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Written by Administrator
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Monday, 09 October 2006 07:49 |
When does a girl start to menstruate?
A girls menarche, or first period, usually begins between the ages of 9 and 14, although sometimes as early as 8 and as late as 16. It is a sign that puberty has begun.
Special note to Dad's
Your daughter needs your love and support now more than ever. Be involved!! Menstruation and growing up is a normal part of YOUR daughter's life and not something to shy away from. Talk with your daughter about these topics, let her know that you know what she will be experiencing. And when she has her first period, celebrate the day and make a big deal of it... take her out on a special daughter - daddy "date" to her favorite restaurant, buy her flowers, take her shopping.... let her know that you are thrilled about her becoming a young lady!!
How old will I be when I stop menstruation?
Women normally menstruate until they are 45 to 55 years old, when menopause begins. Menopause is when a female stops menstruation. An operation called a hysterectomy, which removes some or all of the female reproductive organs, also stops menstruation.
What happens during menstruation?
Girls have thousands of tiny eggs in their ovaries. Each month, or approximately every 21 - 42 days, on average, one of the eggs leaves an ovary and travels through a fallopian tube. When the egg leaves the ovary, this is called ovulation. Normally, the ovaries alternate each month, releasing an egg from the left ovary one month and then releasing an egg from the right ovary the next month.
As the egg travels in the fallopian tube, a soft spongy lining forms in the uterus. This lining is mostly made of tiny blood vessels and is called the endometrium. The lining gives nourishment in case an egg and sperm meet to form an embryo, or baby, that begins to grow in the uterus.
If the egg is not joined by a sperm, the endometrium or lining of the uterus is not needed. It flows out of the vagina. This bleeding is called a period. This whole cycle is called menstruation.
Menstruation is just one part of the menstrual cycle, in which a woman's body prepares for pregnancy each month. A cycle is counted from the first day of one period to the first day of the next. An average cycle is 28 days, but anywhere from 23 to 35 days is normal.
Estrogen and progesterone levels are very low at the beginning of the cycle. During menstruation, levels of estrogen, made by the ovaries, start to rise and make the lining of the uterus grow and thicken. In the meantime, an egg (ovum) in one of the ovaries starts to mature. It is encased in a sac called the Graafian follicle, which continues to produce estrogen as the egg grows.
At about day 14 of a typical 28-day cycle, the sac bursts and the egg leaves the ovary, traveling through one of the fallopian tubes to the uterus. The release of the egg from the ovary is called ovulation. Some women know when they're ovulating, because at mid-cycle they have some pain--typically a dull ache on either side of the lower abdomen lasting a few hours. The medical word for this is mittelschmerz, from the German, meaning middle pain. Some women also have very light bleeding, or spotting, during ovulation.
After the egg is expelled, the sac--now called a corpus luteum--remains in the ovary, where it starts producing mainly progesterone. The rising levels of both estrogen and progesterone help build up the uterine lining to prepare for pregnancy.
The few days before, during and after ovulation are a woman's "fertile period"-the time when she can become pregnant. Because the length of menstrual cycles vary, many woman ovulate earlier or later than day 14. It's even possible for a woman to ovulate while she still has her period if that month's cycle is very short. (Stress and other things can sometimes cause a cycle to be shorter or longer.) If a woman has sex with a man during this time and conception occurs (his sperm fertilizes the egg), she becomes pregnant.
The fertilized egg attaches to the uterus, and the corpus luteum makes all the progesterone needed to keep it implanted and growing until a placenta (an organ connecting the fetus to the mother) develops. The placenta then makes hormones and provides nourishment from the mother to the baby.
If an egg is not fertilized that month and the woman doesn't get pregnant, the corpus luteum stops making hormones and gets reabsorbed in the ovary. Hormone levels drop again, the lining of the uterus breaks down, menstruation begins, and the cycle repeats.
Menstrual Bleeding: What's Normal, What's Not
Most menstrual periods last from three to five days, but anywhere from two to seven days is normal. The amount of blood flow varies, too, but for most women, bleeding starts out light at first, followed by heavier flow for a day or two and then another light day or two.
Sanitary pads or tampons, which are made of cotton or another absorbent material, are worn to absorb the blood flow. Sanitary pads are placed inside the panties; tampons are inserted into the vagina. Sometimes you may find it necessary to use both a tampon and pad at the same time depending on how heavy your period is.
The amount of bleeding varies from woman to woman because everybody's body has a different way of building up the lining of the uterus. A lighter flow or heavier flow doesn't mean you can't get pregnant as easily or you're never going to get pregnant, or that your periods will always stay the same way. But if you're bleeding excessively-soaking one or more tampons or pads an hour-you should see a doctor to see if there's a problem."
Teenagers often are concerned if they expel blood clots during their periods. This is very normal and not dangerous. The menstrual clots are clumps of pooled blood in the vagina. Sometimes, instead of flowing freely, blood drains from the uterus and stays in the vagina until there's a change in position--say, from sitting to standing.
Will my periods be regular?
When a girl starts to menstruate, her period may not come on a regular schedule for several years. Her periods may come three weeks apart, or even months apart.
Why should I keep track of my periods?
A girl should keep a record so she'll know if her period is late. A late period may be sign of pregnancy or some medical problem. Also, if a girl can tell a doctor about her periods, it helps the doctor give her better care.
How do I keep track of my periods?
The first day of your period is called Day 1.
The period or bleeding usually lasts 3 to 5 days but 7 days is not uncommon.
Ovulation (when the egg is released) happens 12 to 16 days before your next period starts. Ovulation, and the days before and after, is the time when you are most likely to get pregnant.
If the female does not get pregnant, her period comes and the whole cycle begins again, with Day 1 starting over again when the next period starts. The whole cycle usually takes 21 to 36 days, but even 42 days is not unusual for a cycle.
Will I get cramps and how bad are they?
Cramps are a common complaint. More than half of menstruating women have cramp-like pain during their periods. The medical term for menstrual pain is dysmenorrhea. Cramps are usually felt in the pelvic area and lower abdomen, but can radiate to the lower back or down the legs.
Many girls have cramps severe enough to keep them home from school. In fact, according to Danforth's Obstetrics and Gynecology, dysmenorrhea is the most frequent cause of absenteeism from school among younger women. Women seem to go through phases when cramps are severe, then get better for several years, and then maybe worsen again. Most women find they have less menstrual pain after having children.
Cramps are like labor pains. Just as the uterus contracts to open up the cervix (neck of the uterus) and push out a baby, it contracts to expel menstrual blood. Often, after several years of menstruating or after childbirth, the cervical opening enlarges. The uterus doesn't have to contract as much to discharge the menstrual flow, so there is less cramping.
Menstrual pain may also come from the bleeding process itself. When the uterine lining separates from the wall, it releases chemicals called prostaglandins. Prostaglandins cause blood vessels to narrow, impeding the supply of oxygen to the uterus. Just as the pain of a heart attack comes from insufficient blood to the muscles of the heart, too little blood to the uterine muscle might cause the pain of menstrual cramps.
Menstrual pain can have other causes, although these are rare among teenagers. They include tumors, fallopian tube infection, and endometriosis, a condition in which fragments of the lining of the uterus become embedded elsewhere in the body
Cramps are the actual uterus' contractions. The uterus, which is like a pear-shaped muscle, helps get rid of the endometrium, or lining of the uterus, since no baby will be growing inside. These contractions, that sometimes feel like cramps, are the body's way of shedding, or getting rid the lining of the uterus, through the vagina, and out of the body, as the lining is no longer needed that cycle.
What can I do to help with cramps?
Cramps are usually mild. They can be helped by exercise, warm bath, use of a heating pad or pain relievers such as aspirin.
If there is a lot of pain, long or "heavy" periods (heavy meaning more bleeding than normal), which means saturating a tampon or pad in less than 2-3 hours, or if you have irregular periods, you should inform your parents and ask them to take you to your doctor for a checkup.
Can I take a bath or shower during my period? What about exercising?
Menstruation is a very normal part of every girl's life. During your period, you can do everything you normally do, including daily baths or showers, exercising, dancing and playing sports are all fine. In fact, you will feel better by continuing your normal routine, and find that warm baths are a great way to help with any cramping you may have.
Should I choose sanitary napkins or tampons for my feminine hygiene choice?
Sanitary napkins or pads, absorb the blood from your period on the outside of your vagina. Most sanitary napkins are made with adhesive strips that you simply peel off the backing and then they will 4-6stick or adhere to your panties or pantyhose. Tampons also absorb the blood from your period like a pad or sanitary napkin, but they do so internally. You place the tampon inside your vagina. Tampons can be used whether or not a girl has had intercourse and tampons cannot get lost inside your body.
Depending on how heavy - or how much bleeding you experience, you may find that a pad is necessary as "back-up" to a tampon, as a tampon will leak if it is not changed when it is saturated.
Tampons are a popular choice. Of the 73 million menstruating women in the United States, about 70% of these women use tampons. HOWEVER, if you decide to use tampons, FemCare Plus believes that it is very important that you choose certifed organic cotton tampons or another form of feminine hygiene protection such as a menstrual cup or natural sea sponge tampons.
IF YOU USE TAMPONS, NEVER LEAVE A TAMPON IN OVERNIGHT OR FOR MORE THAN 4-6 HOURS MAXIMUM!!!
Remove your tampon before you go to sleep at night and use a pad or pantiliner, depending on your flow, as this will help reduce the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome.
IF YOU USE TAMPONS, STAY AWAY FROM THE MAXIMUM ABSORBENCY TAMPONS.... USE A LESS ABSORBENT TAMPON TO HELP REDUCE THE RISK OF TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME
Most tampons come with a plastic or cardboard applicator to make it easier to put them inside your vagina. Only the tampon remains inside the body, the applicator, if you use this type, is dis-carded in the trash can after you insert it. To help reduce the amount of waste associated with applicator tampons, try buying tampons WITHOUT the applicator. It's just as easy and convenient to insert, and it helps our environment as well!
Think about it, 73 million menstruating women each month.... about 50 million of these using tampons - each of them using 4-6 tampons/day of their period - multiplied by 5 days each month. If we simply quit using all of these cardboard or applicators for tampon insertion, think about the savings to our environment!! ALL of the UNNECESSARY trash, WASTED RESOURCES, and the burdens placed on our landfills we would be saving, if we could just use NON-APPLICATOR TAMPONS!!!
NEVER FLUSH A TAMPON DOWN THE TOILET AS THIS MAY CAUSE SERIOUS PLUMBING PROBLEMS!
Tampons have a string at one end that stays outside the body. To remove the tampon, gently pull on the string, removing the tampon, and throw it in the trash can.
Again.... NEVER FLUSH A TAMPON DOWN THE TOILET AS THIS MAY CAUSE SERIOUS PLUMBING PROBLEMS!
How often should I change my pad, tampon or alternative menstrual form of feminine hygiene product?
Pads or tampons (or other alternative menstrual form of feminine hygiene product) should be changed often enough so that there is no unpleasant odor or your clothes do not get stained.
IMPORTANT: NEVER LEAVE A TAMPON IN YOUR VAGINA FOR MORE THAN 4-6 HOURS (read the tampon manufacturers instructions). ALWAYS REMOVE THE LAST TAMPON AT THE END OF YOUR PERIOD. WHEN USING A TAMPON, ONLY USE THE MINIMUM ABSORBENCY FOR YOUR PERIOD AT THAT TIME. Example: Do not use a super absorbent tampon for a light day flow.
Changing tampons and napkins often can help prevent infections and minimize the risk of T.S.S. (tampons) and menstrual odors.
What is Toxic Shock Syndrome?
Toxic shock syndrome is a rare infection that can happen during a woman's period. The symptoms include a sudden fever of over 101 degrees or more, diarrhea (the runs), vomiting (throwing up), muscle aches and a sunburn-like rash. If you have these symptoms during you period, see a doctor right away.
To help prevent toxic shock syndrome, you should follow these guidelines:
1. Wash your hands before unwrapping and placing a new tampon into your vagina.
2. Never use super-absorbent or deodorant tampons.
3. Change your tampon at least every 4-6 hours (read the tampon manufacturers information inside the box).
4. Do not use tampons all the time and switch to a pad for part of each day.
5. Do not use a birth control sponge or diaphragm during your period. During your period it is preferable to use other methods such as condoms and/or foam.
Menstrual Products and Health
by Kirk and Stacey Johnson, reprinted with permission
Breast cancer, elevated estrogen levels, other illness may be linked to some feminine sanitary products.
As a standard process, nearly all disposable pads and tampons are manufactured using chlorine to either "whiten" or break down the wood fibres involved. The use of chlorine in this process produces unwanted by-products - organochlorines - which contaminate both the waste-water from manufacturing and the actual pads and tampons that are produced. Despite substantial scientific proof that organochlorines (dioxins among others) are some of the most toxic substances known, the pads and tampons are left unrinsed of these and other toxic residues, individually packaged and sold to women through-out the world.
One might expect the above scenario to be representative of a miniscule percentage - only rare defects - within a vast industry, but, rather, it is indicative of the vast majority of absorbent menstrual products produced in North America, and the same is true for many other common paper products. We know about paying the price for these "liberating" disposable products in the form of garbage in landfills (an estimated 12 billion pads per year), but is there a health threat - much more serious - than we may know or have been told about?
INSIDE ORGANOCHLORINES
Organochlorines are produced whenever an organic material (wood fibres, fossil fuels) is combined with chlorine gas, also known as "elemental chlorine". Chlorine gas has been commonly used through-out industry during most of this century. One of its most popular tasks is to help wood pulp become transformed into bright white paper products and others that contain rayon. Plastics and petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides are also made with the use of chlorine. Chlorine gas was also used to make "Agent Orange", the organochlorine -turned-chemical-weapon used by the U.S. military against Viet Nam.
Organochlorines are some of the most toxic substances known to man, proven to cause immune system defects, birth defects, cancers, neurological impairment, and a host of other complications, including ozone depletion. One drop of dioxin (one type of organochlorine) added to an Olympic-sized pool would prevent the hatching of trout eggs.
As an unwanted and unnaturally occurring by-product of industry, organochlorines are hugely foreign to our earthly biosphere, thus there is no natural way for counteracting them. Not unlike nuclear waste, organochlorines persist in the environment and highly resist breakdown, therefore accumulating in the environment. They also seem to accumulate particularly in the fatty tissues of the humans and animals, consequently gathering in mammary glands and reproductive organs. Because of this, organochlorines are suspected to be linked to breast cancer and endometriosis, as well as other related diseases.
A GRAND MISCONCEPTION
Many major studies regarding organochlorines, and their ill-effects on living tissues, have been conducted by both universities and public scientific/activist groups over the last two decades. While the general scientific community urges concern over the negative long-term effects of organochlorines, certain government agencies charged with oversight will not consider what long-time exposure to small doses does to humans and animals. Some agencies also seem to favour information and studies that are produced by big industry (all information provided for the FDA's 1990 study was supplied by tampon makers!). To make matters worse, the very powerful and influential FDA reports its findings to Congress, which must then shape our laws and policies.
Another complicating factor in the lack of attention that organochlorines receive is due to a general unwillingness to consider long-term effects. The U.S. Government has regulated or banned several types of concentrated organochlorines - Agent Orange, PCB's, DDT, chlordane and chloroflourocarbons (CFC's) - but only because these organochlorines evidenced immediate short-term damage to humans and the environment. The government oversight agencies now consider there to be an "acceptable" level of exposure to organochlorines, but the scientific community has not yet found any safe level of exposure, nor has it recommended one.
There are over 11,000 different organochlorines in use in commerce today. These products are customers to over 60 chlorine production plants in North America alone, so the combined industry dependent on the production of chlorine is huge (40 million tons of annual world-wide chlorine production). But even though chlorine is a big part of industry, for virtually all known uses of chlorine and organochlorines, effective alternatives are available.
Common sense is also a good tool in assessing the threat of organochlorines. One peculiar aspect about organochlorines is that they have a tendency to mimic sex hormones, particularly estrogen. Epidemiological and experimental data support a relationship between sex hormones - especially elevated levels of estrogen - and increased breast cancer risk; these types of breast cancer rising most rapidly are those that respond to estrogen. Another connection could be that since the 1930s and 40s, when chlorine production became a prominent world-wide event, breast cancer rates have steadily increased to the epidemic proportions they are today. Because long-term health threats are so hard to prove unquestionably through short-term scientific experiments, U.S. Government agencies have a tendency to ignore subjects like this completely.
RISKS AND "DISPOSABLE" MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS
Beside containing organochlorines, pads and tampons are also run through acid baths and caustic sodas during manufacturing to enhance absorbency - but they are not rinsed after this process. Exposing them to water ruins their ability to absorb. They are packaged contaminated with residues from each part of their toxic creation, left for unaware consumers to expose to their bodies - a process hardly worth the term "sanitary" (tampon manufacturers actually bear a warning on their packaging that warns of the risk of death from the use of their tampons!). Many women report a reduced or ceased occurrence of vaginal and cervical diseases and irritations after quitting disposables.
The use of tampons, which over 50% of menstruating women choose, is, conceptually, very risky. The vagina is a delicate environment, requiring certain levels of moisture and acid/alkaline balances to stay healthy. Putting a foreign object, particularly an absorbent one, in this environment disrupts these balances, providing ample conditions for unwanted pathogens to multiply and cause complications. Also, tampons leave behind tiny bits of their absorbent material (cotton, rayon, etc.) in the vagina, which may lead to infections. Furthermore, the concept of "plugging" a woman's menstrual flow with a tampon doesn't allow a full and natural discharge of menstrual flow; this has a tendency to leave behind old fluids that may cause unnecessary infections, irritations and cramps.
WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?
If you currently use tampons you may consider at least trying pads instead. They may not be as convenient to you, but what improvements they bring to your health may far outweigh the disadvantages. As with any new habit, our bodies need time to cleanse and adapt to the change; give your change time to show its results.
The best and most-risk-free alternative may be to switch to a re-usable, external pad made with natural absorbent fibres. Several styles and brands are now available in Natural and Health Food stores, and they usually offer more comfort and many of the same conveniences that disposable pads offer; they're becoming a popular and pleasing experience. But take the time to find the style that is best for you.
The bottom line: by not using "disposables" you can contribute far less to deforestation, toxic waste production, personal health risks, and the overwhelming problem of waste disposal.
RESOURCES:
"Whitewash", by Liz Armstrong and Adriene Scott; Toronto; Harper Collins (1992)
"Chlorine: The Product is the Poison", a Greenpeace report (1991); 4649 Sunnyside N., Seattle, WA 98103
"Breast Cancer and the Environment: The Chlorine Connection", a Greenpeace report (1992); address above.
"The Truth About Tampons", by Hannah Holmes, Garbage Magazine, Nov/Dec, 1990.
"The Sanitary Protection Scandal", by Alison Costello, Bernadette Valley, and Josa Young (1989)
"With Strings Attached", by Marina Lindsey, Buzzworm Magazine, May/June, 1993.
Publish this article in your newsletter! You have permission from the authors to publish this article if: it is published in it's entirety or any editions are cleared by the authors. Editions will be respectfully considered. Per United States copyright law, please remember that any publication of more than a paragraph of another's copywork is unlawful if done without specific permission.
Kirk and Stacy Johnson are freelance writers who have specialized in research involving menstrual products and natural health options. You may contact them at 2429 236th Street S.W., Brier, WA 98036 (206)483-7186
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 03 April 2008 06:50 )
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