Menstrual Cycle Affect Body Health? Check the facts!

Women are extraordinary beings because they were created by God with a reproductive organ called the uterus. The uterus has walls that have blood vessels and will thicken in preparation for pregnancy.

However, if there is no fertilization in the egg, the uterine wall will shed and come out with blood through the vagina. This process is called menstruation or menstruation.

This cycle, which starts from the first day of menstruation until the first day of menstruation returns to the first day of the next menstruation, has hormones that play an important role in the progress of the cycle, including Gonadotropine Relasing Hormone (GnRH), Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Luteinizing hormone (LH), Estrogen. and also Progesterone.

A normal menstrual cycle lasts 28 days, although not everyone has the same cycle length, it can be shorter or longer.

There are 3 phases in this cycle:

Phase Follicular

The follicular phase begins on the first day of menstruation. In this phase, the levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone are low, so the thickened uterine wall will shed and menstrual bleeding occurs. After that, the levels of Follicle-Stimulating hormone increase slightly, stimulating the development of Follicle hormone in the ovaries. Each Follicle carries an egg, so that in the end the Follicle hormone will decrease little by little until it leaves one Follicle that continues to grow and produce the hormone Estrogen.

Phase Ovulatory

A surge in Lutenizing hormone and a drop in Follicle-Stimulating hormone signals the start of this phase. Lutenizing hormone will stimulate the release of eggs or what is commonly called ovulation, which occurs for 16 to 32 hours after an increase in the lutenizing hormone. Estrogen levels will decrease and progesterone begins to increase.

Phase Luteal

During this phase, the levels of the Lutenizing hormone will decrease. The ruptured folicle will then release an egg and form the Corpus Luteum which produces Progesterone. Estrogen levels are high in most of these phases. Together with the hormone Progesterone, these two hormones will make the uterine wall thick so that it will be ready for fertilization.

If fertilization does not occur, the Corpus Luteum will stop forming and no longer produce Progesterone, then this cycle will return to the first phase: the Follicular phase. However, if there is fertilization, the Corpus Luteum will continue to work until the early stages of pregnancy.

Then, does this menstrual cycle have any effect on one’s health? Reporting from the Women’s Health website page, changes in hormone levels that occur during the menstrual cycle play a lot in the health changes that occur, sometimes they can even worsen the health conditions that are being experienced by women who are experiencing menstrual cycles. Diseases that may occur due to the menstrual cycle are:

1. Anemia
Anemia is a condition of lack of oxygen circulation throughout the body caused by a lack or malfunction of the red blood cells in the body. This will get worse if someone experiences excessive bleeding during menstruation. Anemia will cause a person to feel tired and lethargic.

2. Asthma
Asthma owners need to be more careful when menstruating. The reason is, research has been done which says that asthma can get worse during menstruation. Some of the symptoms are wheezing or wheezing that worsens between days 10 and 22 as well as shortness of breath that worsens between days 7 and 22, plus a cough.

3. Depression
Many people are familiar with the term Pre Menstrual Syndrome (PMS), where they feel unstable emotions before menstruation. However, there are actually more severe conditions. Premenstrual Dysphoric Syndrome (PMDD) is closely associated with drastic mood disorders with early symptoms similar to PMS. People affected by PMDD have symptoms such as feeling extreme unhappiness, feeling useless, breast tenderness or swelling, feeling tired all the time, etc.

4. Diabetes
An irregular menstrual cycle can be a sign that someone has type 2 diabetes. The WebMD website explains that out of 190 adolescent girls who suffer from type 2 diabetes without taking hormonal drugs, 39 of them have irregular menstruation.

5. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
IBS is a common long-term digestive system disorder. IBS often affects women younger than 50 years. The emergence of IBS is triggered by stress, certain foods, or hormonal changes that occur during menstruation. Some of the symptoms that appear are diarrhea, flatulence, back pain, heartburn and others.

6. Difficult to get pregnant
Women whose menstrual cycles are irregular are less likely to get pregnant because of their uncertain ovulation period. 30-40% of infertility problems come from this irregular ovulation problem.

Irregular cycles are common in many women and are considered normal, however, consultation with a doctor is still necessary if any of the following occurs:

1. Late menstruation for three months without the presence of pregnancy, breastfeeding, in perimenopause or menopause.
2. Menstruation that is too frequent (occurs again after less than 24 days), or too long (menstruation is not more than 38 days), menstrual duration is too long (more than 8 days).
3. Feel dizzy, lethargic, tired, or have chest pain or difficulty breathing during or after menstruation.
4. Excessive bleeding, so you have to change the sanitary napkin / tampon / menstrual cup every one or two hours.
5. Have a fever after using a tampon / menstrual cup.
6. Feeling pain during menstruation that is prolonged and does not improve even though you have taken medication.
7. Pain that interferes with daily activities.
8. Feeling migraines during menstruation.
9. Passing a blood clot during menstruation that is large enough.
10. Bleeding after sex and it happens many times.