Contents:
- Medical Video: Endometriosis
- Diarrhea during menstruation, is it normal?
- Then, what can you do to overcome it?
Medical Video: Endometriosis
Abdominal cramps, ups and downs, headaches, and easy hunger are the most common "set" of PMS symptoms and can sometimes continue until your menstruation is complete. Even so, some people also experience diarrhea during menstruation. What, yes, the cause?
Diarrhea during menstruation, is it normal?
Yes. Basically, diarrhea during menstruation is a normal "side effect" and may be experienced by some women.
During menses, your body produces prostaglandin compounds that trigger uterine contractions. This compound actually becomes the mastermind behind the annoying abdominal cramps that you experience during menstruation. Well, prostaglandins indirectly affect the work of the digestive tract. Prostaglandin causes the stomach to become more stressed during menstruation. As a result, you will more often defecate even diarrhea during menstruation than in other normal days.
Frequent bowel movements or diarrhea during menstruation are also influenced by the levels of the hormone progesterone which increases during this time period. Progesterone will peak right before the first day of your menstruation, then it will drop dramatically afterwards. When this hormone is at its highest level, you are more susceptible to constipation, because progesterone works to inhibit the intestine's work to digest and cause food to accumulate in the stomach. When progesterone drops dramatically, the opposite will happen. You actually tend to go back and forth more often.
Then, what can you do to overcome it?
Diarrhea during menstruation is indeed overwhelming, especially if the activity is crowded. But you can work around this by increasing fluid intake (water, broth soup, juice, electrolyte drinks, to ORS) and eating fiber-rich foods (fruits, vegetables, grains). Also choose foods that contain probiotics, which can increase the number of healthy bacteria in the intestine to fight germs in your digestive tract.
In addition to passing fresh food, the intake of vitamin B6 supplements and calcium for several days before the menstrual day is also believed to reduce the risk of diarrhea during menstruation later. Even so, ask your doctor first to determine whether the supplement is safe for you to consume and if yes, what is the right dose.
Finally, be more active during menstruation. Exercise can help restore the function of the digestive tract to normal.
If your condition does not improve even after menstruation is complete, you need to consult with your doctor to find out the cause and the right treatment.
