Is Menstruation?

Period or menstruation is a discharge of blood and tissue lining the uterus of women. The combination of blood and blood tissue is called menstruation or menstrual fluid. Women lost an average of 3 to 6 tablespoons of blood in each menstrual period. The period usually lasts for 3-5 days, but can also be up to 7 days.

Women's first menstruation, called menarkhe, usually at about age 11 or 12 years. The first menstrual bleeding tend to be very mild and often no more than a few drops. After menarkhe, women continue to menstruate regularly every month until menopause, when the body stops releasing ovum (egg). Menopause usually occurs around age 51, but can occur earlier due to certain reasons such as surgery or illness.

Menstrual Cycle
Menstruation is part of a woman's menstrual cycle, also called the reproductive cycle. The menstrual cycle prepares the body for pregnancy, and are controlled by hormones. This cycle usually takes between 28-30 days, but still if a minimum of 22 days or a maximum of 35 days.

The menstrual cycle begins on the first day of menstruation and ends on the last day (net) before the next menstrual period. After the fifth day of the reproductive cycle, estrogen levels rise, causing the uterine lining (endometrium) grows. Around day four twelfth cycle, one of the ovaries (ovarian) releases an egg. This process is called ovulation. At the same time, the hormone progesterone to prepare the endometrium for pregnancy. At this point, if the sperm reach the egg, a fertilized egg can attach itself to the uterine wall, causing pregnancy. If the egg is not fertilized, it will dissolve or be absorbed back into the body of a woman.

If the egg is not fertilized until around 28 cycles, the body dispose of endometrium through bleeding. Blood and endometrial tissue through the cervix and removed through the vagina. Bleeding is called menstruation. Menstruation start the next cycle. A woman is very little chance of getting pregnant in the future than any other time in the menstrual cycle, but not impossible, especially in women with irregular cycles.

Some of the disorders associated with menstruation:

Pre-menstrual Syndrome (SPM)
SPM affects as many as 75% of women. As the name implies, SPM usually occurs before menstruation and ends after menstruation begins. The most common symptoms of MSS include abdominal cramps, flatulence, headache, breast tenderness, fatigue, mood swings, changes in appetite, anxiety, pain in joints and muscles, difficulty concentrating, nausea and depression. Most women who suffer from SPM just experiencing some of these symptoms. When symptoms are very severe SPM, the condition is called premenstrual disorder disforik (pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder / PMDD). Approximately seven percent of women experience it (source: MayoClinic).

The cause is not known with certainty SPM. However, there are theories about the factors that can cause the syndrome. Symptoms seem to change with the fluctuation of hormones, which suggests that the cycle of hormonal changes may be the main cause. Changes in the levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter involved in mood control, can also cause SPM. Certain aspects of the diet such as low levels of vitamins and minerals can also be responsible for some symptoms of SPM. Salty foods can cause the SPM with increasing water retention.
 
Amenorrhea
Amenorrhea is the absence of menstruation, both in women over the age of sixteen who have not started menstruating or in women who have never had regular periods but then stopped. The most common reason is the absence of menstruation pregnancy. Other causes of amenorrhea include breastfeeding, extreme weight loss, eating disorders, exercise too hard, stress, hormonal problems, and reproductive problems.

In adolescence and middle-aged, amenorrhea is not always indicate pregnancy or disorder. Tend to be highly irregular menstruation in the first few years of menstruation and may become irregular again as a woman approaches menopause.

Dysmenorrhea
Sometimes it is very painful menstruation. This condition is called dysmenorrhea, which may be due to disease or other disorders. One such disease is uterine fibroids (uterine fibroids). Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that grow in the muscles of the uterus and sometimes cause pain during menstruation. Fibroids may require treatment if they cause pain or heavy bleeding, but it often does not cause the problem so it does not require treatment. Uterine fibroids tend to shrink after menopause.

Other diseases that can cause painful cramping is endometriosis. This condition causes the endometrium grows somewhere outside the uterus, usually in the abdominal cavity. When the body shed the endometrium each month, this is not available out of the body. Besides cramps, endometriosis can cause irritation and scarring in the area around the endometrium, irregular bleeding, infertility, and pain during or after sexual intercourse (dyspareunia).