Beauty and Personal Grooming

Painful menstruation or having menstrual cramps can be very annoying and discomforting. Several methods such as popping over the counter pills as well as home-remedies are tried out by suffering women during this period. While some self-care methods and home-remedies work to relieve menstrual pain to a great extent, few know that exercise during this period can help too . And that includes treadmill workout too! Yes, treadmill workout can relieve period pain . But is it the only exercise to ease pain during menses? No. Then why the emphasis on working out on a treadmill? But before you seek an answer to your questions, take a look at the reasons that cause menstrual cramps and period pain.

When I read about a study that says "Fewer reproductive years in women linked to an increased risk of dementia", I was intrigued. Earlier, I had mentioned about a study which links being underweight to hitting menopause early . Early menopause is linked with a higher risk of osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, Parkinson's disease and dementia.

Women may reach early menopause for a myriad of reasons. The reasons for this can vary from genetically inheriting this condition, diseases like cancer, premature ovarian failure (POF), Turner's Syndrome and surgeries like  hysterectomy. Besides these, some uncommon reasons that increase the risk of early menopause are reaching menarche before the age of 12 and being childless, precocious puberty or early puberty - all of  which I have shared in the post " Mother's obesity may cause early puberty in daughters ".

Precocious Puberty or early puberty has become quite common these days and we find young girls reaching menarche before the age of 10. Myriad causes are responsible for this and we have already discussed some of it in the post " Air pollution possibly delays menarche - A surprising result of a study ." In a large study involving involving 50,000 postmenopausal women in the UK, Australia, Japan and Scandinavia, it was found that women were 31 percent more likely to go through menopause early - between the ages of 40-44 if they started menstruating before their 12th birthday.

Some time back, I had shared how being underweight is a risk factor for early menopause . Besides body weight, the food that you eat also determines when you will enter menopause, a new research (1) has found.

These days girls are hitting puberty at a very early age due to various reasons - (1) increased childhood obesity due to sedentary lifestyle and gorging on unhealthy, junk food, eating meat & poultry treated with antibiotics and hormones, soft drink consumption, exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)  by usage of plastics containing BPA & phthalates for storing food  & beverages,  exposure to Dichlobenzene in moth balls, air fresheners and deodorizers, acute stress or extreme sensitivity to stress in childhood years,  in-utero exposure to excessive female hormones such as estrogen if the mother was administered the same during IVF or IUI procedures etc.   Precocious puberty (2) has become a huge issue in recent times.

I admit I do suffer from a few unpleasant symptoms during PMS , but it's nothing severe that can disrupt my routine. Sometime back,  I'd heard one of my friends saying that she usually has headaches / migraines around the time of her period . At that point of time, I didn't think much of it. And although I didn't voice my thoughts to her, I believed that it was just a coincidence and that she was mistakenly linking her headaches with her menstrual cycle .

Apparently there seems to be a connection between being underweight and hitting menopause early . While perusing the articles at Washington Post and NYTimes , I came across this study, Adult adiposity and risk of early menopause , in which researchers analyzed data on 78,759 pre-menopausal women who were mostly in their mid-30s, when the study was started. This study spanned for about 22 years and in that time around 2,804 women reached menopause before the the age of 45, which is considered early. All these women reached menopause naturally and none because of hysterectomy, oophorectomy, radiation therapy or chemotherapy.

Today, let's talk about something super common, yet often misunderstood: PMS and "brain fog. " You know, those days when you feel a little… off.  Maybe you're a bit forgetful, your mood's a rollercoaster, or you're just not feeling your sharpest. Sound familiar? We've all heard the jokes, right? " Is it that time of the month? " or " Someone's having a case of the Mondays, huh? " But let's get real for a minute.  Is there actual science behind this, or is it just another stereotype? And what about those "sexy" remarks that are often thrown around? They're not only dismissive, but they also perpetuate harmful misconceptions. The Hormonal Rollercoaster: What's Really Happening? It's true that hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle are real. Progesterone levels rise in the luteal phase (the second half of your cycle), and this can indeed lead to some changes.  It's often linked to a drop in serot...

I am a 22 year old unmarried girl. I keep myself clean and wash my private parts regularly while bathing. Sometimes I notice a whitish sticky discharge from my private parts. It does not pain or itch. I am very worried. Please advise. Response: Some vaginal secretions are normally present which are meant to lubricate the vaginal walls. It’s absolutely normal for your vagina or cervix to produce these clear or white secretions.

There's a pattern in my life I can't ignore: a few days before my period, my dreams take a bizarre, vivid turn . They're not always nightmares, but they're definitely unsettling.  I might find myself wandering naked in a crowded place , desperately searching for something I can't name, or being chased through a maze of unfamiliar streets.  Sometimes, it’s the wrenching grief of losing a loved one , so real it leaves me shaken even after I wake.  Other times, the dreams are just a bizarre, hazy mishmash of images and emotions , leaving me feeling disoriented and confused. It's like my brain decides to throw a surreal movie marathon, and I'm the unwilling audience.

I am a 15 year old girl. I started my periods at the age of 14. My breasts are very heavy and hurt sometimes. Do teenage girls often have such feelings in the breast? How do I get rid of the pain? I have also some whitish patches on the sides of my breast. What are these? Please advise. Image Courtesy of marin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Aloe Vera's benefits had been known since times immemorial. While the aloe gel was touted as a health promoter by the Greek physician Dioscorides, it's beauty uses was well-known to the Egyptians. Cleopatra was a great admirer of aloe plant and used it extensively in her beauty rituals. It's indeed a miracle plant with its amazing healing properties. It's seen that aloevera can be used to heal cuts, wounds and even eczema , dermatitis and psoriasis most effectively. Aloe vera can penetrate into the skin layers resulting in prompt healing and rejuvenation of the skin. Not only that it is also used to relieve conditions like arthritis, asthma, heartburn, hemorrhoids, and manage diabetes aside from its topical use.  There is no end to singing the glories of this wonder plant.

Rina asks: A week before I get my period, I get constipated. However it disappears when menstruation occurs. What could be the reason? And how do I tackle this?

Nita asks: I am a 15-year old girl. My periods continue for 7 days and I bleed excessively during the first 3 days. Is it normal? Please advise.

I’ve never suffered from painful periods. Except for a little discomfort and slight abdominal pain on the first day, the rest of the days are absolutely fuss-free and I sometimes even forget that I am having a period. But I can understand the torment of some girls who go through this misery each month. I’ve seen them suffer great agonies, sometimes even rolling on the bed with excruciating cramps and severe abdominal pain. For that purpose I’ve compiled a post with effective home-remedies to relieve their symptoms and make life easy for them.

Some pain and discomfort during menstruation is quite common and natural. But excessive bleeding, unbearable painful cramps, intense pain in the abdomen, backaches, extreme mood swings etc. – all these don’t seem so normal. In medical parlance, this is called as dysmenorrhea . If you are in the throes of such extremely severe symptoms during those days of the month, and home self-care measures don’t work for you then you should seriously think of consulting a gynecologist.

A woman, who is normally calm and courteous, shows a marked change in her behavior on certain days of the month. If she is the extrovert and outgoing type, she may become unduly rude and quarrelsome, make unreasonable demands, snap at family members, and find fault with people for minor reasons she would have otherwise overlooked. And if she is the shy and introvert type, then she may become totally withdrawn, morose, moody and prone to unaccountable tears, take offense where none was intended and harbor suicidal thoughts. No, she is not suffering from hysteria or any serious psychiatric disorder. She is in the throes of ‘that misery time’ trauma called PMS.

Heavy and excessive bleeding during menstruation, with pain in the abdomen and the lumbar region is a source of discomfort and pain for some girls. Also called as menorrhagia, this sometimes can lead to anemia . Some of these home remedies will help in providing relief.

Delayed periods or Irregular menstrual periods have become very common these days for a lot of women in their reproductive age and they suffer great agonies when their period does not come on time. A delay of 4-5 days may be fine but if it exceeds 8 days, then it's certainly a cause for concern. In this post, I'll be sharing highly effective Indian home remedies for your delayed periods . I'd been a long sufferer of irregular periods during my teenage to early twenties. I've tried most of the recipes here, along with Kapalabhati pranayama, yoga poses, mudras and other lifestyle habits. Now my periods are extremely regular like clockwork; not a day less or more than 28. When I look back, I'm surprised how I managed those years of anxiety and fear about my late periods.