How To Reduce Pain Using A Heating Pad/ Bottle
Heat treatment using hot water bottles or pads has been found to be a faster and better treatment than pain relievers. Using heat and a pain reliever such as Ibuprofen offers even faster relief for moderate to severe period pain. Heating bottles can best be used while sleeping at night. You can alternatively increase hydration by drinking hot liquids or take a warm bath to increase blood flow to the skin and relax cramped muscles.
What Are Period Cramps
Most women have experienced dysmenorrhea, or period cramps, at some time. It tends to happen just before and during the menstrual cycle. What does it feel like to have period cramps? Its often described as a cramping or constant ache in the lower belly and lower back back. The intensity varies some women dont experience cramps or theyre very mild, while for other women, it can be painful enough that normal day-to-day activities are affected.
What causes period cramps? During menstruation, the uterus contracts as it gets rid of the lining thats what the blood is. The contractions are what cause the cramping. Thats normal cramping, anyway. Other conditions, like endometriosis and adenomyosis, can also trigger period cramps.
What relieves period cramps fast? This also depends on the woman. Over-the-counter medications can help, as can birth control pills . Warm compresses applied directly on the abdomen can help. But ultimately, many women just wind up grimacing and bearing the pain each month.
Take A Piece Of Chocolate
Chocolates are a girls best friend and sure save the day in menstrual phase too.
When having severe cramps, take a piece of chocolate in the mouth and consume the melting form without actually chewing it.
Chocolate calms the senses instantly and the high magnesium content gives strength to deal with pains. Chocolate also causes secretion of endorphins in the body, the hormones that is a natural pain killer.
Try these simple techniques while at school, work, travelling or in a public place where you cannot treat the trouble in privacy.
It is not necessary that a single technique works for all, therefore be a decision maker for yourself, take a step at a time and deal with the problem.
Period problems should not restrict you from doing things that you like or are necessary after all.
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How To Stop Period Cramps At School: 10 Methods That Work Best
A child is very sensitive during early period days and in such conditions do not want to step out of the comfort zone. At school too, sitting and standing several times, physical activities, and improper hygiene services are a concern for most of them.
To top it all, period cramps often cause a lot of distraction and trouble the little girls with nobody to share the feeling with. Since the body undergoes so many changes, it is natural for a girl to be a little under-confident.
As a parent/guardian, it is necessary for us to train our children to deal with such situations boldly and correctly.
What Helps With Cramps
Here are a some things that can help ease cramps:
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Over-the-counter pain medicine like ibuprofen , naproxen , or acetaminophen . Always follow the instructions on the bottle. Talk with your doctor before taking pain medication if you have an allergy to aspirin or severe asthma.
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Exercise.
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Hormonal birth control .
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Acupuncture and acupressure.
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Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation therapy that uses mild electric currents to stimulate your nerves to relieve pain.
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Certain vitamins and herbs like vitamin B1, fish oil, fenugreek, ginger, valerian, zataria, and zinc sulfate.
Cramps are a pretty normal part of getting your period, but sometimes people have period cramps that are so painful its hard to do everyday things . If your period pain is really bad, and over-the-counter medicine doesnt help, talk with your doctor. They can help with other ways to manage the pain, or they may want to check to see if theres something more serious going on.
Cramps that are really bad may be a sign of:
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Pelvic Inflammatory Disease an infection in your reproductive organs.
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Endometriosis a condition where the lining of your uterus grows outside of your uterus.
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Adenomyosis when the tissue that lines your uterus grows into the muscle wall of your uterus.
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Uterine fibroids non-cancerous tumors that grow inside your uterus, in the walls of your uterus, or on the outside of your uterus.
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How To Relieve Period Cramps The Natural Way
If you came here wanting to know how to ease menstrual cramps, then youve certainly come to the right place. But before you learn the ultimate secrets on how to reduce menstrual cramps the natural way, I want to walk you through a story that I know will sound familiar to you.
As a woman, its likely that youve been through this scenario in your life. Youre curled up in a little ball on the couch in your apartment. Your eyes are closed youre just waiting for the aspirin you took about an hour ago to kick in.
You were led to believe that this aspirin would reduce menstrual cramps quickly and effectively but so far, you havent experienced a single ounce of relief. Its enough to make you want to stand up in scream if only you could stand.
Instead of going out and enjoying your life, youve restricted yourself to your living room. Youre in far too much pain to contemplate doing anything that you planned this week. Youve called in sick from work.
You canceled going to happy hour with your colleagues and friends. Youre even considering canceling that date youve been looking forward to for weeks after all, youre not going to be able to impress him when youre hunched over with periodl cramps, now are you?
Why Pharmaceutical Drugs Wont Work
With that in mind, lets take a look at some of the ways you can effectively reduce menstrual cramps with treatments that get to the root of the problem.
A Diet Thats Rich In Iron
Increase Your Activity Levels
How Does Ovulation Relate To Periods
Ovulation is the release of an egg from the ovaries. The same hormones that cause the uterus lining to build up also cause an egg to leave one of the ovaries. The egg travels through a thin tube called a fallopian tube to the uterus.
If the egg is fertilized by a sperm cell, it attaches to the wall of the uterus, where over time it develops into a baby. If the egg is not fertilized, the uterus lining breaks down and bleeds, causing a period.
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Treating Underlying Health Conditions
Sometimes, severe period pain is the result of an underlying health condition. In these cases, receiving treatment for the condition may help alleviate period pain.
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a condition that occurs when the tissue that lines the uterus begins to grow in areas outside of the uterine cavity. This tissue bleeds and swells at the same time as the monthly period.
Some symptoms of endometriosis
- chronic lower back and pelvic pain
- pain during or after sex
- painful bowel movements
These methods may not be able to stop period pain permanently, but they can work quickly.
Females who would prefer fast-acting pain relief for their period pain can try:
- applying a hot water bottle or heat pad to their abdomen
- taking a warm bath or shower
- lightly massaging the area
- using relaxation techniques, such as practicing gentle yoga or Pilates
- using a transcutaneous electronic nerve stimulation device, which delivers a mild electrical current to the abdomen to reduce pain
- gently exercising
When possible, preventing period pain before it starts is a good method for managing the menstrual cycle. Females may be able to do this by making certain dietary changes or by quitting smoking.
Make Sure To Stay Hydrated
It sounds counterintuitive, but drinking more water can actually help lessen bloating by keeping your digestive system, uh, running smoothly. Get even more water in your diet by adding in water-rich fruits and vegetables like cucumber and watermelon.
You can also go a step further and sip on warm or hot water, which can actually help lessen period cramps from the insideheated beverages have a relaxing effect on muscles, says Dweck.
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Best Herbal Teas For Menstrual Cramps
Plants are effective on reducing dysmenorrhea and herbal teas make a great natural home remedy for period pain. Drinking herbal teas for menstrual cramps has been a part of traditional herbal medicine for thousands of years. These warming teas also help sooth other mucous tissues and decrease any general inflammation.
From personal experience every time Im drinking herbal tea for menstrual cramps, the amount of pain diminished considerably within a couple of hours. So which tea is good for menstrual cramps and how it works?
Apply Heat To The Area
Placing a heating pad on your stomach or lower back can do wonders for relieving menstrual pain quickly. Heat is known to improve blood flow, relax muscles, and relieve tension in the body. Research indicates that a heat patch at 104°F is as effective as ibuprofen at relieving menstrual cramps.
Dont have a heating pad? Try a hot bath or shower instead.
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When Do People Usually Get Cramps
It is no secret that pain symptoms can appear at specific times in a womans cycle.
- Perimenstrual cramps. Pain starts before your period and lasts during menstruation. It can be felt in the lower back and thighs.
- Mid-cycle/ovulation pain. This pain can also occur in the middle of your cycle. Ovulation pain is usually felt in the lower abdomen. It may last from a few hours to even a couple of days.
Lets Talk About Yoga For Menstrual Cramps
Using yoga for menstrual cramps is an effective pain-relief strategy.
First, think about the areas of your body that typically experience pain from crampingyour belly, pelvis, hips, and lower back. These areas can be targeted for pain relief through certain yoga poses.
Additionally, the emotional symptoms of PMS and menstruation can also be reduced by yoga, so it can do more than treat period pain.
There are several different schools of yoga out there, and countless poses and adaptations. It can be a little overwhelming to start from scratch! Whether you have a significant amount of yoga experience or none at all, we want you to be able to use yoga to treat your menstrual cramps.
Here are a few specific yoga poses for menstrual cramps. We encourage you to give these a try!
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Take A Hot Bath Or Shower
Clearly, period pain is reason enough to draw yourself a steamy, sudsy bath or take a window-fogging long showerbut it turns out, that heat can be pretty therapeutic for your body, too.
“Heat brings blood flow to your pelvic area, and that helps relax the muscles causing cramps in the first place,” explains Alyssa Dweck, M.D., ob-gyn in Westchester, New York and coauthor of V Is for Vagina.
How To Relieve Painful Menstrual Cramps
Period cramps are annoying, aggravating and at times, downright terrible – and they may be a regular part of the menstrual cycle for more than half of women who have periods.
When you’re having menstrual cramps , you can have pain in your belly, hips, lower back, and even your inner thighs. The pain in your belly may also be accompanied by pressure, and in severe cases, loose stools, upset stomach, and vomiting.
Even though your menstrual cramps may be normal, it doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do to relieve the pain. Here are a few things you can do .
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Have Sex To Reduce Menstrual Cramps
According to Dr Lauren Streicher, MD, associate clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Feinbergs School of Medicine in Chicago, having orgasmic sex during your period releases good feel hormones known as endorphins. These will help with symptoms such as abdominal cramping and feelings of sadness.
Fish Oil And Vitamin B1
Researchers studied the effects of vitamin B1 and fish oil on dysmenorrhea symptoms in high school students. The young women were separated into 4 different groups. One group took 100 milligrams of vitamin B1 per day. Another took 500 milligrams of fish oil per day. One group took a combination of both vitamin B1 and fish oil daily. The last group took a placebo. The women took the treatment at the beginning of their menstrual cycles and continued for 2 months. Compared to those in the placebo group, those who took vitamin B1, fish oil, or both reported significantly less pain. The women who took fish oil or B1 also reported their pain didn’t last as long compared to those in the placebo group.
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Period Pain And Fertility
Period pain that’s part of your normal menstrual cycle will not affect your fertility. However, if the cause is a medical condition, this may affect your fertility.
For example, endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease can cause scarring and a build-up of tissue in your fallopian tubes, making it harder for sperm to reach and fertilise an egg.
Why Are Period Cramps Painful
Dysmenorrhea is thought to be caused by compounds in the body known as prostaglandins. Before menstruation starts each month, the level of prostaglandins in the lining of the uterus increases.
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Your prostaglandin level is its highest on the first day of your menstrual period, which is why menstrual pain is usually worse then. As your period progresses and the lining of the uterus is shed, your prostaglandin level decreases and pain gets better, ACOG states.
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Up The Magnesium In Your Diet
Dietary magnesium seems to help ease the pain of cramps, says DeJarra Sims, ND, a faculty member at Bastyr University in San Diego and the author of Your Healthiest Life Now.
Magnesium is found in many foods, including almonds, black beans, spinach, yogurt, and peanut butter.
If you want to take a magnesium supplement, Dr. Sims suggests speaking with your doctor, since the dose you need depends on the severity of your cramps along with other factors.
Ways To Relieve Painful Menstrual Cramps
Its a phenomenon women around the world most likely have suffered from at least once in their reproductive lives painful menstrual cramps. Simply mention the words, time of the month and women automatically know what you mean.
Menstruation is usually viewed by women as a temporary annoyance to get through each month. The majority of women have mild to no discomfort during their period. Yet about 40% of all women will experience wrenching pain and extreme discomfort when their period arrives known as menstrual cramps. Menstrual cramps are caused by uterine contraction where the uterus tightens and relaxes allowing blood to leave the uterus. Special chemicals called prostaglandins, released by the lining of the uterus, can increase the intensity of the contractions, especially if the levels are high.
The medical term for menstrual cramps is dysmenorrhea meaning difficult or painful periods and is the most commonly reported menstrual disorder. There are two types of dysmenorrhea:
Primary dysmenorrhea The most common type in which cramps can start 1-2 days before a period and can last 2-4 days.
Secondary dysmenorrhea This is when cramps and lower back pain are a result of a medical problem such as endometriosis or pelvic inflammatory disease.
Even though mild menstrual cramps are considered normal, they can put a crimp in a womans lifestyle.
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