Menstruation - what is it and how to behave? What is menstruation How long does a woman have a period of regular menstruation

Essence of menstruation

The full course of hormonal changes, along with the restoration of the endometrium, the transformation of the internal environment of the vagina, changes in the breasts, body temperature, influences on the autonomic nervous system, cardiovascular system, psychological mood and other body functions, is called the menstrual cycle.

How long does a girl's menstrual cycle last and how does it go?

The first menstruation (menarche) marks the beginning of puberty. It occurs at the age of about 12-13 years. The last periods define menopause, which borders between puberty and old age in women. At the end of the last menstruation in a woman's life comes. It occurs most often between 45 and 55 years of age.

The regular menstrual cycle is called eumenorrhea. During menstruation, physiological bleeding occurs, that is, blood is released. Normal blood volume is in the range of 10-80 ml. In normal menstrual blood, there should be no clots due to a local increase in the activity of plasmin, which has a fibrinolytic effect.

After the end of menstrual bleeding, the second phase of the menstrual cycle begins. Under the influence of progesterone, the so-called spiral arteries grow in the endometrium. After the production of progesterone stops, the corpus luteum twists, as a result, the epithelium does not receive nutrition and exfoliates, affecting the blood vessels.

A decrease in the level of progesterone is a sign that means the absence of implantation of the embryo in the uterine cavity. During pregnancy, under the influence of human chorionic gonadotropin, the corpus luteum turns into the corpus luteum of pregnancy, which is a necessary condition for the maintenance and development of the fetus in the first 4 months.

According to one hypothesis, menstruation is the main reason humanity invented clothing. Our ancestors lived in Africa, so they did not need clothes to protect their bodies from the cold. As long as all people went naked, they could not know the shame associated with nudity. But menstruation is not a very aesthetic sight, so the reason why women first wanted to cover their intimate organs may be connected with them.

Indirectly, this hypothesis is confirmed by the ancient taboos of all tribes and nationalities associated with menstruation, as well as the fact that in a hot climate the female population uses only skirts from all types of clothing (we mean representatives of African tribes).

Myths about menstruation

1. Do not swim during menstruation. Vice versa. Personal hygiene at this time is extremely important - in its absence, inflammation in the reproductive organs can begin. But bathing in hot water can increase bleeding, so doctors recommend warm showers.


2. Do not exercise during menstruation. The truth is that during the "critical days" you should limit excessive physical activity due to blood loss. But gentle exercise can reduce pain and improve mood.


3. Delayed period indicates pregnancy. Maybe, but not always. Menstruation may not start due to thyroid disease, excessive prolactin levels, the use of certain oral contraceptives, the onset of menopause.


4. Menstruation protects against pregnancy. In fact, intimacy during critical days does not completely protect against pregnancy. In the case of very short cycles, ovulation may occur on days 10-11 of the cycle. Given that sperm can survive in a woman's genital tract for up to 7 days, intercourse on the fifth or sixth day of menstruation (even if bleeding has not yet ended) may eventually lead to conception.


5. You can't have sex during your period. It's a matter of taste. Some women during this period feel strong sexual arousal, while other ladies do not imagine intimacy during bleeding. But keep in mind that during menstruation, a girl is more vulnerable to infection (since the cervix is ​​open, and bacteria can easily enter there). Therefore, if you decide to have sex, you need to remember about hygiene.

Every girl sooner or later begins to be interested in what menstruation is. Menstruation or menstruation (from Latin mensis - month, menstruus - monthly) is a natural process of body activity necessary for the full health of a woman. A girl's period appears when she reaches full puberty, usually between the ages of 12-16. Menstruation is accompanied by bloody discharge from the vagina, which occurs within 3-7 days normally.

From the first day of menstruation, the countdown of the menstrual cycle begins, the duration of which varies on average within 21-35 days. This means that the girl's period is repeated every time after a certain period of time, which can be 21-35 days. It turns out that menstruation occurs in a girl every month, which is why they are named like that. It all depends on the hormonal background of the body. A correct, stable menstrual cycle indicates that the girl is healthy.

What is menstruation for?

Thanks to the female sex hormones estrogen, the level of which rises in the first half of the monthly cycle, there is an increase in the thickening of the inner layer of the uterus, the so-called endometrium. The endometrium is a favorable environment for the formation of the embryo of the embryo, and then it provides nutrition to the fetus during pregnancy. It turns out that menstruation is needed to prepare the girl for childbearing. If fertilization does not occur at the right time, the level of hormones in the second half of the cycle gradually decreases and the endometrium exfoliates. As a result of this, the girl has bloody discharge from the vagina, sometimes it may contain clots or flakes. There is no need to be afraid of this, because the process of cleansing the body is taking place. The quantity and quality of blood discharge from the vagina during menstruation, as well as the duration and frequency of the monthly cycle, are variable and depend on the age of the woman or on the general health of the body.

How to deal with pain during menstruation?

Unfortunately, in addition to spotting, menstruation can be accompanied by such uncomfortable conditions as pain and irritability. Cramps and pain in the lower abdomen are caused by prostaglandins - biologically active substances that provoke contraction of the muscles of the uterus to remove blood from the body. To cleanse the uterus, it is necessary to contract intensively. Painkillers can help relieve pain. And irritability and nervousness must be learned to control. Do what you love to do, which will help you relax and distract yourself, drink herbal tea with a calming effect, try to cheer yourself up.

Hygiene during menstruation

During the critical days, be sure to remember about personal hygiene and strictly observe it! It doesn't matter what you use during your period - pads or tampons - they should be changed every 3-4 hours. It is better to refuse baths, saunas and baths! Take a shower during this period. Remember that heat dilates blood vessels and increases blood circulation. This may lead to undesirable consequences. The same applies to massages and visits to the solarium or beaches. Physical activity and sports are possible, but with minimal activity. Menstruation does not last long, and very soon you will be able to remove all restrictions.

Currently, there is a noticeable difference in character between already adult women and teenage girls. Previously, conversations on intimate topics were not welcomed not only among girlfriends, but also among parents and children, the result of which was the unjustified panic of girls facing the first menstruation. Not every girl dared to ask her mother about what was happening, which is why the first menstruation turned into a serious torture for the still almost childish psyche.

Now almost every teenage girl for the period of her puberty knows what "menstruation" is. Thanks to this, the first signs of this phenomenon do not become a strong shock. But, despite this, parents, and in particular the mother, should not bypass conversations with the girl about what "menstruation" is and puberty itself. It would be much more correct if the child learns about all the features of the functioning of the female body at home than when communicating with friends. In medicine, the first menstruation is called "menarche", and it is this process that should be shrouded in attention from adults, or rather from the maternal side. After all, often a girl can entrust intimate problems only to her. Yes, and mom, in turn, like no one else knows everything, and even more, about what "menstruation" is.

Why is this process taking place?

At about 11-14 years old, a girl's body reaches a certain level of maturity. It is during this period that he begins to prepare for the possible process of pregnancy. The endometrium (the lining of the uterus) thickens and swells under the influence of hormones in order to be able to receive a possible embryo. In the middle of the cycle (about 14 days from the day of the start of menstruation), the egg matures, and if it was fertilized by a sperm at that time (conception occurred), then the unborn child (still an embryo) begins its development in the uterus. If there was no conception process, then the entire resulting environment becomes superfluous and unnecessary for the body, therefore, with the help of hormones, it rejects all this outward. Rejection is produced by bleeding, which is called "menstruation", or "menstruation".

What should they normally be?

The blood released during menstruation should be dark red in color. The duration of menstruation in girls varies from 3 to 6 days. Do not confuse it with the duration of the menstrual cycle. Knowing it, you can calculate the date of menstruation. The menstrual cycle is the time elapsed from the day one menstruation begins to the first day of the next. Basically, its duration in women is 28 days. Due to the fact that this figure coincides with the length of the lunar month, the ancient peoples considered the body of girls dependent on the influence of the night star.

Is this process inherent in animals?

In the bulk of representatives of the animal world, such a phenomenon as menstruation is absent. Estrus or estrus do not belong to this concept. Only long-eared jumpers, some species of bats and higher monkeys have an idea about this process. Speaking about what "menstruation" is in teenage girls (girls, women), special emphasis was placed on the fact that the uterus is prepared in advance to receive and place the embryo. In animals, unlike humans, this action does not occur. The uterine endometrium begins to thicken after the very process of conception. Biologists explain this difference by the fact that the human embryo pierces the maternal vessels, therefore, grows into the uterine wall very tightly. In animals, this connection is superficial, because their conception is sometimes possible several times a year.

Menstruation - regular physiological uterine bleeding, characteristic of some species of placental mammals, including humans. Among mammals, the presence of menstruation can boast of primates, bats, jumping bugs, and humans. Surely, almost any young girl had a question: what is menstruation and why are they needed.

In fact, the female menstrual cycle is a clear mechanism, formed by the process of evolution, aimed at reproducing healthy offspring on the one hand and performing a protective function on the other. To understand why menstruation is needed, why they go, what role they play, consider the phases of menstrual cyclic changes.

Menstrual cycle

Typically, the menstrual cycle is from 25 to 35 days, counted from the first day of the onset of menstruation to the first day of the next period. They can go from three to six days.

The appearance of the first menstruation should be expected at the age of 11-14 years. Formally, the appearance of the first menstruation is a signal from the body that it is physiologically ready for the process of conception, bearing, and the birth of a child.

However, girls should not forget that there is still a social and psychological aspect of this issue, and physiological readiness does not at all mean physical and psycho-emotional readiness for motherhood.

The menstrual cycle is represented by separate periods - phases that differ from each other not only hormonally, but also functionally, successively replacing each other. Cycle phases:

• follicular phase. This is the period from the first day of menstruation to the process of ovulation. It is approximately the first half of the cycle, from the first to the 11-16th day of the cycle. It is characterized by a gradual increase in estrogen levels. Under its influence, the process of maturation of the egg in the ovarian follicle occurs.
• ovulation phase. It is believed that the process of ovulation occurs around the middle of the menstrual cycle. When the process of egg maturation in the ovaries reaches its peak, the follicle ruptures and the egg leaves it. She is ready for fertilization, moving through the fallopian tubes into the cavity of the body of the uterus, to the place of its possible potential attachment in the endometrium of the uterus, subject to the onset of fertilization.
• Luteal, or phase of the corpus luteum.
  o the second half of the cycle, following the rupture of the ovarian follicle and the release of the egg. Hormonal support of this period is carried out by progesterone, the level of estrogen decreases. In the ovary, a corpus luteum forms in place of the follicle. This is a temporary hormonal organ aimed at maintaining pregnancy if fertilization occurs. In case of fertilization, after about 7 days, the dividing egg is implanted (attached) to the endometrium of the uterus. From this moment until the formation of the placenta, pregnancy is hormonally supported by the production of human chorionic gonadotropin. However, if fertilization did not occur or occurred with some kind of mistake and the fetal egg did not attach to the uterine mucosa, the level of hormones (estrogen and progesterone) decreases sharply by the end of the menstrual cycle. The functional epithelium of the uterus due to the lack of "hormonal support" is rejected, which is manifested by menstrual bleeding.

Meaning of menstruation

The essence of the answer to the question why menstruation is needed can be summarized as follows: menstruation is the possibility of monthly renewal of the uterine epithelium, which undergoes irreversible changes and is rejected as unnecessary, but rebuilt again so that the woman fulfills her main purpose - to become a mother. Do not forget that pregnancy is the only thing for which the reproductive system has been created and functions. In fact, menstruation is a monthly reminder of the purpose of the female body.

Functions of menstruation:

• Updates. Another answer to the question of why menstruation is needed is the implementation of the update function. The inner layer of the uterus is represented by epithelial cells. They are initially arranged in such a way that the process of desquamation and renewal of the endometrium occurs. This is how the epithelial cover on the skin, intestinal mucosa, and bronchi is renewed. Rejection of the inner lining of the uterus is nothing more than menstruation.
• biological protective. It is believed that the functional layer of the uterus is able in some unknown way to recognize defects and errors in a fertilized egg (serious DNA defects, chromosomal abnormalities), preventing its implantation, thereby protecting the body from the onset of an “incorrect” pregnancy. Such a fetal egg dies along with the uterine epithelium and is excreted from the body along with the onset of the next menstruation.

evolutionary theory

There is a version that the menstrual cycle is an erroneous mutation of the estrous cycle, characteristic of most mammals. It is difficult to dispute this opinion, but it is much more pleasant to realize that the presence of a menstrual cycle, unlike the estrous one, has a number of advantages: the ability to copulate not on regulated days, but much more often, to receive emotional and physical pleasure during sexual intercourse, the ability to plan your offspring.

You can argue for a long time why menstruation is needed from the point of view of various theories. In the modern world, menstruation has an important social significance: a woman cannot feel complete if she does not have menstruation. At the same time, her status in society, financial situation and other factors do not matter.

There is no menstruation. The discharge immediately after childbirth is called lochia and lasts for several weeks. Sometimes during breastfeeding, menstruation may be absent for some time, and on this absence of menstruation such a method of contraception is built as a method of lactational amenorrhea.

The first appearance of menstruation (menarche) in a woman occurs at 12-14 years on average; (with a range from 9-11 years old to 19-21 years old). Menses in hot climates are shown between 11 and 15 years of age; in moderate - between 12 and 18 years of age and, finally, in cold - between 13 and 21 years of age. Good nutrition and physical condition hasten the onset of the menstrual period; conversely, malnutrition, overwork and poor physical condition retard its onset.

After the first menstruation, the next one may be in 2 or 3 months. Over time, the menstrual cycle sets in and lasts 28 days, but a cycle length of 21 to 35 days is normal. Only 13% of all women have a cycle of exactly 28 days. Menstruation lasts approximately 2-8 days. All discharge comes from the vagina, but there may be cases when endometrial cells get into other parts of the body, then bleeding will also come from them.

Age of menopause (cessation of menstruation): the norm is 40-57 years, most likely 50-52 years. In temperate climates, menstruation lasts an average of 50 years, after which menopause occurs; first, the rules disappear for several months, then they appear and disappear again, etc. There are, however, women who retain menstruation up to 70 years. Generally, in women with early puberty, menopause occurs later and, consequently, the productive period is generally longer.

The menstrual cycle is unique to humans and apes.

Rules of conduct during menstruation and personal hygiene

For personal hygiene, girls and women use pads and / or tampons. In European countries, the USA and Canada, menstrual cups are gaining more and more popularity as personal hygiene products, which are considered more gentle on the health of women and less harmful to the environment than traditional products.

During menstruation, it is especially necessary to follow the rules of hygiene (daily shower, washing 2-3 times a day) due to the fact that bloody menstrual flow is a favorable environment for the growth of bacteria, including pathogens. Also, you can not use physical activity, you need mental peace.

Menstrual disorders

Menstrual disorders are quite common and come down to:

1. To stop or stop (amenorrhea),
2. For diverted or displaced bleeding ( menstruatio vicaria),
3. To increase (menorrhagia),
4. To painful menstruation (dysmenorrhea, obsolete algomenorrhea).

Stopping menstruation depends on various conditions. Conception stops the normal flow of blood and constitutes the physiological cause. Menstruation can stop with any significant loss of blood from another part of the body, in which case the menstrual blood is retained or removed in other ways [ what?] . When stopping menstruation, it is necessary to keep in mind the reason that caused this abnormality. If after a cold, after mental unrest, menstruation does not occur for a long time, then you need to see a doctor. Special mention deserves the delay of menstruation by mechanical means; it happens with narrowing of the entrance to the vagina, with narrowing of the vagina itself and the cervix.

In the Abrahamic religions, menstrual blood is considered ritually impure, and there is a ban on sex and participation in certain religious rites during menstruation.

19 If a woman has a flow of blood flowing from her body, then she must sit 7 days during her purification, and whoever touches her will be unclean until the evening; 20 and everything on which she lies during her purification is unclean; and whatever it sits on is unclean; 21 and whoever touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening; 22 And whoever touches any thing on which she sat must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening; 23 And if anyone touches anything on the bed, or on the thing on which she sat, he will be unclean until evening; 24 If a husband sleeps with her, her uncleanness will be on him; he will be unclean for 7 days, and every bed on which he lies will be unclean. 25 If a woman bleeds for many days outside of her cleansing, or if she has a flow longer than her usual cleansing, then all the time her uncleanness is flowing out, as in the course of her cleansing, she is unclean; 26 every bed on which she lies during the whole time of her discharge will be unclean, like a bed during her cleansing; and every thing that she sits on will be unclean, just as it is unclean at the time of her cleansing; 27 and whoever touches them shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening.

see also

• Medications to relieve menstrual pain

Literature

• V. N. Serov, V. N. Prilepskaya, T. V. Ovsyannikova"Gynecological endocrinology" (3rd edition), - M .: MEDpress-inform, 2008. ISBN 5-98322-449-2
• V. I. Kulakov, V. N. Serov"Rational pharmacotherapy in obstetrics and gynecology", - M.: Litterra, 2005. ISBN 5-98216-025-3

Notes

Links

• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
• T. A. Agapkina. Menstruation in the representations of Slavic folk culture

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what "Menstruation" is in other dictionaries:

- (new lat. menstruatio, from mensis month). Monthly cleansing, regulations. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. MENSTRUCTION Novolatinsk. menstruatio, from mensis, month. Monthly cleansing. Explanation of 25000… … Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language