Anjanhadri High School

BY ANUSHKA
WHAT ARE PERIODS:

● Periods are a biological development that females go through at about 10-14 years old but this
number can vary from person to person.
● The menstrual cycle or periods is when women periodically bleed from the vagina every month for
about 3 to 7 days.
● Each bleeding happens roughly about every 28 day but this number can vary a lot (21 to 35 is the
usual range) due to a range of factors.
● Periods stop after a certain age (around 48) when women hit menopause but this number can also
vary a lot.
● This process, which is called puberty, happens to all those who are biologically female.
WHY DO PERIODS HAPPEN:

● Menstruation aka periods is like any other biological process. What processes do
YOU know?
● Period can be explained through a simple analogy. Imagine your family is coming
to visit. Your mother prepares a special bedding (blanket) for your family but
they do not end up coming. Angry your mother throws away all the bedding.
● The same way, your ovaries (your mom) prepare for fertilisation of egg by sperm
cell (family coming to visit) by building up the uterine lining (special
bedding). But when the fertilisation does not happen, the uterine lining is shed
(bedding thrown away).
● The shedding of the uterine lining causes you to bleed from your vagina and this
is called periods.
TRACKING YOUR CYCLE

How to calculate your cycle average length?

1. Track your last three cycles.

2. Take an average of three cycles and that is your cycle length
3. 2-3 days before your next cycle look out for PMS symptoms

Usually cycles last 28 days but don’t worry if yours doesnt!

Everyone’s cycle length is different with some people’s being only
21 days so they get periods twice a month and with some people’s
periods extending to 35 days so they get their period once in 2
months.
GETTING YOUR PERIOD FOR THE FIRST TIME

How do you know when you are about to get your first period?

Before you get your first period, your hips will widen, your breasts will develop. You will also
see a white clear sticky substance in your underwear a few days prior to your first period.
Another thing you might experience is PMS.

PMS or Premenstrual Syndrome is a wide variety of symptoms that occur in menstruators during the
luteal phase. It includes:

Mood swings, tender breasts, food cravings, fatigue, irritability and depression.

Some people don’t experience PMS and everyone experience different forms of PMS but it is
estimated that as many as 3 of every 4 menstruating women have experienced some form of
premenstrual syndrome.

So it is likely that 14 days before your first period you will experience at least some of the
above symptoms.
GETTING YOUR PERIOD IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS

Your period can be predicted by calculating your cycle but there will
always be surprises. In order to be prepared always carry a pad on you at
all time. If you are going to school, keep a change of underwear as well.

However, by chance if you don’t have a pad and cannot go home, make a pad
out of tissues in the bathroom and wrap a jacket around your waist to
prevent bleeding from being shown!

Note: your tissue pad is only a temporary fix and should NOT be the
product you are generally using as it is can cause infections very
easily.
SUMMARY OF GENERAL THINGS AFFECTED BY PERIODS:

Periods can cause the following symptoms in a menstruator:

- Mood swings
- Mild cramping
- Acne
- Food cravings
- Bloating

Anything apart from this is a cause of worry and should be

discussed and checked by a gynecologist.
CONDITION DURING PERIODS

Bleeding: Everyone’s bleeding during periods is different due

to a range of factors (which we will discuss). Your bleeding
can be light (so you change a pad every 10-12 hours), it can
be heavy (change pad every 2-4 hours) or it can be normal
(every 6-8 hours). DO NOT wear pads for too long as this can
cause infections. As you progress along your 3-7 period cycle,
your bleeding will get lighter. You will also see clots or
dark spots of blood, or some brown discharge which is totally
normal!
COMMON REMEDIES

1. Period cramps: pressing a hot pack on your lower abdomen and

lying in a position that is comfortable.
2. Mood swings: Indulging in activities you like.
3. Feelings of fatigue: Rest and eat your favourite food.
4. Bloating: avoid eating salty and sugary foods.
5. Acne skin : Wash your face regularly and apply medicinally
trusted creams (face washes and creams containing salicylic
acid).
6. Period diarrhea: eat foods with less fiber like badam (almonds),
banana, cucumber etc. Drink lots of water.
IMPORTANCE OF CONSULTING A GYNECOLOGIST

Who is a gynecologist?
A gynecologist is someone who you should consult if you are
having issues with your private parts. Note: a gynecologist
is different from an obstetrician, who is someone to be
consulted if you have problems with pregnancy.
When should you visit a gynecologist?
Ideally, every menstruator should visit a gynecologist
at least once between the ages of 14 to 17 once they get
their period. This is not because they have a problem, but
just to get a general idea about their reproductive system.
IMPORTANCE OF CONSULTING A GYNECOLOGIST

However, besides this one visit, there a few instances that

indicate a visit to the gynecologist. These are:
● Discharge that has an odor or the constant smell of urine after using the
washroom.
● Abnormal discharge
● Itching/burning in your private parts or discomfort during urination: indication
of an infection.
● Irregular periods: it takes 3-4 years for your periods to become regular, but if
it goes until 6-7 years go to doctor.
● Obesity, hair loss, hairy face, acne that doesn’t go away easily
● Period pain/cramps that prevents you from doing daily work. Note: do not take
medication for cramps without consulting a doctor.
IMPORTANCE OF CONSULTING A GYNECOLOGIST

● Note: a gynecologist visit is not a scary thing. It

doesn’t involve people sticking things between your legs,
or anything like that. It can sometimes just be a
conversation, discussion, prescribing medicine. Basically
things like any other doctor!
HOW DOES YOUR DIET AFFECT
YOUR PERIODS?
HOW DOES YOUR DIET AFFECTS PERIODS

Foods to avoid:

● Food with too much salt are not good for you as they can cause bloating. Examples of
foods like these are chips, fries etc!
● Sugar is especially bad during PMS as it heightens mood swing so unfortunately you must
avoid those yummy ladoos!
● Coffee can also cause bloating (dehydrates you) and digestive issues especially if you
have period diarrhea or period constipation!
● Red meat (ham, cow etc) maybe a source of iron but they have high fat content which can
cause your period to become irregular so it best to get iron from fish, spinach and
legumes.
● If you are not good at handling spicy food, then completely avoid it during your period
because it will worsen your cramps. Just generally avoid foods you don’t tolerate well!
HOW DOES YOUR DIET AFFECTS PERIODS

Exercise:

Doing exercise like running during periods is important as it stimulates hormones

that make you feel better. If you are someone with heavy periods/severe cramps,
do some light exercise like yoga!

Some easy poses that alleviate cramps:

-Cow pose

-Cat pose

-Cobra pose

Do you know any of these poses?

OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING PERIODS

● Weight
● Age
HYGIENE DURING PERIODS

● Women should wash their, their hands, their face and

generally be more conscious of their hygiene during
periods as there is a higher chance of acne during
periods.
● You also need to use standardised, sterilized, sanitary
products during your period. We will now discuss the most
common products used.
PRODUCTS (EXTERNAL: DON’T REQUIRE INSERTION)

REUSABLE PAD:

● highly comfortable
● cheap, can be homemade
● good quality cloth and sanitary place for drying (under the sun) and washing
● used for more than a year, but at least 5 are required per cycle
● soaked before washing, no insertion

DISPOSABLE PAD:

● highly comfortable
● expensive
● if not changed within 6-8 hours, it can cause infections
● you need at least 12-22 per cycle, can't dispose them easily
● very easy to use even with lack of adequate facility
USAGE AND DISPOSAL OF PRODUCTS:

Each product requires different usage and disposal and we will go in brief.

Disposable pad:

● The disposable pad will have a sticky side and a normal side with two flaps.
● The sticky side will go on your underwear with the normal side facing your vagina.
● Then the flaps will go to the back of the underwear to make the pad stick.
● In some pads which are designed for heavier flow, there will be a larger end and a
smaller end. In this case the smaller end will go in the front and the larger end will go
in the back. This is to prevent any leakage during a long period of time e.g. when you
sleep. Since leakage mainly happens from the back, the back part is longer.
● To dispose the pad, wrap it properly in a newspaper/tissues and throw it in the bin. DO
NOT THROW IT IN THE TOILET. This will lead to clogging, which is very expensive to fix.
USAGE AND DISPOSAL OF PRODUCTS:

Reusable pads:

● Put the patterned side/the side with the buttons facing them on the underwear and the non-
patterned side facing the vagina.
● Take the flaps and button them on the bottom of the underwear.
● If it is an overnight/heavy flow pad with a large and small side, the the small side has to go
front and the large side has to go to the back.
● To clean the pad, soak the pad in cold water with the soled side facing down for 30 mins. DO
NOT put it in hot water, this will set the stain NOT remove it.
● Then wash it by hand (NO brush) by rubbing the pad against each other using detergent and
water used for other cloths OR wash it in the washing machine (40 degrees max) with detergent.
● Then dry it in the sun properly.
● You can store it in a cool dry place with the flaps folded.
● The life cycle of reusable pads can depend ranging from 1-3 years.