Is it possible to "shift" menstruation before vacation? How safe is it for the body? Is it worth swimming during your period and how to do it without risking women's health? Doctor answers
Menstruation can hardly be called a pleasant state of the body, and in the summer it gives us even more discomfort. Because of the heat, your periods are often more profuse and last longer than usual. It is especially unpleasant when critical days fall on vacation: the cherished time for which you have been waiting for a whole year turns out to be completely ruined. Is it possible to do something in this situation and is it safe to "move" the monthly schedule, says the obstetrician-gynecologist Lyudmila Shupenyuk
How to delay menstruation with hormonal drugs
Hormonal contraceptives will "turn off" menstruation for a month / istockphoto.com
if you accept birth control pills, it is possible to "remove" menstruation for a month due to the action of these drugs. As a rule, hormonal contraceptives have a "hormone-free" interval, during which menstruation begins. For example, pills are drunk for 21 days, followed by a seven-day break "for menstruation." Or a course of admission 24 days, and then 4 days off.
“In order to get rid of menstruation, you just need to exclude this hormone-free period. Finish the course and start a new package the next day. In this case, critical days do not come ",- says Lyudmila Shupenyuk.
Is it safe for the body? “This method of taking hormonal contraceptives exists,” says Lyudmila Shupenyuk. - It is often used by professional athletes or dancers, because critical days may not always have a beneficial effect on a competition or a concert. Therefore, as a one-time practice, this is quite acceptable. The only thing is that you don't need to do this every month, because a woman should have critical days. "
If you have not taken hormonal contraceptives, but found out about this method on the eve of the vacation and want to try, do not do it yourself. “Firstly, only a specialist should select contraceptives. Secondly, the beginning of the intake can be accompanied by spotting bleeding for a whole month. So instead of getting rid of 3-4 days of menstruation, you will get 2-3 weeks of bloody discharge, ”warns Lyudmila Shupenyuk.
On the internet, you can find tips on how to delay your period with other hormonal drugs (such as progesterone or estrogen). However, here, too, you should not bump into experiments. “The body's reactions are very individual. In one woman, while taking progesterone, her periods may indeed be delayed. But with the other, they, on the contrary, will go earlier. It is impossible to predict how your body will behave in this case, ”the expert emphasizes.
How to influence menstruation using traditional methods
In hot weather, periods can be more profuse and painful / istockphoto.com
It is impossible to delay menstruation using folk methods, but there are many recommendations on how to call them earlier. This is mint tea, and a decoction of parsley, and pomegranate squeeze, and tips to soak your feet in hot water. Some women try to speed up the onset of their monthly physical activity: go to the gym or start rearranging wardrobes and sofas. However, as a rule, such approaches will bring nothing but health problems.
There are no folk methods with proven effectiveness in this situation, says Lyudmila Shupenyuk. If for one they work, then it is rather a coincidence of circumstances and self-hypnosis. Most often, women with an irregular cycle talk about the effectiveness of such methods. If your period goes "like clockwork", the experiments will end in failure.
In this case, it is better to think about how to make your period less painful and abundant. After all, heat, stress from the trip, change of environment and habitual regime can cause a real "flood". Again, there are no folk methods here, but there is a medical method. According to Lyudmila Shupenyuk, the problem can be solved by taking medications that improve the condition of the vascular wall. They should be prescribed by a doctor, so a couple of weeks before the vacation it is better to go for a consultation with your specialist.
Is it possible to swim during menstruation
You can swim during your period, but only by the rules / istockphoto.com
If you come to the sea for a week, it is so offensive to refuse to swim during critical days. Lyudmila Shupenyuk says that it is not at all necessary to do this. If your period is heavy, and the tampon lasts literally for 1-2 hours, then you really shouldn't go into the water. Better to wait a couple of days than to be nervous all the time on the beach. But if your period is normal or scanty, you can swim. The only thing on the beach is to drink plenty of fluids and not sit in the open sun.
Another important rule of thumb when bathing during your period is to change your tampon as soon as you get out of the water. “Remember that the tampon not only absorbs what comes from above, but also what comes from below. First, a wet swab does not fulfill its function. And secondly, if the water in the reservoir is not entirely clean, you run the risk of introducing some kind of infection into the body. "
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