...The uterus, the hollow, pear-shaped organ where a baby grows, contracts throughout a woman's menstrual cycle. If the uterus contracts too strongly, it can press against nearby blood vessels, cutting off the supply of oxygen to the muscle tissue of the uterus. Pain results when part of a muscle briefly loses its supply of oxygen. Painful menstrual periods are periods in which a woman has crampy lower abdominal pain, sharp or aching pain that comes and goes, or possibly back pain.Although some pain during your period is normal, excessive pain is not. Many women have painful periods. Sometimes, the pain makes it difficult to perform normal household, job, or school-related activities for a few days during each menstrual cycle. Painful menstruation is the leading cause of lost time from school and work among women in their teens and 20s. Causes Painful menstrual periods fall into two groups, depending on the cause: • Primary dysmenorrhea • Secondary dysmenorrhea Primary dysmenorrhea is menstrual pain (cramps) usually begin one to two years after a woman starts getting her period. Pain usually is felt in the lower abdomen or back. They can be mild to severe. Common menstrual cramps often start shortly before or at the onset of the period and continue one to three days.This pain is usually not related to a specific problem with the uterus or other pelvic organs. Increased activity of the hormone prostaglandin, which is produced in the uterus, is thought to play a role in this...
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...if they tried that keep them away from participating in a lot of activities, it was just that they were not supposed to take part in those activities. But, as everything changes within time in history this also changed. The way the society sees a women as well as the way a women sees herself changed dramatically over the past years. While this change was happening even the most intimate facts about a girl’s life as well as her body was exposed to the public over the years. And one of these facts is maybe the most important change a girl undergoes in her life, menstruation. This natural incident that every woman has to go through eventually has never been made public as much as it now. We see commercials on the TV for sanitary napkins, hear people talk about it casually on the streets and we hear it getting mentioned in movies, songs, TV shows and mothers talk about it openly with their daughters. Menstruation is seen as such a natural thing that no one has any shame talking about it anymore, which is a huge difference from how it was in the past. Just 80 years ago it was such an big issue that even woman had trouble talking about it among themselves even behind closed doors. It was something that people were embarrassed to talk about to the degree that mothers refused to explain it to their daughters or even answer their questions. It was “something that should not be talked or even thought about”(Brumberg, 1997)[1] in the eye of the public. This was mostly because in...
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...Most of the female population at Mountain View receives a monthly visit from dear Mother Nature in the form of menstruation. We bleed from our vaginas and have hormonal fluctuations. This is completely normal for teenage girls and women, but the topic of menstruation is considered taboo. According to Hygiene and Health Experts Chris W. Williams and Kersti Strandqvist, around two billion women menstruate monthly. People should know about periods and what the body does during menstruation. This is sadly not the case. From my experience with periods, no one wants to talk about it. This is possibly due to misogynistic attitudes or because periods are so intimate. Advertisements for the products that women use during their periods -- pads, tampons, menstrual cups -- avoid the word “period.” Instead, they use euphemisms like “time of the month” to downplay the reality of the female body. Women are put on a pedestal of femininity. They are stereotyped and conditioned by media to be docile. This is one reason that we don’t talk about periods. In tampon and pad commercials, the actresses are often wearing smiles on their faces and white clothing on their bodies. They are model-like to perpetuate the idea that women are not real people with real problems. This pushes the “feminine female” stereotype and dehumanizes women. Pad commercials are also infamous for using blue liquid to simulate period blood. Since girls don’t leak blue liquid, how can they connect to those...
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...Original Research Article Menstrual hygiene management amongst school going girls in Kisii County, Kenya Definitions Pubic mixed day secondary schools- government schools with both boys and girls who do not board in the school. ABSTRACT Introduction: Menstruation is a natural phenomenon among matured females who experience shedding of blood for 1-7 days every month from the age of maturity until menopause. Menstrual hygiene management is an issue that is insufficiently acknowledged and has not received adequate attention. Objective: To evaluate the knowledge and practice on menstrual hygiene among school going girls and assess access to clean, safe and private space for menstrual hygiene management in schools Problem Statement: There is lack of clean, safe and private space for menstrual hygiene purposes. Poor menstrual hygiene practices are affecting the health well being of girls including anxiety, infection, education and discomfort. In mixed day secondary schools, there are no special Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities for the purposes of handling menstruation safely and in dignity Methodology: A descriptive crosssectional study was conducted as from March 2014 to April 2014 on 175 girls recruited from two mixed secondary day schools in Kisii Township. Indepth questionnaires were used to collect data from the girls, key informant interviwers conducted on the head teachers and focused discussions held with 16 randomly selected girls. An...
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...Entering Womanhood Most women, since the age of about 11, every month experience what it is like to have a menstrual cycle. During the menstrual phase women have a discharge of the “thickened inner layer of the endometrium” tissue that has sloughed off from the uterine wall when conception does not take place (Alexander et al. 109). “This menstrual discharge consists of blood, mucus, and endometrial membranes that sometimes present as small clots” (Alexander et al. 109). The menstrual flows and the cycles themselves vary. A woman’s flow is “usually 6 to 8 ounces in volume per cycle,” while the cycle on average lasts 28 days but “can vary from 21 to 40 days” (Alexander et al. 109). For most menstruation occurs without medical problems. While for others, menstruation can cause some physical and emotional problems such as cramps (known as dysmenorrheal), or premenstrual syndrome (PMS), a lack of having a menstrual cycle which is knows as amenorrhea (Alexander et al. 112-114). One such medical problem is endometriosis. Endometriosis is a common medical condition in which “tissue like that which lines the uterus (tissue called the endometrium) is found outside the uterus -- usually in the abdomen on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and ligaments that support the uterus; the area between the vagina and rectum; the outer surface of the uterus; and the lining of the pelvic cavity. Other sites for these endometrial growths may include the bladder, bowel, vagina, cervix, vulva...
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...Demographics: Ashley is a 7-year old female. She is a student in elementary school. Chief Complain: The patient has a fever and sore throat for the past 24 hours. 1. What additional subjective data would you collect from Ashley and her mother? • History of present illness Dental pain, mouth lesions: Ashley doesn’t have dental pain, but she has lesion in the mouth, especially in the larynx. She is suffering from pain in the throat. It means, she might have laryngitis. Dentures or dental appliances: Ashley doesn’t have dentures or dental appliances. Medications / herbal supplements: She doesn’t have medications / herbal supplement. She doesn’t use any medications and herbal supplements. Pain with swallowing: She has pain with swallowing, but it is not severe. She feels there is itching or allergic in her throat. Exposure to pathogens: She might exposure to pathogens. Her mother thought this lesion might come from school because other children in her classroom have been ill with similar symptoms. Hoarseness: She has hoarse, but it is not severe. Difficulty swallowing: Ashley has no difficulty swallowing. • Past Medical History Systemic diseases: She did not have systemic disease. Frequent streptococcal infections: She did not have frequent streptococcal infections. Surgical history: She did not have surgical history. She has never been hospitalized. • Family History Allergies: Nobody in her family member has been allergy history. Family...
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...(oophorectomy), even if the uterus were to be left intact, the woman will immediately be in "surgical menopause". Surgical menopause is a menopause which is induced both suddenly and totally, by removal of both ovaries prior to the age of natural menopause. On average, assuming there has been no surgical intervention, the first evidence of the onset of the menopause transition time is slight variations in the length of the menstrual cycle. These variations become more pronounced over time, and eventually lead to cycles that can be considerably longer or considerably shorter than usual, flow that can be significantly lighter or heavier than usual, skipped ovulations, skipped periods, and spans of time of many months with no flow at all, after which menstruation may resume. The transition is considered to be over once a woman has experienced 12 months without any menstrual bleeding at all, even though perimenopause effects may extend well beyond this point in time. The term "perimenopause", which literally means "around the menopause", refers to the menopause transition years, a span of time both before and after the date of the final episode of flow. Clinically speaking, menopause is defined as a specific date. Assuming the woman still has a uterus, menopause is defined as the day after the woman's final episode of menstrual flow finishes. This date is fixed retrospectively, once 12 months have gone by with no menstrual flow at all. At this point a woman is considered to be one year into postmenopause...
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...irregular occurring once every year for the first 4 years. After multiple physical examinations, a curettage was performed and her periods occurred every 3 months for the next 2-3 years and eventually became relatively regular when her period occurred every 35 days. When Ms. Smith initially began her menstrual cycle they were excruciatingly painful and caused her to be bedridden for up to 3-4 days. She experience a very heavy blood flow and would have to change her overnight menstrual pads every 1-2 hours. After the curettage and once her cycle became more regular the bleeding became more normal and less painful as she describes it as a medium flow and a few cramps over 7 days. She experienced slight breast tenderness prior to her menstruation but denies any other PMS issues such as mood changes or food cravings. Ms. Smith has been pregnant twice and did not find any difficulty in...
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...This set has 11 terms 1. Health Perception and Management Overview of the individual's health status and health practices that are used to reach the current level of health or wellness 2. Nutritional metabolic This pattern describes nutrient intake relative to metabolic need. 3. Elimination Describes the function of the bowel, bladder and skin. Through this pattern the nurse is able to determine regularity, quality, and quantity of stool and urine. 4. Activity exercise This pattern centers on activity level, exercise program, and leisure activities. Examination (examples of objective data): Demonstrate ability for above criteria. Gait. Posture. Absent body part. Range of motion (ROM) joints. Hand grip - can pick up pencil? Respiration. Blood pressure. General appearance. Musculoskeletal, cardiac and respiratory assessments. 5. Sleep rest Assesses sleep and rest patterns. 6.Cognitive-perceptual Assesses the ability of the individual to understand and follow directions, retain information, make decisions, and solve problems. Also assess the five senses. Hearing difficulty? Hearing aid? Vision? Wears glasses? Last checked? When last changed? Any change in memory? Concentration? 7. Self perception/self concept How do you describe yourself? Most of the time, feel good (or not so good) about self? Changes in body or things you can do? Problems for you? Changes in the way you feel about self or body (generally or since illness started)? Things frequently...
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...shame. The male cashier made it even worse. Mortified, I exited with a newspaper-wrapped sanitary pad hidden inside my backpack. These are only a few instances where menstruation comes entangled with shame. The only way we can normalize the taboo surrounding menstruation is by openly talking about it. As a spoken word poet, I want to use storytelling as a tool to change people’s perspective on menstruation through conversation, education, and...
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... UNDERSTANDING ENDOMETRIOSIS 2 Endometriosis is a condition when the lining of the uterus grows in other places. The lining of the uterus sheds and that’s what creates the menstruation cycle. The lining grows in the fallopian tubes, along the pelvis and the ovaries that cause heavy flow and sever cramps. Over 6 million women in America suffer from this condition. Endometrial implant occurs primarily in the abdominal and pelvic area of the body. The endometrial breaks down and bleed in conjunction with a female normal menstruation cycle. This break down of the lining causes inflammation and pain. The inflammation can lead to further complications like fibrosis, scarring and adhesions. (Huether, S & McCane, K, 2012) The cause of endometriosis is unknown. Some say is caused by the backflow of menstruation. They also say it can be a genetic disorder. Know one knows the exact cause of endometriosis but it can have some serious effects. The symptoms of endometriosis are pelvic pain, dypaurnia, dyschezia and abnormal vagina bleeding. (Huether, S & McCane, K , 2012). Some people with endometriosis also experience pain during intercourse. Fatigue and painful urination are also symptoms of endometriosis. (Chan, A, 2013) the dyschezia...
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...Ad Analysis It happens once a month. It lasts for five to seven days. It is a time when a female becomes physically, emotionally, and mentally affected. It has been known to be a women’s worse nightmare. It’s the infamous menstrual cycle. The only thing that makes this time manageable is a good, reliable tampon. The Tampax Pearl ad persuades buyers to purchase their product through role models, settings, and props. The ad context is directed towards the teenage female population. A high school football field is the setting for the ad. The main characters portrayed are high school cheerleaders. They are all dressed in matching uniforms with blue and white tops, white skirts, and white shoes. They are perceived to be cheering in the middle of a high school football game. There is a girl doing a toe touch as she is tossed into the air by three other cheerleaders. There is a look of uncertainty on her face, as she attempts to smile. This brings a bit of humor to the ad. Above her head is the text reading “At a moment like THIS, I don’t care if my tampons came in a little black box.” The other 4 cheerleaders are doing individual jumps in the background. Near the bottom of the ad is a Tampax box that has the shape of a heart on the front of the package. Beneath the logo are the words “Outsmart Mother Nature,” outlined in pink. The bottom center of the ad also reads “Tampax Pearl with Cleanguard protects better than Kotex.” To persuade potential buyers the Tampax...
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...claims they are pretending to be in pain, and are using their femininity as an excuse to not get staff done. Well, that is definitely not the case, painful menstrual cycles are a medial condition, called dysmenorrhea, which if left untreated can have unwanted consequences. Dysmenorrhea is an excessively painful menstrual period, severe enough to keep a female from functioning indefinitely. Dysmenorrhea pains, also known as cramps, are present before, during, and after menstruation and can cause nausea, vomiting, constipation, or diarrhea. Dysmenorrhea is common among adolescents and should not be confused with PMS, premenstrual syndrome. PMS is caused by fluctuations in hormone levels five to ten days before the start of menstruation. These hormone fluctuations, in combination with other factors, can cause a variety of symptoms, including irritability, fatigue, mood swings, crying, bloating, and food cravings. PMS is a combination of emotional and physical factors women experience prior to menstruation, while dysmenorrhea is the physical pain and cramping caused by the act of menstruating. Dysmenorrhea is also not menorrhea, which is a condition characterized by prolonged menstrual periods and excessive bleeding. There are two types of dysmenorrhea: primary and secondary. Primary dysmenorrhea is a recurrent menstrual pain that is not due to an underlying gynecologic disease. It is known to affect more than fifty percent of women, which makes it the most common type...
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...All of Us Are Sexual Why is sexuality so important? All of us are sexual. Our sexuality includes our body and how our body works our biological sex our gender — our biological, social, and legal status as girls and boys, women and men our gender identity — our feelings about our gender our sexual orientation — straight, gay, or bisexual our values about life, love, and the people in our lives And sexuality influences how we feel about all of these things and how we experience the world. When we think of sexuality, we might just think about our bodies. We might just think about our sex organs. But our sexuality has as much to do with how we think and feel as it does with how we behave. Sexuality is a basic part of our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual lives. Our sexuality should be enjoyed and celebrated. It is not something to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. Healthy sexuality allows us to be open, flexible, creative, safe, and responsible as we explore our sexual thoughts, feelings, and desires. It lets us recognize that sex can be fun and can also fulfill many emotional needs. Sex also has risks. Having a healthy attitude about sexuality means knowing our values, beliefs, attitudes, limits, and boundaries, and respecting that knowledge by being responsible. It allows us to feel attractive, regardless of our age, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, height, weight, or physical or mental ability. It lets us be ourselves. Knowing as...
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...Running Head: Hypothesis Identification Article Analysis Hypothesis Identification Article Analysis RES/342 – RESEARCH AND EVALUATION II Hypothesis Identification Article Analysis New study finds therapeutic medicine that reduces endometriosis which is called pycnogenol. This plant is extracted from a pine bark along the southwest of France and has been studied for over 35 years. Now researchers have study and discovered that this antioxidant reduces pain symptoms associated with endometriosis by 33%. Endometriosis is the lining of the uterus that regurgitates into the abdominal during menstrual cycles. Endometriosis affects women in their reproductive years and is estimated to affect over one million women in the United States. It is one of the common reasons women have to undergo hysterectomies and laparoscopic surgery. The average diagnostic age is 25-30, however endometriosis has been reported in girls as young as eleven years of age. Estrogen and progesterone sometimes cause endometriosis to grow outside the uterus; normally it stays within the abdominal cavity. This tissue causes extremely painful menstrual periods, pelvic pain and infertility. During the study, 58 women between ages 21 to 38 who had undergone surgery were broken up into two groups. One group was given 30 mg of pycnogenol twice a day for 48 weeks and the other group was given hormone treatments which were injection of leuprorelin. After four weeks into the study, the researchers notice...
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