No matter what brings a woman to the doctor’s office, “When was the first day of your period?” A single question can wait without any problem.
Dr. Ala Vash-MargitaThe chief of pediatrics and adolescent gynecology at Yale Medicine told Yahoo Life that part of the reason for the question is to determine whether a woman is pregnant, but the answer can reveal more about the woman’s health.
“Obstetricians generally pay a lot of attention to menstruation,” she explains. “Menstruation is actually intended to be considered a vital sign in the womb. Regular menstruation… just like blood pressure, respiration rate, temperature, heart rate are important.
Menstruation can reveal a lot about a woman’s health, according to Vash-Margitta, so all doctors – not just gynecologists – should pay attention to women’s periods.
Vash Margita says regular menstruation is “a sign of a healthy body”. In addition to pregnancy, menstruating that stops or breaks apart for more than 45 days can be a sign of “thyroid disease, poor diet, heavy exercise, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and a few other conditions,” she said.
In addition to tracking your period, Dr. Myda LuuThe ob-gyn area specialty chief for Kaiser Permanente advises that people who monitor their periods “look for cycle length, frequency and flow” as well as “associated symptoms such as severe cramping, pain during intercourse, bleeding between periods, changes in mood.” Menstrual Cycle and Migraine” This is because these symptoms can be useful in the diagnosis and treatment of various health conditions.
Unmonitored, women may miss changes that are important to their overall health, especially if the changes are subtle or occur slowly.
Even if a woman has no immediate health problems and is worried about getting pregnant, period tracking can help set a baseline that can be useful later. Symptoms that indicate a problem for one woman may be completely normal for another, depending on her health history.
According to Lu, “Knowing the first day of your last period is about tracking the menstrual cycle in general and understanding what is normal. you.“Follow-up periods and associated symptoms” may indicate important changes that warrant further investigation, she added.
She advises anyone who is menstruating to tell their doctor if their cycle is longer than 35 days or shorter than 21 days, if they bleed for more than seven days, or if they are weaning through one or more tampons or pads in less than two hours. Menstruating for more than three months, experiencing severe pain at any time during their cycle or bleeding between periods, after sex, or after menopause.
If a woman notices changes in her cycle, experts say there is no need to panic. Dr. And Nayoth.Ob-Gyn, Reproductive Endocrinologist and Infertility Specialist and Chief Medical Consultant To be a birdYahoo Life says: “There are many options for medically managing the menstrual cycle … to improve quality of life. Menstruating men advocate for themselves if “the frequency, duration, amount of flow, or associated pain has a negative impact on their lives.” He added that anyone with period-related anxiety should be “extremely cautious” and visit their doctor for blood work and other tests.
Knowing the first day of a woman’s period is useful in other ways. Dr. Arlene Go, An ob-gyn and a specialist studying endometriosis together Hera Biotech, told Yahoo Life, “It’s important to know what stage of the cycle the patient is at, follicular or luteal. Sometimes symptoms are tied to a specific part of their cycle, and this is important to know for both diagnosis and treatment. Without knowing the date of the patient’s last period, it can be difficult to determine where they are in their cycle.
Liesel TnLabor and delivery nurse and founder Mom is a labor nurseHe explains that. “Where you are in your menstrual cycle can affect many things, including your weight, vaginal discharge, breast size, and vital signs, so knowing the first day of your period is “useful information” for your provider. Tin told Yahoo Life, “If your provider notices a change in your health since your last visit, it’s important to know that that change could be where you are in your cycle” or something more serious.
For example, a breast cancer diagnosis can affect where a woman is in her menstrual cycle. “At certain points in your cycle, your breasts may feel more mature than others,” explains Tin. “Knowing this information can help your provider determine whether a change in texture is related to your cycle or needs further investigation.”
A toddler will find it difficult to remember all this information. So she advises anyone on their period to track their period and symptoms with an app, calendar or journal. “Aggregated data” over time gives doctors a better understanding of a patient’s menstrual cycle, Nayot added. “Looking back at your cycle and associated symptoms can reveal some interesting patterns that may be helpful for the patient,” he says.
“There’s a lot of information we can glean from your menstrual cycle, so it’s extremely important to have accurate information for your provider,” agrees the teenager. Although women may be embarrassed to talk about their periods, doing so is “no different than discussing your blood pressure results or any other health issue,” says Tin.
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