How to reduce pain during menstruation

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Relief from spasms

Orgasm can really help cope with the pain that many women experience during their periods. By the way, where do these terrible painful sensations come from?

Menstrual cramps are the result of contractions of the uterus - this is how the cleansing process occurs. During orgasm, muscle contraction also occurs for some time. This should ease the pain.

Sex also causes the release of the hormone endorphin, which has a positive effect on well-being and mood. And besides, sex allows you to at least temporarily escape from all the physical and psychological discomfort that so often accompanies menstruation.

Your period will end faster

Here everything works on the same principle - the muscles contract, cleansing occurs faster, and therefore, menstruation ends in a shorter time.

Excitement at its peak

Libido changes throughout the entire period of menstruation - hormonal surges are to blame. Many women note that their libido increases on the days of ovulation, that is, a couple of weeks before menstruation. But some women are at the peak of arousal just on their period. Why not take advantage of this moment?

Natural lubrication

Yes Yes exactly.

Getting rid of headaches

Many women suffer from migraines during their period. And that’s why they deny their partners sex. And in vain! Research says that good sex is the best pain reliever.

Tampons and sex protect against endometriosis

Endometriosis. How to overcome this disease? Most women ponder this question. And a recent study found that women who use tampons or have sex during their period are less likely to develop endometriosis.

Endometriosis is one of the main reasons for failure to conceive. Therefore, methods for preventing, diagnosing and treating the disease always remain significant. One recent study found that women who use tampons or have sex during their period are less likely to develop endometriosis. Of course, this does not mean that constant intercourse during menstruation will allow you to remain completely healthy. After all, during sexual activity during menstruation, the risk of contracting other diseases is much higher.

A study of women with endometriosis who were completely healthy found that those who used only tampons were less likely to develop the disease. Women who had sex at least occasionally during their periods showed similar results.

However, the results should not be taken literally. After all, only a connection has been established between the use of tampons or sexual activity and the incidence of endometriosis. But this could just as well be an indication of the type of nervous response of certain women to menstruation, and hence the same type of morbidity results.

In fact, considering the known causes of endometriosis, the results are surprising. After all, endometriosis occurs when the endometrium occurs outside the uterus. Typically, the endometrium breaks off and is shed during menstruation. But there is no “exit” for the endometrium, which exists outside the uterus, so the surrounding tissue becomes inflamed and swollen, often leading to pain.

Scientists believe that the backflow of menstrual fluid (called retrograde menstruation) may contribute to endometriosis. Therefore, any factors that can lead to retrograde blood flow, including tampons and sex, can potentially increase the risk of endometriosis.

Previously, scientists were firmly convinced that sex during menstruation does more harm than good. Now a study of more than 2,000 women has shown that this is not true. Women with endometriosis were less likely to be sexually active during menstruation. But the same dependence applies to orgasm. It is possible that orgasm during menstruation protected against endometriosis due to the fact that uterine contractions “pushed out” menstrual fluid.

When it comes to tampon use, only 12 percent of women with endometriosis used them, compared with 21 percent of healthy women. In women who used only pads, the risk of endometriosis more than doubled.

The mechanism of the protective effect of tampons is still unclear. Perhaps tampons help to “pull out” the remaining menstrual fluid during menstruation, and do not interfere with the “exit” of the fluid at all.

However, it is not yet clear whether tampons actually repel the attack of endometriosis. On the one hand, this study was based on women's memories of their sexual and menstrual histories. And because endometriosis symptoms include painful menstruation and painful sex, women with the disease are more likely to avoid sex during their periods—even though the study asked women about sexual and menstrual practices throughout their reproductive years.

Regardless of whether tampons have a protective effect or not, the results of this study should help women overcome the fear that tampons contribute to endometriosis.

Yuriy PROKOPENKO SOURCE: Gynecological and Obstetrical Investigation, 2002 June. Take the first step - make an appointment!

or call 8 800 550-05-33

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Risks and disadvantages2

There will be blood on you, your partner and the sheets. Especially if you have heavy periods. This is what worries many girls - they are ashamed of it, they feel embarrassed in front of their partner. These anxieties can take away all the pleasure you get from sex.

Another concern with sex during your period is the risk of spreading a sexually transmitted infection (STI), such as HIV or hepatitis. These viruses live in the blood and can be spread through contact with contaminated menstrual blood. Using condoms every time you have sex can reduce your risk of spreading or contracting an STI.

If you plan to have sex during your period and are wearing a tampon, you will need to remove it beforehand. A forgotten tampon can penetrate so deeply into your vagina during sex that you'll have to see a doctor to have it removed.

Myths and fables

Many, especially inexperienced women and girls, believe that sex during menstruation will bring nothing but painful sensations.

In practice, it turns out quite the opposite. In most healthy women, excitability increases during this period, which affects positive sensations during sex and even, to some extent, relieves the painful symptoms of menstruation.

Orgasm on menstrual days significantly, in terms of intensification, affects the intensity of uterine contractions, and thus leads to more active secretion of the endometrium, which often shortens the menstrual period.

Numerous surveys of women and girls of various ages indicate the opposite. With a very painful period, severe pain, nausea, general malaise and fatigue are noted, and it is unlikely that a strong desire for intimacy will appear. Despite this, it may be worth practicing sex for medicinal purposes - it will significantly alleviate, at least temporarily, your suffering.

It is worth noting a special, fortunately small category of women and especially men who, due to fear or disgust, do not want to have sex during menstruation.

Each woman has a unique physiology peculiar to her alone, so nothing can be stated unambiguously. Depending on the characteristics of the body, two options are possible:

Orgasm, as a result of love during the menstrual period, promotes increased contraction of the uterus and increased secretion of the endometrium, and this, in combination with the effect of prostaglandin contained in male sperm, affects the course of menstruation - accelerates them;
The same processes mentioned above can lead to diametrically opposite results - prolongation of menstruation and even dangerous bleeding, in the presence of certain pathologies of the reproductive organs.

Can I get pregnant?3

If you are not planning to have a baby, always use contraception on any day of your cycle. Yes, during your period the risk of getting pregnant is lower. But it still exists.

The highest risk of pregnancy is on the days of ovulation. That is, as mentioned above, fourteen days before the start of menstruation. But do not forget that the length of the cycle is an individual and changeable thing. And if you have a short menstrual cycle, the risks of getting pregnant are even higher.

Also keep in mind that sperm can stay in your body for up to seven days. So, if you have a 22-day cycle and ovulate shortly after your period starts, your risk of getting pregnant is quite high.

Let's summarize. Contraception is mandatory. Unwanted pregnancy, STIs - the risks are too high to leave things to chance. Use condoms.

Postures during menstruation

Practice: Supta Baddha Konasana, Upavistha Konasana, Janu Sirsasana, Paschimottanasana, Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, Shavasana on a bolster

Women's health is a delicate thing. A woman’s reproductive organs, with the help of hormones, are specially tuned to the changes in the body that occur every month. The menstrual cycle is subordinated to the life cycle with its milestones - from the first menstruation to menopause. The arrival of “special days” can be accompanied by abdominal pain, general tension and sudden changes in mood. Yoga asanas help alleviate these symptoms. The practice can indeed regulate menstrual cycles, relieve spasms and give stability to the mind during difficult periods.

Ayurveda notes that menstruation is a special gift that nature has endowed on a woman to give her the opportunity to cleanse her body and mind every month. Healthy menstruation regulates many of the vital flows of the female body. The rhythm of this cycle time after time returns the woman to a state of harmony with the world.

On critical days, vata predominates (primarily its subdosha apana-vayu). Together with the blood flow, the body removes toxins that have accumulated over the month. And therefore, during menstruation, women should not practice inverted positions (Sirshasana, Sarvangasana, Adho Mukha Vrikshasana, Pincha Mayurasana, Halasana), as they disrupt the movement of apana-vayu. Nature cannot be denied its need for purification!

Tips5

How to make sex during your period as enjoyable as possible:

Discuss everything with each other honestly and openly. Are you ready for this? What about your partner? If one of you doubts, why?
Be sure to remove the tampon before sexual intercourse.
Place a dark towel on the bed or have sex in the shower.

Place wet wipes on your bedside table.
Use a condom.
Choose a position that makes you most comfortable.

Sex during your period, like any other day, should be enjoyable for both partners and be safe. This is perhaps the most important thing.

What should you consider when having sex during your period?

It is important to maintain genital hygiene.
It is recommended to use a condom, even if partners are not accustomed to this method of contraception.
There is no one hundred percent guarantee that pregnancy will not occur, even with sex during menstruation.
Many women may experience pain from intercourse during their period. Therefore, men should be attentive to their partner’s condition.

Taking into account all the recommendations of gynecologists, everyone can draw conclusions about how acceptable sex during menstruation is for him personally. But do not forget about the means of protection and the consequences of infections that can cause infertility.

By having sex these days, you can even get some benefits:

more intense orgasms;
decreased likelihood of pregnancy;
reduction of pain symptoms;
shortening the period of menstruation.

Late menopause explained by regular sex

Sex and the City/Warner Bros. Television, 1998-2004

Having studied a sample of almost three thousand women, scientists came to the conclusion that the time of menopause depends on the regularity of sexual activity: the more often premenopausal women have sex, the longer their menstrual cycle lasts. Perhaps the fact is that it is simply not profitable for the body to spend resources on ovulation if there is still no chance of getting pregnant. The study was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science

Menopause - that is, the cessation of the menstrual cycle - usually occurs in women at 44-54 years of age. However, it is still unclear what causes such a wide range in age. Although the timing of menopause is highly heritable, genetic factors account for only half of the variation. The other half comes from some external influences.

Megan Arnot and Ruth Mace of University College London noted that in many studies, menopause occurred later in married women compared to unmarried women. The researchers offered two possible explanations for this fact. The first suggested that the cessation of menstruation is influenced by contact with a man: his pheromones (although most scientists today do not recognize their existence) can act on a woman’s body, maintaining her in a fertile state. The second explanation is related to sex: since it happens on average more often among married people than among single people, it can be assumed that it is he who postpones menopause.

The researchers worked with a sample of 2,936 women from the US National Study of Women's Health who entered the study in 1996-1997. At this point, all of them had intact ovaries (at least one), were still menstruating, and none of the participants were pregnant. For 10 years, they visited the doctor every year for an examination and answered questionnaires.

In addition to menstrual cycle status, women reported how often they had sex and whether they lived with their romantic partner or other males (such as a son or brother). Also in their analysis, the researchers took into account their body mass index, the presence of bad habits, level of education, number of children, age of onset of menstruation and the concentration of female sex hormones in the blood.

At the start of the study, the average age of the women was 45 years. Over 10 years of follow-up, 45 percent entered menopause, at an average age of 52 years. The authors of the work calculated that those who had sex regularly (at least once a week) had a 28 percent lower risk of menopause than those who were not sexually active at all. Those who had sex once a month had a 19 percent lower risk.

At the same time, the pheromone hypothesis was not confirmed: the risk of stopping menstruation did not differ significantly depending on whether the woman lived with a partner or with some other man.

Thus, the researchers confirmed their second hypothesis, according to which the time of menopause is associated with the frequency of sexual intercourse. Despite the fact that the authors of the work established only a correlation and not a cause-and-effect relationship, they offered their own version of how sex can affect menopause. From the point of view of resource allocation, they believe, it is beneficial for a woman’s body to spend energy on egg maturation and ovulation only when there is a chance of becoming pregnant. In the same case, when there is no such chance, it is more effective to stop ovulation and invest energy in raising offspring.

Previously, scientists found signs of menopause in elephants, as well as in cetaceans - narwhals and beluga whales. They also found that in married couples, frequent sex does not contribute to happiness, but women who have frequent sex have better memory.

Polina Loseva