 11-12 years old, but menstruation can be early (from 9-10 years old) or late (up to 19-20 years old, although the beginning of the menstrual cycle at this age can be considered a deviation). The onset of menstruation is influenced by climate, the hotter it is, the earlier the girl “ripes”; the colder it is, the women's days come later.

Lifestyle and nutrition also influence the onset of menstruation, their regularity and stability. If the nutrition is poor and the girl’s lifestyle is harmful (low mobility, poor environment, etc.), then your menstrual cycle may be unstable(not every month), this can lead to the complete disappearance of menstruation and infertility.

Menstruation does not become regular immediately, after the first time and until the next critical days, several months may pass, but after six months or a year everything settles down and menstruation becomes regular and cyclical. Menstruation with an interval of 28 days can be considered ideal, but only 13-14% of women have such women's days. Normal menstrual cycles are considered to be 20 to 35 days long.. The duration of menstruation also varies from woman to woman and can range from 2 to 7 days.

During menstruation, not only menstrual blood is released from the vagina, but it also happens hormonal changes in a woman’s body, in particular, the content of endorphin (the hormone of joy) decreases, which can lead to to a deterioration in a girl’s mood before and during menstruation , emotional swings, depression and even psychosis.

The normal composition of menstrual discharge is as follows: menstrual blood, secretion from the vaginal glands, endometrium (dead cell tissue of the vagina) and mucous secretion from the cervical glands. On average, the volume of menstrual fluid is 30-40 ml; the norm can be considered the volume of menstruation in the range from 15 to 75 ml. If volume deviations are less than 10-15 ml or more than 75-80 ml, this may be a sign of a disease. The normal color of menstrual discharge is considered red-brown, slightly darker than venous blood.

For women and girls During menstruation, it is extremely important to maintain personal hygiene(intimate hygiene). During this period, a woman’s body is weakened and more susceptible to various infectious diseases. To protect yourself as much as possible on “days of pain”, you need to take a daily shower and wash yourself several times a day.

During menstruation, women use sanitary pads, tampons or menstrual cups. Now, more and more Menstrual cups are gaining popularity, because they are reusable and can last 5-10 years. Menstrual cup does not cause allergies and allows you to do a lot of things during menstruation that a girl could not even imagine before when women’s days arrived, for example, swim in the pool, go to the sauna, wear white thin underwear, etc.

What is more convenient to use: sanitary pads, tampons or menstrual cups? You can read about this in our comparative review personal intimate hygiene products.

Menstruation or menstruation is the period of the menstrual cycle in girls and women of childbearing age during which the endometrium (the upper layer of the mucous membrane) of the uterus is shed.

What happens in the body?

In the last days of the menstrual cycle (before the onset of menstruation), the endometrium is characterized by increased elasticity, as it prepares to receive a fertilized egg into the uterus.

If pregnancy does not occur, the hormonal levels in the woman’s body change, which leads to a deterioration in the blood supply to the upper layer of the uterine mucosa, it stratifies and is gradually rejected. Along with it, blood that has accumulated due to the rupture of small blood vessels also comes out of the vagina - menstruation occurs.

From the second day of menstruation, simultaneously with the rejection of the upper layer, the endometrium begins to recover and is renewed. This process is completed on days 5-7 of the cycle. Next, the mucous layer begins to thicken and again prepares for the possible conception of a child.

At the same time, in the first half of the menstrual cycle, the egg matures in the ovaries. Around the middle of the cycle, a woman ovulates: a mature egg leaves the ovary and enters the fallopian tube. If conception occurs at this time, pregnancy occurs; if not, the endometrium of the uterus is rejected again and the whole process begins all over again.

What does the discharge consist of?

Menstruation consists of blood, particles of mucous membrane and vaginal discharge and has a specific odor. Normally, their color can vary from red to dark brown, sometimes with clots. The volume of blood loss during menstruation, on average, for the entire period is about 250 ml (about a glass), and from 20 to 50 ml per day.

Throughout life, the volume of secretions may change. For example, young girls may have heavier periods than older women. However, a sharp change in their color, volume or duration should alert you at any age.

If bleeding from the vagina is very heavy, prolonged (more than 7 days), there are a large number of clots in the discharge, or, conversely, they suddenly become very scarce, and also if the blood during the entire menstruation is only scarlet in color - this is a serious reason for an unscheduled visit to gynecologist.

How long do they last?

The menstrual cycle is a period that is counted from the first day of menstruation to the first day of the next. On average, for girls and women it is 28 days. However, for some, the number of days of the cycle may differ: a variant of the norm is considered if it lasts from 21 to 35 days.

As you can guess from the name, menstruation occurs only once a month. But if the menstrual cycle is short, they may come twice, and if it is very long (35 days), menstruation may not occur every month.

Periodic menstrual bleeding lasts from 3 to 7 days.

The absence of menstruation in women of childbearing age may indicate:

• serious illness
• hormonal changes,
• but most often - about the onset of pregnancy.

If your periods suddenly stop, you should urgently go to a gynecologist to find out the reason.

At the age of about 55, menopause occurs - the last menstruation, after which periodic bleeding in a woman stops. Menopause can occur at any age from 40 to 60 years.

At what age do teenagers get their periods?

When should your first period appear? It is impossible to give an exact age; it depends on the individual characteristics of the body. Usually, the first menstruation begins between the ages of 11 and 14 years, but there are cases when it occurs very early - at 8, or, on the contrary, late - at 16 years.

Most often, a girl's first period comes around the same time as her mother's. However, the arrival of menstruation too early or late in adolescents often indicates hormonal disorders, so in this case it is highly advisable for a young girl to visit a gynecologist.

Menstruation symptoms

What symptoms may indicate your period is approaching? Everyone is different. Some people do not feel any changes in their well-being at all, and only learn about the onset of menstruation when it occurs. However, most of the fair sex still experience a number of characteristic symptoms.

Most often in girls before menstruation:

• breasts swell,
• the lower abdomen begins to hurt,
• they become irritable and hot-tempered.

These are symptoms of the so-called premenstrual syndrome (PMS), which makes itself felt several days (from 2 to 14) before the onset of menstrual bleeding. According to statistics, at least 45% of women experience it.

In addition to the symptoms listed above, the following may also appear during PMS:

• feeling of anxiety, melancholy,
• irritability,
• aggression or depression
• heartache,
• panic attacks,
• frequent urination,
• heaviness in the lower body,
• some even experience bouts of vomiting and a slight increase in body temperature.

However, if such manifestations are so strong that they interfere with concentration at work, or are accompanied by fever and severe pain, we recommend that you bring them to the attention of your doctor.

What should you not do during your period?

Menstruation is not a disease. On the contrary, this is a sign that the girl’s health is fine and she can give birth and carry a child if she wishes. However, this does not mean that you do not need to take care of your health at this time.

During menstruation, it is very important to observe a number of restrictions so as not to harm your body and not increase bleeding.

Experience physical activity

On critical days, it is highly advisable to limit physical activity, and this applies to even the most notorious sports fans. Do not lift weights, run, or do strenuous physical work.

Why? Because all these actions increase blood flow to the pelvic organs and aggravate bleeding from the vagina. Because of this, the hemoglobin level may drop significantly, causing a feeling of weakness, drowsiness, and fatigue.

By the way, this is why many schools allow you not to go to physical education class when girls are menstruating.

Drink alcoholic drinks

Alcohol is harmful in itself, so you should avoid it on other days as well. But during menstruation, alcohol is also prohibited because under its influence the walls of blood vessels dilate, which again can lead to more heavy bleeding.

Have a sex life

Lovers should wait a few days to protect the body from pathogenic organisms. During menstruation, the uterine and vaginal mucosa becomes very vulnerable, and the risk of contracting an infection increases several times.

In addition, sex is also physical activity, which is contraindicated during this period. And there may not be any pleasure, since it will be difficult for a woman to relax due to the discharge and special smell.

Take a hot bath, go to the sauna, swim in open water

During menstruation, girls need to take better care of themselves and regularly wash themselves with warm water to avoid the appearance of an unpleasant odor. You should not take a hot bath, much less visit a sauna. There are cases when, after such visits, women began bleeding so heavily that it was difficult to stop.

Also, during menstrual bleeding, you should not swim in pools and especially open water, as the risk of pathogenic bacteria entering the vagina and uterus increases. Unfortunately, even the use of tampons will not help provide the necessary protection.

Plan operations

Doctors warn that during menstruation it is impossible to plan operations, even such seemingly insignificant ones as tooth extraction, since during these days women’s blood clotting worsens.

Ignoring this prohibition can lead to complications: large-scale, difficult-to-stop bleeding and large blood losses.

Take anticoagulants

For the same reasons, during the period when menstruation occurs, you should not take aspirin, ascorbic acid and other anticoagulants. They thin the blood and prevent it from clotting, so they can cause heavy bleeding.

Follow a strict diet

On the days of menstruation, you should not adhere to strict dietary restrictions, much less starve or sit on liquid or mono diets. The girl must eat well so that the body is not depleted due to simultaneous blood loss and malnutrition.

The result of dieting during menstruation can be a serious deterioration in health and fainting.

If a girl takes care of herself, eats right and does not overwork, then her critical days will pass without any negative consequences.

Video: what is menstruation and why is it needed?

The onset of menstruation is an important event in a girl’s life. By the beginning of the first critical days, the child must be mentally prepared. Many modern girls who know how to use the Internet, long before the onset of menstruation, know what this physiological process is. However, this does not free mothers from the need to tell their daughters about what menstruation is, when girls' periods begin, how they proceed and what to watch out for.

Let's discuss all the important questions: what signs can you use to guess that menstruation is about to begin, how to maintain hygiene these days, and whether you need to visit a gynecologist.

When do the first critical days occur?

A few decades ago, girls began menstruating at almost 18 years of age. Nowadays puberty comes earlier. The occurrence of the first menstruation at 11–16 years of age is considered normal. For some girls, their periods come earlier, and for some, later.

This depends on several factors:

• diseases that were suffered in childhood;
• heredity;
• nutrition;
• living conditions;
• physical development.

In addition, if the grandmother and mother started their periods early, then the child will most likely do the same. If a girl is ahead of her peers in physical development, then her period will come earlier. Conversely, if the baby grows up weak and often gets sick, then she will probably lag behind in puberty. Menstruation will occur later due to poor nutrition, deficiency of vitamins and nutrients necessary for the growth and development of a young body.

There are cases where girls' first periods begin at 8–9 years old. Early sexual development can be caused by hormonal imbalance and heavy physical exertion. If menstruation has not begun by the age of 17, then this is a reason to visit a gynecologist. The reason for delayed sexual development may be insufficient functioning of the ovaries, emotional stress, nervous overload, problems with hormonal metabolism, disorders arising from the pituitary gland, grueling sports training, unfavorable environmental conditions, and dieting.

Signs preceding the first menstruation

Any mother who monitors the condition and health of her daughter can notice the signs that precede the onset of the first menstruation. It is from this moment that we need to begin preparing the child for a new period of life. About a couple of years before the onset of menstruation, a girl’s figure changes (breasts enlarge, hips become wider). Hair begins to grow under the arms and on the pubic area. In addition, girls' periods are preceded by acne on the face and back.

A few months before the first critical days girls notice traces of unusual discharge on their underwear. They may be transparent, yellowish or whitish without an unpleasant odor. All this is normal and does not indicate any disease. If you experience symptoms such as itching in an intimate place, a strange smell inherent in the discharge, then you should visit a specialist.

A few days before the start of menstruation A girl may exhibit signs of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), which occur in adult women:

• frequent mood swings, tearfulness;
• apathetic or aggressive state;
• headaches that occur for no reason;
• nagging pain localized in the lower abdomen.

How is the first menstruation, and how to prepare the child?

The first signs of menstruation in girls - bloody issues . They can be moderate or very scanty. During the first menstruation, about 50–150 ml of blood leaves the body (depending on the individual characteristics of the girl and hereditary factors). On the very first day, a small amount of menstrual blood is lost. The most abundant discharge is observed on the second day. Then their volume gradually decreases. The duration of menstruation can range from 3 to 7 days.

The first time a girl's period may be accompanied by weakness, discomfort in the lower abdomen . They can also be observed during the next menstruation. These symptoms occur in most adult women, so there is no need to worry about them.

Menstruation has a characteristic smell. It is explained by the fact that during menstruation the mucous glands of the vulva actively function, producing secretions.

The first spotting and mild nagging pain can frighten the child. The mother’s task is to explain to her girl that menstruation is a normal physiological process that occurs in the body of every girl and adult woman. The conversation should be friendly, not didactic.

The mother should tell her daughter:

1. About the menstrual cycle. Critical days occur every month. It is imperative to say how long girls' periods last. It should also be noted that the average duration of the menstrual cycle is 28 days, but during the first two years it may fluctuate.
2. The need to follow hygiene rules. Blood is a very favorable environment for the growth and reproduction of microorganisms. They can lead to the development of serious inflammatory diseases of the genitourinary system.
3. About the risks of sexual relations. With the onset of menstruation, every girl enters childbearing age, and intimate relationships with the opposite sex can lead to pregnancy, which is extremely undesirable at this age. Childbirth can be harmful to both the new mother and her baby. That is why a girl should know about what promiscuity and unprotected sex can lead to.

Features of the menstrual cycle

In teenage girls, the menstrual cycle (the period from the first day of the previous menstruation to the first day of the next menstruation) is 21–35 days. However during the first two years, not everyone experiences it regularly. For some it fluctuates constantly. For example, one menstrual cycle may be 25 days and the next 32 days. This is normal. It does not indicate that the girl has any pathology. If you have any suspicions, you can visit a doctor. The specialist will tell you exactly whether this is normal or an illness.

It is worth noting that The intervals between menstruation can range from one and a half months to six months. Don't worry if your period doesn't come on time. At a young age, menstrual function is not yet fully formed. This is why some girls experience long breaks. If your period does not come after several months, then you need to seek help from a doctor. A long pause between the first and second periods in girls may indicate a serious malfunction in the young body.

With the onset of her first menstruation, your daughter should be taught to keep a calendar in which she can mark when her periods began and ended. This information may not be useful in the first 1–2 years from the start of your period, because at this time the menstrual cycle has not yet fully established itself. But then the calendar will come in handy when consulting with a specialist if the cycle remains irregular. Too short or long periods, a small or large gap between menstruation may be a sign of some disease.

Hygiene and diet during menstruation

Hygiene is an important issue that mothers should cover when teaching their daughters about menstruation. During menstruation, all girls and adult women use pads and tampons. For girls, pads are the most preferred. Tampons interfere with the natural flow of blood. Gaskets are much more convenient to use. It is best for girls to buy these intimate hygiene products with a cotton layer. Pads with a mesh coating (“plastic” layer) are less hygienic and cause sweating and irritation of delicate skin.

During menstruation, pads should be changed every 2-3 hours. The longer the pad is attached to your underwear, the less useful it will be (the number of bacteria will rapidly grow exponentially). If you do not replace the gasket for 6 or more hours, serious harm will be caused to your body. Infectious-toxic shock may develop - a condition that occurs as a result of the action of microorganisms and their toxins (body temperature rises, blood pressure decreases, confusion is observed, coma is possible).

What you need to know about using pads during menstruation in girls:

• be sure to wash your hands before changing the gasket (dirty hands can transfer pathogenic microorganisms to a clean gasket);
• do not use pads that have expired (the less time has passed since the manufacture of the intimate hygiene product, the higher the degree of protection it has);
• do not use pads with aromatic fragrances (chemical components often provoke allergies and skin irritation);
• do not save on buying sanitary pads (intimate hygiene products, sold at low prices, are often made from low-quality raw materials, which poses a danger to the girl’s health);
• It is not recommended to store pads in the bathroom (a large amount of moisture is an ideal environment for the active growth of microbes that can penetrate intimate hygiene products).

Special attention should be paid to underwear. Girls should wear regular panties made from natural fabrics. Thongs are beautiful and sexy underwear that many teenage girls dream of, but wearing them is completely unhygienic. A narrow strip of thong can be called a kind of bridge for moving microorganisms between the anus and vagina. Intestinal microflora should not enter the genitourinary system, as it can provoke the development of inflammatory diseases.

The onset of menstruation in girls is not a reason to take a bath often. The most suitable option is daily shower . You also need to wash yourself at least 2-3 times during the day. It is not advisable to use soap. Gynecologists recommend using special intimate hygiene products (gels, mousses, etc.), which contain lactic acid. This component does not negatively affect microflora, unlike regular soap.

Preferably during the first and subsequent menstruation avoid physical activity . Sports activities will have to be postponed. It is allowed to perform light physical exercises and do recreational gymnastics. In addition, girls need psychological peace.

Another important point, which is worth paying attention to during menstruation - dieting . The word “diet” does not mean reducing the amount of food consumed, but rather revising the diet and removing spicy foods from it. Because of such food, there is a rush of blood to the internal organs of the abdominal cavity. This may lead to increased uterine bleeding. Alcoholic drinks are also contraindicated.

Do I need to visit a gynecologist?

With the onset of your first period, it is not necessary to regularly visit a gynecologist, unless there is an obvious reason for this: strange discharge with an unpleasant odor, itching, menstrual irregularities. As a rule, the first examination by a gynecologist occurs at 15–16 years of age.

The doctor must make sure that the girl is developing correctly and that she has no health problems. If a girl has begun sexual activity, then visits to the doctor should be regular - once a year.

It is worth contacting a gynecologist in cases where girls’ periods are disrupted:

• critical days last 1–2 days or more than 7 days (menstruation that is too short indicates insufficient production of sex hormones, impaired ovarian function, and too long indicates poor contractility of the uterus, significantly expressed estrogenic function of the ovaries);
• excessive bleeding is observed, requiring frequent replacement of pads or tampons;
• after the first menstruation, menstruation was interrupted for a long period (pause more than 6 months);
• after normalization of the menstrual cycle, irregularities began (cycle less than 21 days or more than 35 days);
• Very large blood clots (the size of a grape) are visible in the bloody discharge.

You should immediately consult a doctor or call an ambulance when spotting is accompanied by very severe pain in the abdomen, dizziness, severe weakness, pallor, fever, nausea, vomiting and intestinal disorders.

To summarize, it is worth noting that the first menstruation can cause fear and panic in a girl. To prevent this from happening, mothers should devote a little time to their daughters and talk about the physiological process that will soon begin to occur regularly in a young body, and explain why girls begin menstruation at this age.

You also need to be sure to ask whether your periods come regularly, whether there are any delays, or whether severe pain occurs. Sometimes girls are embarrassed to tell their parents. If any abnormalities are detected, you should definitely visit a doctor.

Educational video about first menstruation

Reply

What is normal during menstruation, and why should you go to the doctor: Zozhnik has translated for you a text about facts that are important for at least half of our audience.

1. What are periods

Here's a simple explanation in your hands. The menstrual cycle is a natural mechanism that is configured to provide the body with the opportunity to become pregnant. In the middle of your menstrual cycle, an egg leaves the ovary and enters the fallopian tube, where it can hypothetically meet a brave team of sperm, one of which can fertilize the egg. If the egg is fertilized, it must travel through the fallopian tubes and attach to the surface of the uterus, where the embryo will develop.

At the same time, the body prepares for this possibility by secreting increased amounts of the hormone progesterone, which thickens and plumps the uterine lining in case a fertilized egg needs to attach to the uterine wall.

In the case when fertilization does not occur, progesterone levels drop and the body gets rid of the now unnecessary layers of the uterine mucosa - menstruation occurs.

2. If you're on hormonal birth control, your periods are fake.

If you take hormonal birth control, it signals your body to stop producing progesterone. Without this additional progesterone, your body does not create such abundant thickening of the uterine mucosa, accordingly, periods are easier and not so abundant and ovulation in most cases does not occur at all - the doctor shares information Mary Jane Minkin, professor of gynecology and reproductive sciences at Yale University - Moreover, in this case there may not be periods at all - and this is normal.

Moreover, for girls with very painful periods or PMS, this method of contraception may be a solution.

3. Toxic shock syndrome is VERY rare, so doctors generally allow you to sleep with a tampon inside

However, experts still highly recommend not doing this. Toxic shock syndrome is very rare, but nevertheless very dangerous. It is associated with a potential bacterial infection and has been associated with the use of previous generations of super-absorbent tampons.

At the time of the maximum prevalence of this syndrome in the 1980s, there were 6-12 cases per 100,000 women of reproductive age. By 1986, this rate had dropped to 1 per 100,000 women. In addition, tampons have improved markedly over the past 30 years.

However, hypothetically, the syndrome can occur, so if you have a high fever, nausea and peeling skin, consult a doctor, Dr. Minkin advises, however, she adds that leaving a tampon on overnight is safe, just try to use less absorbent tampons.

4. Dark or brown blood during your period doesn't mean you're dying.

You shouldn't be scared. Rather, you should be afraid of the light scarlet color of the blood, which may indicate bleeding, and dark or brown blood indicates that it could simply linger a little in the vagina, the doctor comments Lauren Streicher, professor of gynecology at Northwestern University Medical School, USA.

5. If your period suddenly doesn't come at all, it doesn't always mean you're pregnant.

Although most often this is of course a sign of pregnancy, however, periods can disappear for several reasons: for example, a sudden change in weight, too low a percentage of body fat, extreme diets (we remind you, women:) or a number of different diseases, so if If you're worried, go see a doctor.

6. If you want to ease period pain, take painkillers BEFORE your period pain comes.

“Period pain is caused by prostaglandin substances that are released during menstruation, but taking medications such as ibuprofen can block the release of most prostaglandins. The mistake people make is that they think that they need to take as little medicine as possible and endure pain, there is no need to be a hero. If the pain is severe, start taking the pills the day before your period is expected." - Dr. Lauren Streicher.

7. PMS is not a joke, it's serious.

If you're not in the mood during your period, have acne, migraines, diarrhea, chronic fatigue, or anxiety, these could all be causes of hormonal changes during your period, says Dr. Minkin. Of course, if this happens at other times in the cycle, you can go to the doctor.

8. Menstruation doesn't mean you've ovulated.

In other words, having a period does not guarantee that a girl is fertile or that she ovulated that month. Therefore, if you have difficulties getting pregnant, it is better to consult a doctor and check whether ovulation is occurring.

9. What does regular and irregular cycle mean?

It is believed that the average duration of the menstrual cycle is 28 days, while from 23 to 30 days is also the norm if the duration of the cycle does not change. But if the length of the cycle varies from month to month - sometimes 25, sometimes 30 days - such a cycle is considered irregular, despite the fact that each individually fits into the norm. It could also be a sign that ovulation isn't happening, says Dr. Lauren Streicher.

If your periods are irregular all the time, this can lead to problems with conception in the future and a reason to go to the doctor.

10. Bleeding between periods is not a problem.

Some women experience light spotting mid-cycle, during ovulation, and may also occur, for example, when starting or changing hormonal birth control. If this happens rarely, there is no reason to worry, but if there are always blood stains, go to the doctor.

11. Menopause can occur early, for example, in the late thirties

On average, age-related changes in menstruation and the onset of menopause occur at age 51, but “pre-menopausal” changes in menstruation can happen much earlier: you can notice them even before the start of your thirties.

12. You may have bloody discharge even if you are pregnant.

“This is not menstruation, but blood discharge, which is noted by a third of women in the first months of pregnancy,” Dr. Minkin shares information. In some cases, the discharge is particularly heavy and can cause confusion for people.

But be careful: in this case, it is easy to “overlook” the threat of pregnancy, which often manifests itself precisely in the fact that it suddenly begins to “bleed” in the early stages - this is very serious and can lead to irreparable consequences. The best solution is to consult a doctor immediately.

13. Your genitals may be especially sensitive during your period.

Scientific research shows that pain receptors change slightly during your period, so it's normal to feel more sensitive there. If this happens to you, doctors do not recommend signing up for epilation of the bikini area before your period.

14. Clots in menstrual flow are normal.

“It just means you have heavy flow during your period, but it’s not a sign of any problems,” says Dr. Lauren Streicher.

15. But if you have to change your tampon and pad more than once every 2 hours, this could be a problem.

However, if the bleeding is super heavy, this is a cause for concern. The reasons for it may be hormonal imbalance, infection or polyps, says Dr. Minkin. Therefore, if you constantly and very profusely leak, go to your gynecologist.

Menstruation (menstruation) is one of the most important processes occurring in the female body. Taking critical days for granted, many do not pay due attention to the symptoms that provoke serious diseases in the female body.

It is important for any girl or woman to know when these processes occur within the normal range and when they go beyond it, in order to have time to prevent illness.

Puberty of a girl

Puberty in girls occurs at the age of 11-15 years, and more often has hereditary factors. The age at which a girl begins her period corresponds to the age at which her mother, aunt, or grandmother began it.

Taking into account the accelerated development of the body, menstruation may begin a little earlier, which is not a deviation. A sign of serious disturbances in physical development is the absence of menstruation at 17-18 years of age. In this case, contacting an endocrinologist, gynecologist and infectious disease specialist is mandatory.

The absence of critical days is associated with serious diseases that occur in the body, with stress, underweight or overwork.

Menstrual cycle and its duration

The menstrual cycle is the time that passes from the beginning of the first day of one menstruation to the first day of the next. More than 70% of women are concerned about irregular menstrual cycles. It takes them several months, sometimes even a year, for it to normalize.

The 28-day cycle, called the lunar cycle, is ideal. Taking into account the physiological characteristics of the female body, we can name certain norms, deviation from which is considered a violation. A normal cycle is a cycle with a frequency of 21-35 days. In all other cases, consultation with a gynecologist is necessary, due to possible malfunctions of the ovaries.

Girls and women are recommended to keep a special calendar with which they can control their periods. The calendar makes it possible to determine the duration of the menstrual cycle, as well as its regularity. It will allow you to calculate favorable days for conception.

How are your periods? Duration of menstruation

There is no exact figure that indicates the duration of bleeding. But there are certain norms for all women: menstruation lasts from 3 to 7 days. The first few days you can observe abundant discharge, and in the remaining days it becomes scanty.

If you experience heavy bleeding during menstruation, you should consult a gynecologist for examination.

The amount of bleeding is affected by contraception. The intrauterine device provokes painful periods with increased bleeding. Oral medications, such as hormonal birth control pills, make periods shorter and heavier. It should be taken into account that the above remedies do not affect the duration of critical days. Your period should not last more than a week.

Quality and quantity of menstrual flow

Blood loss during menstruation is negligible. Every day a woman gets rid of 20 to 50 grams of blood, and in total (over the entire period of menstruation), the mark can reach 250 grams.

As a rule, menstrual blood does not clot, has a pronounced scarlet color and a specific smell. Sometimes periods can contain clots in the form of unprocessed blood that accumulates in the vagina. Clots appear during heavy periods.

Smudging - bloody spotting observed at the beginning and end of menstruation is considered normal. Too much bleeding indicates the presence of gynecological diseases.

Pain during menstruation

An important issue that worries women is pain during menstruation. A natural process accompanied by hormonal changes has a special impact on the entire female body. During menstruation, irritation and a feeling of tension occur, breast pain and swelling are felt.

There are many signs of premenstrual syndrome:

• weakness;
• fatigue;
• irritability;
• rapid breathing and pulse;
• fever;
• chills;
• heaviness in the lower back, lower abdomen or legs.

From a physiological point of view, you should not focus your attention on such problems, but if the symptoms negatively affect your ability to work, you should consult a doctor. Any processes that occur in the body that affect the general condition and well-being should not be overlooked. Especially if we are talking about “women’s” problems.

Fever, severe pain, excessive bleeding, and the need to take medications are symptoms that require careful diagnosis and, if necessary, subsequent treatment by a specialist.