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| Teenage Girls – First Period.
Problems, Advice And Treatment Of Menstruation With Herbs. Photo source |
Monthly period in women
is called menstruation. According to “natural laws” every month your body is
preparing to become pregnant. If pregnancy does not occur, uterine, flush the
uterine lining, to be able to grow again during the next menstrual cycle.
Menstrual flow is a mixture of blood and tissue, coming from the inside of the
uterus or womb.
Menstruation usually
starts around 12 years of age (there are cases at the age of 9, as well) and
continues until menopause (around age 51 and more). Most women's periods last
from 3 to 5 days. In some women, the bleeding is very strong, they lose a lot
of blood and can get into shock. The average amount of blood flow is about two
tablespoons (30 ml) for the whole period.
When to consult a doctor?
- if you have not had period until the age of 16
- if your period suddenly stops
- if you are bleeding too much, or bleeding lasts more days, than usual
- if you suddenly feel unwell, after using a tampon
- if you have bleeding between monthly periods
- if you have severe pain during menstrual cycle
How often girls have cycle?
Some girls start puberty
early, others late. It is absolutely
valid for menstrual cycles. In some of them, first period occurs at the age of
10, while others don’t have even at 15. The time between periods (cycles) is
called menstrual cycle. There are girls with a 28 day cycle, and girls with 24
or 30-day cycle (in some more). After first menstruation, the rest periods have
a duration between 21-45 days.
After several years, duration
of cycles normalizes from 21 to 34 days. Irregular bleeding affect mostly girls,
who are beginning to have menstruation for the first time. They may have a
28-day cycle for two months, and then, for example to skip one month. Usually,
after a year or two, the menstrual cycle becomes more regular, but there are
isolated cases, where women have irregular periods even into adulthood.
Puberty
When girls begin puberty
(age 8-13) in their bodies and behavior happen different things. A number of hormonal changes start, in which
their breasts begin to grow and after about 2 and a half years, the first
menstruation occurs. About six months before the first cycle, the girl might
notice an increase in the amount of vaginal
discharge. No need of
concern, unless you have a strong smell or itching.
Period spasms
They are quite common,
as more than half of women said, that during the first few days of the
menstrual cycle, have similar problems. Depending on the cases, the spasms can
be painful, sharp and intensive, and you can feel them on the back or in the abdomen.
Premenstrual syndrome
For some girls, mood, a
few days or weeks before the cycle, changes. In others it may be associated
with anger, frustration, crying or need of a particular type of food. These
changes may be due to the so-called premenstrual
syndrome. It is related with the changes that occur in the body of the girl,
during the cycle. Since hormone levels changing, (rise and fall) during the
menstrual cycle, this can affect the way she feels. Some may experience strong
emotions, to feel puffy or swollen (due to water retention), others may feel
chest pain.
Proper nutrition,
healthy sleep and exercises can relieve some of the symptoms. The girls who
suffer from acne
(pimples) may have a flare
during a cycle, and this is due to hormones (when they grow up, problem goes away).
4 Issues during menstruation
During the cycle, women
can get heavy bleeding, cramping, pain or missed a period. Here are some of
them:
1.Amenorrhea - absence of menstrual cycle
This term describes
the absence of the cycle of:
girls who have not had
any menstruation until age 15
women and girls, who
have not had a cycle for 90 days
The reasons for this may be:
- pregnancy
- breastfeeding
- rapid weight loss
- eating disorder
- excessive exercise
- stress
- serious conditions
In some cases, where girls
have no menstruation, it’s possible , the ovaries to have stopped producing necessary
hormones (estrogen).
Treatment of amenorrhea with herbs
Before attempting to self-medicate, consult a doctor!
Periods of bleeding in
women respond very well from mugwort tea. It acts as a stimulant, improving
delayed menstrual period. It works very well on nerves and stomach.
Mugwort tea
Soak about twenty,
thirty leaves of the herb in 100 ml. boiling water, until the water turns
brown. Filter. Drink 2 times a day, 30 minutes before meals, 50 ml.
2.Dysmenorrhea - painful menstrual cycle with severe spasms.
Most girls with
dysmenorrhea, shouldn’t worry, though
these spasms can be quite serious. However, in older women, it may be a signal about serious illness, such as uterine
fibroids, or
endometriosis.
3.Abnormal uterine bleeding.
This is a vaginal
bleeding, which is different from the normal menstrual cycles. It includes:
- bleeding between periods
- bleeding after sex
- severe bleeding or for more days than normal
- bleeding after menopause
Abnormal uterine
bleeding can have many causes. Some are serious, others not and are easy to
treat.
Both in girls and in
adult women, who are approaching menopause, hormonal problems can cause long
periods of irregular menstrual cycles. Even if you have hormonal problems, it
can be treated.
4.Menoragia - heavy menstruation.
Heavy or prolonged
bleeding, in which you can’t maintain your household work. It is due to
hormonal imbalance, that causes menstruation without ovulation. In a normal
menstrual cycle, the release of an egg from the ovaries, stimulates the
production of the hormone progesterone, which is responsible for the regular
cycle of menstruation. Fortunately, there are many effective ways to treat
menorrhagia.
Signs and symptoms of menorrhagia include:
- irrigation (with blood) of one or more swabs (tampons) every hour for several hours
- bleeding for a week or more
- large clots during menstrual cycle
- restricting normal activities due to heavy bleeding
- symptoms such as anemia - fatigue, shortness of breath
- In some cases the cause of heavy menstrual bleeding can hardly be established, but there are many reasons that can lead to menorrhagia:
- hormonal imbalance
- ovarian dysfunction
- uterine fibroids
- polyps
- adenomyosis
- complications during pregnancy
- cancer
- hereditary
- certain drugs
- a number of diseases (PID, thyroid problems, disorders of liver and kidneys, endometriosis)
Risk factors
When an egg is not
released, the insufficient amount of progesterone can cause heavy menstrual
bleeding. Usually, menstrual cycles without ovulation , are occurring between
two different age groups:
- adolescent girls, who recently have started menstruating
- older women, who are approaching menopause (40-50, 60 years). They are at increased risk of hormonal problems.
