Every women had their own ‘Red Days Feels’ story. And I know that like me, every women’s period feels like an everyday challenge that comes every month. This is also the one thing that men couldn’t understand about women.
Menstruation is normal for every woman. But what’s not normal is our hormonal imbalance and women have different hormones which made us unique. So I decided to write this article to give those male readers out there a head’s up and for the women to give some tips and advise as well.
Women can be moody most of the time, especially if red days are near. They get irritable and sensitive, you cannot tell. One moment they made their minds and then another one they’ll change it. Very unpredictable and frustrating, to be honest. They become picky too and sometimes crave for foods that don't even exist. You can actually be mistaken if she’s pregnant or just on her period. She can be violent too like biting or hitting you and then regret it afterwards. She’ll be super lazy and doesn’t even care about how she looks. One time she would like to eat everything and then the other time she doesn’t have an appetite at all. She would be all serious now but later she would laugh and make fun of you. And most of the time she would be emotional and cry like crazy even if she’s watching a variety show.
Women are alien for some men. But you just couldn’t understand them at all, even they couldn’t understand themselves most of the time. There are times that they are so adorable yet there are also times that you just wanted to throw them in the ocean.
I am a woman and I admit that there are times that I don’t really understand myself at all. I have an irregular period. There are months that the red days won’t come but when it comes I really feel like I was being punished. Call me exaggerating but that’s really what I always feel. I know that all of the women experienced period cramps, some are only mild and short but there are also some who experienced severe cramps and I am one of them. Some even fainted because of how hurt it is, and my friend’s sister is a proof of that.
In my case, I would know if a period is coming. I think all women know when their period is knocking already. So these are the reasons why I consider it as a punishment given on me. A week before my period, I developed acnes and small bruises. Little cramps would also start. And I’d become more irritable day by day. Tiny things irritate me easily. I sometimes even fought with my brother. I always feel like I should never lose an argument. The challenge starts there already.
On the day of my period, it’ll become worse. Just like now, today is my first day and I wanted to be alone. Not seeing anyone. Not hearing anything. Just me, alone in my room. Without thinking of doing anything. See? Just a few minutes ago, I decided to never do anything because I feel so lazy but then a few minutes later here I am facing my laptop and sharing to you how it feels to be a woman every month.
Aside from that, cramps on my first to the third day is something I really considered as a nightmare. You couldn’t even tell what would happen. It'll hurt like someone is pulling the insides of my abdomen. It’ll be so much hurt to move. So much hurt to even sit or walk so I really prefer to lay on the bed all day. And so much hurt to even take a dump. That’s true seriously. I was always afraid to take a dump whenever I got my period because I know that it would give me so much pain and I would just cry and shout like why is it taking it’s time to go out?
I would also crave for some weird foods and combinations. Mostly, I would crave for something salty and sweet at the same time. Sometimes I would crave for a salty chocolate if there’s any. When this happens, I would always try my very best to satisfy myself because if not then I would feel disappointed and discontented. That’s why I always make sure that I have some savings to spend during my period. Lucky those who have someone to provide for their cravings but I guess it is better if we practice the “My cravings, my buy” motto.
The fourth and the fifth day of my period will be a lighter mode for me. Cramps aren’t that hurt anymore but they are still present during those days. And also the blood flow will not be that heavy anymore. On the sixth and seventh, it will only be droplets and the cramps are totally gone. But, the acne and bruises will remain for another week. This became my cycle every time my period would come. And I know that some women share the same cycle with me too.
Periods aren’t that bad actually. It is a dirty blood so we need to let go of that. Periods only give us cramps but it is our hormones that can make us someone with multiple personalities. Some of my batch mates and friends started their period during elementary, me on the other hand is a late bloomer. I’ve got my first period during the first day of classes in my first year of high school. Some women got theirs even later than mine.
I became ignorant about women’s stuff that time really, my mother wasn't there with me because she attended my grandfather’s funeral which was also held that day. I was even panicking because I felt hurt in the abdomen, in my chest, in my legs, everywhere. I even go to my aunt’s house crying and asking for help because I really don’t know what to feel at that time. It was such an epic fail ‘first period feels’ experience for me.
So if you’re a young lady, a boyfriend, a husband or father that happens to read my article, then I would give you some tips that can possibly help during red days. This is based on my own experiences and it really helps me throughout my monthly challenge.
1. Hot Compress
My mother always advised me to put some hot compress on my abdomen whenever I have cramps. And I guess, mothers knows best. It may not totally remove the pain but it can make you relax. It’s just simple. Get an empty bottle with a cap. Pour a hot water inside and close it tightly. Cover the bottle with a towel or any clothes, just make sure that you can still feel its hotness. Lay on your and raise your both legs to the wall then place the bottle in your abdomen.
You can do this for as long as you want or as long as the cramp is gone. It does really help I tell you. It is a natural remedy that can keep you from taking more pain relievers.
2. Use Menthol Pads.
So for severe cramps, I highly recommend using menthol pads than the regular one. It is costly but it can actually help. I used it sometimes but not most of the time. It can also keep us from irritations that our regular pads give us. If you couldn’t find something like this or too costly for you, you can just make an alternative. Which I recommend best since women couldn’t use the same pads for 24 hours. We need to change every 3 hours. It is necessary so we can keep ourselves clean and away from bacterial infection.
Though women depend on pads, it is also important to make our V breathe at least once in a while. If you are just in your house and you don’t have any plans on going out for a day then stop using pads for a while, or even just for a day. Let your blood flow freely. Because sometimes, using pads can also filter the flow of the blood, so not all of the dirty blood will come out because of it. So let it breathe okay?
3. Do not take a bath.
This is what every woman fails to do. Even me, myself. Of course we would like to always take a bath every now and then during our period since we feel so hot, dirty, smelly, and sticky. If it would be possible to not leave the shower then we probably do it. But then my grandmother and mother told me to never take a bath during red days. They said that it will bring no good, maybe not now but you’ll suffer for the consequences later.
It really can’t help especially if we need to go to school, or work, or somewhere important. Hot yucky feelings would only add to our irritations. So what I always do is to skip a day. Like if today I take a bath, so tomorrow I wouldn’t. Then the next day I would take a bath, and then the next I would not. Something like that. Well it is not that bad to listen to people who experienced life first than us, right? You won’t lose anything anyway.
4. Rest
Many people already told me to never lift something heavy during red days and also to not do any hard sports. When a woman was on her period, her hormones were highly active and some parts of her body were still adjusting or preparing for it. Just like how a woman’s body prepares for pregnancy. The reason and the process may be different but it is something similar to that. So it is really important to rest during your period.
Feeling lazy was also normal. Our body would feel so heavy and it is so tiring to move or get up. As I have said, it is normal since our body is adjusting. Back pains and chest pains would be your number one enemy for this.
So if you feel like your wife, girlfriend, sister, or even your daughter would be so lazy all of the sudden then don’t try to push them to their limit because it can or might irritate them to the bone. Some of us were just keeping it a secret since we would feel shy letting our family members or the people around us know that we had red days. So it is better to be aware.
5. Satisfying cravings
It is not really necessary for us to satisfy our cravings right away. But if we do, it gives us so much happiness and it makes us fulfilled. I don’t know if it’s just me or some women also feel this, but I have noticed during my high school years that whenever I got my period I would also crave for some particular food and if I have enough money I would buy and treat myself but then if my pocket is empty a part of me was also empty—my stomach probably. But seriously I would really feel empty if I couldn’t satisfy my cravings.
But remember that whenever the period strikes, you can’t eat everything you wanted. There were also foods that are needed to avoid during red days and that is sour foods. If you like eating something sour like green mangoes and anything that is sour, like you are eating them almost everyday, then at least take a break during your red days. Sour foods can just make your cramps worse.
There are still many remedies that I would like to share but these five helped me the best and if you haven’t tried it yet then better give it a shot and see the result for yourself. Every woman has different hormonal imbalances so we also have different ways and remedies to catch up with it.
But if you’re a woman with severe cramps who depends on pain killers and medicine whenever it strikes then I advise you to try natural remedies. Taking medicines for period cramps are not really advisable though some may be effective for removing the pain instantly, I know it since I have also used this method before, but we don’t know the side effects we may get from it. As the oldies said “Precaution is better than cure”. So why not try using the natural method?
And lastly, it may sound weird but they said it is true. Whenever a woman is on her period, do not or do not let her come near a plant because the plant might die. That is what I have heard from my great grandmother when my cousin got her first period. And when it was me who got my period, my grandmother and mother also told me that. I find it weird really, because how would a plant die? It’s not like I will torture the plant or something right? Then it would probably die by that.
I find it impossible and ridiculous so I didn’t listen and even tried to water the plants. When my mother saw me she really beat me, I mean not in a most violent way. That's how she loves her plants so much. But then true enough, when morning came I noticed that the plants look so bad. It’s like they didn't drink water and their colors were like that of a dying plant. I don’t really know if it’s because of me or they just wanted to look weak so that my mother would beat and scold me again.
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