Keeping track of your cycle probably doesn't sound that interesting or important, but you can benefit a lot by doing that. There are changes that your body goes through and there are specific times when you are ovulating; knowing all these would make your life a lot easier, which is only possible by tracking your period.

1.   Know about your body: Getting your period every 28 days has always been considered normal but only 15% of women get their periods on the clock. Many factors such as stress, illness, exercise, etc. can cause delay in  your period. This is where tracking your cycle can help you find the pattern that is specific to your body condition. During your cycle there are lots of changes happening in your body. The hormones cause a change in the fluid produced from your cervix and also lead the basal temperature of your body to increase. Monitoring these changes through tracking your cycle is known as the symptothermal method. By this way you know about how fascinatingly your body works.

2.   Desire to get pregnant: Tracking your cycle will help you get pregnant. During your cycle, there is a specific time which heightens the possibility of conceiving. The fluid production from the cervix due to hormonal change is the cause of such possibility. Knowing your cycle can take out the stress from trying to get pregnant and it can also help determine any abnormalities that are preventing your pregnancy.

3. Avoid pregnancy: If you know the time when you are most likely to get pregnant through tracking, you obviously know when not to have sex, if you are trying to avoid pregnancy. Using symptothermal method for the purpose of birth control has proven to be 99.6% effective, which is higher than birth control medications.

4. Health benefits: You can reap a lot of health benefits by tracking your cycle. Conditions like fibroids, polycystic ovarian syndrome and endometriosis are quite common in women, which can be detected by tracking your period. If anything is wrong in your reproductive system, the cycle will indicate it.

4 Reasons To Keep Track Of Your Periods

Periods, on their own, can be very uncomfortable but sometimes it can also trigger a rash making it all the more uncomfortable. This is a common problem faced by women who use commercial pads or sanitary napkins during this period. This is because they contain plastics, scents and chemicals that can irritate the sensitive skin in your genital area. Here are a few tips to help you deal with these rashes:

Change Your Pads Regularly: Whether your flow is light or heavy, the same pad should not be worn for more than 4 to 6 hours. Change your pads even if your pad does not look full once this time has passed. Along with menstrual blood, sanitary napkins also soak up sweat and bacteria. The groyne area is naturally moist and warmer than the rest of your body making it the ideal condition for bacteria to grow. Changing your pad regularly keeps these bacteria from multiplying.

Consider Alternatives: One of the main reasons pads cause rashes is because they rub against the skin and this friction irritates the skin. Hence, consider alternatives like tampons and menstrual cups that do not rub against the skin. You could also try cloth pads made using natural unbleached cotton.

Wear Right Underwear: Avoid synthetic underwear and use the only cotton while you are on your periods. This allows the skin to breathe and keeps moisture from building up inside the underwear. Also, ensure that your underwear fits well and can hold your pad in place.

Clean Well: Do not use wipes or tissue to clean your genital area but instead wash gently with water a few times a day. Once washed, dry the skin thoroughly before putting your underwear on. Do not use any type of soap, body wash or scents in the area. Also, avoid bubble baths and saunas.

See a Doctor: In some cases, a rash can also be a symptom of herpes or a vaginal yeast infection. If you alternate between pads and tampons, a rash could also be a sign of toxic shock syndrome. Hence, if the rash persists for a few days, consult a doctor. Your doctor can prescribe a topical cream to be used to relieve the itchiness and inflammation depending on the rash. You could also use an anti-chafing cream on your bikini line. Diaper rash cream is an over the counter cream that usually works well in such cases.

How To Deal With Rashes Due To Periods?

Most women attain menopause between the ages of late 40s and early 60s, the average age being about 51. This is an important milestone in a women's gynecological history. One major change is altered female hormone levels, and this leads to a lot of physiological changes. From hot flashes to mood swings, there is also increased predisposition to osteoporosis and uterine cancer.

If you have not had your menstrual cycles for close to 12 months, chances are you are into menopause. So, that means absolutely no vaginal bleeding anymore whatsoever. However, if you experience bleeding, even spotting, be on the alert. It is not normal and needs to be examined, and if required, diagnosed and treated.

Postmenopausal bleeding or PMB, as it is popularly called, can be due to a variety of reasons. While it could be something as trivial as inflammation of the uterine or vaginal lining, it could also be an indication of more severe issues like cancer.

Atrophic vaginitis: Decreasing hormonal levels lead to increased dryness and therefore inflammation of the vaginal and uterine tissue. This is one of the common causes of bleeding after menopause.

Endometrial atrophy: Also caused by lower hormone levels, the lining of the body of the uterus gradually thins down and can get inflamed.
Polyps: Noncancerous growths in the uterus, cervix, vulva, or vagina can also lead to bleeding.

Infections: General infection of any area along the uterine tract could lead to occasional bleeding.

Cancers: Though only 1 in 10 PMB cases turn out to be cancers, the prognosis improves with early diagnosis and intervention.

Diagnosis: As repeated above, reach out to your doctor if you notice postmenopausal bleeding.  

Diagnostic methods could include the following:
1. Physical exam
2. Transvaginal ultrasound
3. Endometrial biopsy
4. Hysteroscopy
5. Dilatation and Curettage

Treatment: Needless to say, this would depend on the diagnosis. For very minor cases with diagnosis like altered hormone levels, no treatment may be required other than modification of the hormone replacement therapy. For endometrial atrophy and atrophic vaginitis, use of estrogen creams and pessaries would be sufficient. Polyps would require removal followed by cauterization (application of slight heat) to stop the bleeding.

Cancer: This would depend on the type and location and require a combination of chemotherapy and surgery.  Removal of the uterus also may be required in some cases. So, if you have had bleeding of any sort after a year of menopause, do not ignore it. 


Is Postmenopausal Bleeding Normal?

Painful menstruation or menstrual cramp is termed as Dysmenorrhoea and refers to the discomfort or pain associated with menstruation. In 80% cases, cramps are an integral part of the preliminary dysmenorrhoea syndrome. Though this symptom is not deemed as a very serious clinical problem, the pain and its associated symptoms are acute enough to keep an affected woman from normal functioning for the first one or two days. These symptoms may take over one or two days prior to menses, reach their pinnacle on the first day and subside slowly with the passage of time. The pain can be typically depicted as being ached, cramping of the stomach and often reaching to the lower back portion.

There is probably no woman across the world, who has not undergone the painful menstrual cramps. But don't fret! Homeopathy treatment has a range of remedies to relieve you off this unease.

1. Cimicifuga: Normally menstruation cramps indicate a pain that flows across the pelvic region from one side to the other. This remedy will particularly be helpful in neuralgic and rheumatic cases as well as congestive cases where it works effectively with Veratrum Viride and Belladonna. It is also very efficient in combating headaches preceding menses, acute pains across abdomen, labor like pains and scanty flow.

2. Caulophyllum: This remedy is great for treating spasms and pain that flow downwards. The spasmodic periodic pains that need to be treated with Caulophyllum are mostly concentrated around the groin and radiate to other surrounding parts. Gelsemium can also be taken for treating neuralgic as well as congestive dysmenorrhoea when the pain bears down. The pains are often labor-like and spasmodic with flow of pale urine. In order to get faster relief, it can be taken along with hot bag press.

3. Belladonna: If you are afflicted with the congestive forms of menstrual cramps, then you may take Belladonna. In most cases, a pain and discomfort is felt prior to the flow and a feeling of something heavy around the vulva can be relieved if you sit up straight. This pain occurs and subsides all of a sudden making the flow clotted and restricted. This kind of dysmenorrhoea is extremely painful and makes the genital dry. In case the pain gets severe and cuts through the pelvis, then Veratrum viride can also be administered.

4. Zanthoxylum: This remedy is very effective in fighting dysmenorrhoea and uterine spasms. It is very effective when the pain is burning, agonising and extending down through the thighs making the limbs paralysed and numb. You can take this measure when the pain is affecting your ovaries as this medicine works closely for neuralgic form of menstrual cramps. Women with delicate nervous temperament can also take this remedy as it relieves from headache and eye pain caused from 
Menstruation.

Homeopathy has a huge range of medicines and it becomes difficult for a commoner to select an ideal one. Therefore, when you are deeply affected with menstrual cramps, you can always consult an expert before administering any medicine.

Pain During Menstruation

In an incredibly fast paced and unhealthy lifestyle of the modern world, irregular menses aren t exactly an unusual situation. The length of a monthly cycle may either last longer than usual or end earlier than usual, only to begin in a short while again, accompanied by greater abdominal pain and blood loss. Irregular cycles may vary from 8 to 21 days or more. The variation of 21 days or more is considered highly irregular and abnormal. A woman may face some menstrual irregularities at both ends of menstrual life, (onset- menarche and end of cycle- menopause) which is normal and in most of the cases, it is self-establishing. 

Causes of Irregular Menstrual Cycle: 

The cause of irregularities in menstrual cycle is basically hormone imbalance. The altered levels in the body lead to irregular cycles. There are many factors in routine life which affect hormonal balance. Some of them are: 

Poor diet or wrong dietary habits 
Stress and anxiety, thoughts and emotions
Lifestyle: Lack of physical activity and exercise, too much physical exertion, stress and strain during menses. 
Illness: Long-term illness like fever, tuberculosis, thyroid problem etc. 
Medication: Certain medicine if taken for a long time, like oral contraceptive pills, hormonal therapy etc., alters hormonal balance. 
Imbalance of Tridosha (vatta, pitta and kapha) in body, leads to irregularities of reproductive system. 
As per Ayurveda, Vatta is the main culprit in menstrual irregularities. 

How To Deal With Menstrual Irregularities:

With the sudden acceptance of eastern concepts of yoga and organic and indigenous medicines around the world, Ayurveda has gained importance in treating irregular menses, gynecological and obstetric problems. 

Lifestyle and Food- There is no alternative for lifestyle and food habits correction. Eating healthy and nutritious food, regular exercise, yoga, physical activity, outdoor games lead to good physical health. 
Meditation and Breathing: Exercise is good for taming hormones. It keeps a person physical and mentally healthy. 
Avoid heavy physical work during menses. 
A good oil massage over body keeps Vatta in balance (one of the important tridoshas of body: vatta, pitta and kapha). 
Ayurveda has proven to be much helpful in regulating the menstrual cycles. According to certain studies, Ayurveda came in rather handy while tackling PCOS, a disease distressing 1 in 3 women today. It is certain that Ayurveda medicines work better in certain scenarios and definitely have fewer risks in comparison to allopathic medicines and surgeries. Over a period of time, they have proven much more beneficial in overcoming the irregular menses and the irritation along with the accompanying pain and PMS symptoms. Ayurvedic medicines use herbs and roots and almost everything found in nature to discover a rather organic cure for diseases. Certain plants like Shatavari are used to reduce the much spoken about mood swings or PMS symptoms during periods which can only worsen in case of an irregularity. The bark of the Ashoka tree has proven to be quite helpful in relieving menstrual pain and excessive bleeding. Other plants and their parts like the Lodhra, Guggul, Guduchi and Amlaki, Jatamansi etc. are useful in regulating periods and reducing the stress and irritation accompanied by it. 

Panchkarma- Basti therapy (Enema- administration of medicines through rectal route). In this treatment, decoction of different herbs and medicated oils are used for giving enema. Basti has proven its efficacy since centuries, for treating Vatta. A course of 5, 8, 15, 30 or 60 basti, as per person s requirement can be given for menstrual problems. Irregular periods, although are faced by a large chunk of women, pose different symptoms for different people and hence individualized treatment is advised.

Irregular Periods - Ayurvedic Home Remedies to Treat It

The amount of emotional upheaval that periods, or no periods (for that matter) can cause, is something that every woman is aware of. It's normal to miss your period for different reasons occasionally, but it is a matter of concern if this absence persists over a period of time. The condition is then termed as a case of secondary amenorrhea. Although most people are quick to consider pregnancy while dealing with the various reasons for missed periods, there are a number of possibilities which are seldom mulled over, but should be considered in order to take effective precautions and seek proper medical care:

1. Weight
Body weight is responsible for affecting hypothalamus and this may, in turn, upset your menstrual cycle. BMI level under 18-19 may result in triggering irregularities since enough estrogen will not be created. This is also why underweight women, who suffer from bulimia or anorexia, tend to miss their periods frequently. 

On the other hand, overweight women may stop ovulating due to increase in the production of estrogen and therefore, have heavy, infrequent periods. Therefore, it is essential that body weight be regulated to avoid any disappointment at 'the time of the month.'

2. Stress
Any type of physical or emotional stress is bound to affect your cycle. This is because, the production of stress hormones in the body increases and an elevated level of adrenaline and cortisol may impair the functioning of the reproductive system. Under stressful situations, the body employs its amino acids to assist the neurotransmitters to produce stress hormones over sex hormones. As a consequence, the chances of missing your periods increase.

3. Exercising Too Much
While regular workout is indispensable for battling a sedentary lifestyle, overdoing it might cause your body to produce lesser estrogen and delay your periods. Women, who are into athletics and gymnastics, are more likely to suffer from amenorrhea. In fact, other aspects of over-exercising, like sleeping less, fasting, and infections also contribute to such irregularities.

4. Breastfeeding
Prolactin is the hormone that aids in milk production and may also repress ovulation for a while. Many breastfeeding moms may not get their periods for a month or more as a result. But this doesn't do away with your chances of getting pregnant. A span of three months is expected to pass before the abnormalities are done away with.

5. Food Allergies
Celiac disease or untreated gluten allergy can directly harm hormone production. They are directly related to your gut health and your adrenal glands which is why they can influence the sex hormone creation.


5 Reasons For Absent Periods

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