Most of us are fortunate enough to access modern products and clean water. These are a huge blessing, especially when it is your time of the month. Periods are a massive problem for many women from all over the world. Although the intensity of symptoms varies from woman to woman, it is still an incredibly taxing time. Treating your body well and regularly practising proper hygiene can go a long way towards ensuring a smoother cycle.
Having a period usually entails a bunch of nasty symptoms like body aches, cramping, and a roller coaster of emotions. This makes it all the more vital to know what to avoid during periods to minimise discomfort.
Did you know that an average woman spends nearly 10 years of her life on periods? This is a long time for sure. Obviously, it does get easier with time as you learn more about yourself and your body. That being said, educating yourself about the dos and don’ts of periods is always helpful.
In this blog, we will guide you on the don’ts of menstruation, from what not to eat when the cravings kick in, what hygiene practices to avoid, and what misunderstandings or myths to overcome.
5 Foods to Avoid During Your Periods
Foods tend to have a direct impact on how your period goes. Heavily processed and preserved foods are your enemies. They can cause bloating, mood swings, water retention, and a lot of painful period symptoms. Just like there are the best foods for period cramps, there are ones that you should also avoid. Below are some foods you should limit in your diet while on periods.
1- Sugary foods
Sugar does uplift your mood and provides much-needed support during your time of the month. However, too much sugar can cause a spike in your blood which is eventually followed by a crash, leaving you more tired and irritated than before.
2- Salty foods
Salty foods can make you dehydrated very quickly, and your uterus can cramp more as a result. Although it may add to the flavour of food, excessive salt is unhealthy for us. It can specifically raise blood pressure, which is a major contributor to heart disease. Eating salty foods during the periods also makes the cramps and bloating worse. It’s best to keep salt to a bare minimum during the periods.
3- Spicy foods
Spicy food may upset your stomach, lead to diarrhoea and stomach pains, and sometimes even make you nauseous. This does depend on your general tolerance for spicy food, but why take the unnecessary risk during your periods?
4-Coffee
Bloating and water retention are common side effects of caffeine. It may also make headaches worse. However, if you’re used to drinking a few cups of coffee per day, don’t stop right away because that too can lead to headaches. – Having coffee may also make you feel ill inside. If you frequently get diarrhoea during your period, cutting back on your coffee consumption may help.
5- Alcohol
Processing alcohol takes a lot of energy and resources out of the body. Not only does it dehydrates you, but it can also make you feel bloated. Alcohol mixed with menstruation symptoms is a recipe for disaster. The last thing you need is to wake up hungover, nauseous, dehydrated and confused.
5- Hygiene Practices To Avoid
1- Changing Tampons
Not changing your tampons at regular intervals is one of the most important things to avoid during period. This is because it can massively increase the risk of serious infections. Toxic Shock Syndrome is a rare but life-threatening condition caused by bacteria releasing harmful toxins into the body. Changing the tampons regularly can help mitigate such a risk. You should change your tampons every 4 to 6 hours, even if your flow is light.
2- Sanitary Pads
Just like tampons, the same rule applies to sanitary pads. Do not wear your sanitary pad for more than 6 hours. Many pad companies use a high percentage of synthetic materials in their manufacturing. These materials, like plastics, are less breathable than natural sanitary pads and thus may gather moisture in your vulva and vagina.
3- Douching
Douching is the process of spraying the vagina internally with some sort of antiseptic lotion with fragrance and other ingredients. Although this has gained in popularity, there is zero evidence of benefit from douching. Keeping everything away from your vagina is a much better way to ensure a clean, sanitised environment.
4- Fragranced sanitary products
There is nothing wrong or unnatural about how you smell during your periods. Many women who feel self-conscious about their scents tend to opt for fragrant sanitary products. These products can include irritants and cause rashes. Natural, unbleached, and unscented sanitary products are the way to go.
5- Don’t go crazy on the wet wipes
Due to decades of lousy advertisement and social conditioning, many women think periods are dirty, unclean, and something to be embarrassed about. As a result, excessive cleaning, vaginal sprays, and fragranced hygiene products have become the norm. Wet wipes are only to be used in particular situations where you do not have access to proper hygiene. Obsessively cleaning yourself with products can cause skin irritation and dryness.
Medication
We understand that your time of the month is a tough challenge. Between using sanitation products and managing mood swings, it can become overwhelming. This is especially true for women who go through a painful menstrual cycle. You should consult a doctor if your periods are causing too much pain and disrupting your day-to-day activities. There are many medications widely available today for managing period pain. Drugs like Mefenamic Acid and Feminax Acid are proven to offer instant relief during period pains.
IQ Doctor
If you are looking for pharmaceutical options for relief from period cramps, IQ Doctor is the place for you. It is a UK pharmacy fully licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to sell period pain medicines online. You can visit their website and get a free consultation with a medical professional to determine what medicine may suit you best. Once you place the order, the medication will be shipped to you immediately.
