What are the major effects of menstruation on the body?

Congratulations on reaching a new stage of your life! You’re doing so well!How do we know you’ve just started your periods? Well, we see the confusion and the fear.We know that you’ve been looking up things like ‘period effects’ and ‘period effects on the body’ and coming up empty or with things that are so complex it would be difficult for anybody to understand. We have your back.Let us help you a little and take you through everything there is to know when you’ve just reached a wonderful new milestone in your life.We’ll start with the basics first and answer all of your questions as we go.

WHAT IS MENSTRUATION OR A PERIOD?

Menstruation or periods is the time when a woman bleeds for a few days through her vagina. This is because of a process called ovulation in which the ovaries, an important part of the female reproductive system, release an egg in preparation for a pregnancy that might take place.When the pregnancy doesn’t happen, the inner lining of the uterus (the place where the baby grows and lives for the nine months of pregnancy), fluffed up for the pregnancy, sheds its inner lining, which is made up of tissues and blood. This shedding is released through your vagina.You get it once a month, and it is normal for your period to last 4- 7 days. Your menstrual cycle (the duration between your periods) is normally 21 to 35 days long.Your first period should be a little special. Why just your first? Let’s make all of your periods beginning today special. RIO makes sure your periods are spent in comfort and ease. RIO Sanitary Pads are made with cotton so soft it’s like clouds on your skin; it has deep channels, so the blood and the clots don’t sit on top and give you a wet, icky feeling. Its perfect fit prevents leakages and masks odour.With RIO, make your periods special!

DOES YOUR BODY CHANGE WHEN YOU GET YOUR PERIOD?

Getting your periods is the sign that you have officially reached puberty. Your body goes through a lot of changes during this phase. Before your periods begin or after it, you might have noticed a few things changing in your physical appearance. You might have noticed that:

• Your skin has grown oilier, or you have started getting acne.
• Your scalp and hair produce more oil, giving it a greasy look.
• You might have noticed your chest swelling and having a fuller look than before; this is what causes weight gain during the period.
• You grow taller, and your hips get wider.
• The way you smell changes.
• You start growing hair in your armpits and around your vulva (your nether regions).

This might have answered your “what does a period do to your body?” question.

WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY ON YOUR PERIOD?

• BLOOD LOSS – Your period flow could be different every month. However, it stays within a ‘normal’ that’s just reserved for you. When your periods begin, the flow is light, then it builds up in the second, third and fourth days of your cycle, and then it gradually becomes less and less till it’s completely gone. It is normal for you to lose 20- 80 ml of blood during a menstrual cycle. Seeing blood clots in your flow is pretty common too.

• CRAMPS – Getting cramps after a period is natural. The muscles in your uterus tighten and relax to let the blood out. They can start before your periods begin and last throughout your period.

• MOOD SWINGS – You are likely to experience a lot of crazy mood swings during your periods. You love something one minute; you don’t the other. It’s all because of the hormones that keep rising and falling during your periods.

• WEIGHT GAIN – You might be having some serious food cravings during your periods. Now, what else can a girl do if not indulge all of them? This is what might be causing you weight gain during the period. Your weight gain before your period could be because of the hormonal changes that your body is going through, which are also causing your hips to widen and your breasts to swell.

• HEADACHE – Having a headache during the period is pretty normal. Period headaches are caused by the rapidly rising and falling levels of your hormones. A lot of women may suffer from this during their monthly cycles.

• DIARRHOEA – Prostaglandins, a fatty acid, helps the uterus shed its lining by contracting it. Sometimes it can even cause contractions in your intestines. If this acid is produced in excess by your uterus, it enters your bloodstream and causes havoc in the other muscles of your body. The result is period diarrhoea.

It might look a little scary now, but don’t let these things stop you from doing your thing. Almost all of these issues can be taken care of by simply popping an over-the-counter pill for whatever it is that’s troubling you, and you should be good to go. If medications are not helping or if it becomes too much for you to handle, you should visit a doctor just to make sure that everything is as it should be.