Talk:Menstruation

Old discussion

I would like to see the following question answered in this article:

What are the known effects (health-wise) of sexual intercourse between male and female during menstruation, for both partners —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jvgama (talk • contribs) 17:37, 4 February 2007

does your period hurt? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.178.177.200 (talk • contribs) 22:56, 16 March 2007

I'm assuming you're male? Umm, not really but it's annoying. And it does hurt sometimes 'cause of the cramps. ― LADY GALAXY ★彡 ^Refill/lol 20:59, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Woman bleeding for a week without dying. immortal. this is a joke but wikipedia is not a joke website!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.104.58.107 (talk • contribs) 18:56, 9 February 2007

I think the inclusion of the expression "third and long" without any explanation assumes an understanding of American football on the part of everyone that simply should not be assumed! I had to do a search to discover its meaning. I get the impression even many Americans wouldn't understand it.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.42.196.69 (talk • contribs) 22:08, 21 March 2007

I still don't think this article is very encyclopaedic, at the moment it reads more like a hybrid of a Cleo article and an advertisement for herbs/feminine hygiene products. There is not even a very good opening description of what menstruation essentially is, ie, "normal cyclic bleeding from the vagina associated with the menstrual cycle" or words to that effect.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.45.230.94 (talk • contribs) 06:05, 31 March 2007

How long would be too long?

What's up with all these strange questions? -Lea (firebender talk) 01:46, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm assuming a females sex drive decreases during her period so when is it at its peak again? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dlgjslover (talk • contribs) 05:10, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Figure

I've added a modified figure to this page as requested at Talk:Menstrual cycle#Incorrect figure. Lyrl ^Talk _C 18:10, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Raspberry Leaf

Um, if the raspberry leaf is supposed to help relieve cramps, then would raspberry tea help? The kind I have is the Snapple brand. Thanks. -dancexwithxmexXx —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.160.222.253 (talk • contribs) 22:42, 19 June 2007

There is some knowledge available in the "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" book. and "this caught my eye': Should You Get Rid of Your Period? - MSN Health & Fitness - Birth Control 96.225.99.178 (talk) 12:34, 26 June 2009 (UTC) xsxixmx@gmail.com

premenstrual spotting

it is bleeding before the actual periods start.it usually coincides with the date of ovulation.that is about ten to twelve days before the periods.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.254.111.90 (talk • contribs) 14:53, 24 July 2007

and . . . what are you saying? Why are you sharing this strange fact? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lea the Firebender (talk • contribs) 01:48, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Picture

In keeping with the gold standard of wikipedia articles involving anatomy, I believe a picture or video of the menstruation process is needed for the completeness of the encyclopedia as a whole. Does anyone have such a picture or video that is not copyrighted? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Whiteknight521 (talk • contribs) 22:44, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

A picture of menstruation in a medical setting (perhaps an assessment of pads to gauge whether a woman is hemorraging?), or a painting of something menstrual related might work. Other articles of graphic topics seem to handle images in these two ways. A picture or video such as that suggested by Whiteknight would probably be rejected as gratuitous. Lyrl^Talk _C 01:12, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

It's just blood...blood on your underwear. Have you ever seen blood? Yep. 17:24, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

There ought to be a picture. There's a picture in the semen article. Surely you can just get a picture of this, on a piece of carpet. 79.76.189.192 (talk) 11:01, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

Go to Encyclopedia Dramatica. They actually have a good picture there. I swear, they do. Just go to their period article. ONLY...their period article. 70.119.54.117 (talk) 21:06, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

Explanation of my edit

On April 11 User:Prestonmcconkie changed the description of chimpanzees from "close evolutionary relatives" to "genetically similar animals," writing in the talk section that "This statement is more correct without favoring either creationism or evolutionary theory. If the change made things more vague it would not be valid, but it makes it more correct, actually."

I have reverted that change. In fact, many more animals are "genetically similar" to humans than are "close evolutionary relatives" (for example, mice share a "genetically similarity" but would not be accurately termed "close evolutionary relatives" in the context of this article. --Neutrality^talk 07:30, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

Anal cramps?

Does anyone think that someone should address the concept of anal cramps during menstruation? I know that I usually get them, and I've heard of a lot that have had them too. I think that this subject is really worth addressing :) Thanks.

When the body is ready to get rid of the lining of the uterus, it uses a chemical that causes the muscles of the uterus to contract. They are called prostaglandins. Women who have high levels of these chemicals experience more intense contractions and more pain. These chemicals have been linked to vomiting, diarrhea, and headaches that can accompany painful periods. You can see that the anal muscles might be effected by the same chemical. WSNRFN (talk) 00:06, 11 December 2008 (UTC)

when do you GET ur period for the frst time? can u speed it up?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.229.147.37 (talk) 08:36, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

when?

when do you GET ur period? can u like...speed it up?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.229.147.37 (talk) 08:37, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Why would you want to? 62.30.169.155 (talk) 10:39, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

what the time between periods —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.163.52.115 (talk) 15:45, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

how to maintain regular menses?

menstration cycle often distrub usually late. how we can make regular —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.103.145.173 (talk) 04:17, 11 July 2009 (UTC)

"Regular" means different things to different people. The official medical definition is that cycle lengths between 21 and 35 days are considered normal. Lyrl^Talk _C 14:22, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

When?

Something that (I think) should be added here, is frequency. I came here looking for information on WHEN a woman bleeds. Is it a constant trickling bleed? Is it a bit here, 3 hour pause then a bit there? Is there a pattern to it, or is it just at random (eg. bleed here, wait 1 hour, bleed some more, wait 5 hours, bleed some more, wait 20 minutes, bleed some more etc.)? I'm thinking it's encyclopedic content, otherwise people will get the wrong idea on how it operates. 121.79.56.168 (talk) 01:55, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

During menstruation, a women typically notices fresh menses every time she uses the restroom. Toward the end of a period, however, hours or even a day may go by between a woman finding fresh menses.

Any information included in the article must be cited to a reliable source. I do not believe any such sources exist for the frequency at which menstruating women notice fresh menses, so that information cannot be included in the article. Lyrl^Talk _C 14:19, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

Lunar Activity???

Lunar activity, weather and diet can affect when one may have her menstrual cycle

What, exactly is "lunar activity"? The moon pretty much is just there.Cadwallader (talk) 22:50, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Odd research

According to Japanese researchers, it may be possible to use menstruation as an alternative for bone marrow donations for heart problems.

• Japanese scientists close to harnessing power of monthly ick for Good (Link working)
• http://www.todayonline.com/articles/250126.asp (Link not working)

QUOTE: "Cardiologists at Keio University have found some success with cultivating menstrual blood cells alongside rats' heart cells and coaxing some of it to turn into (heart) material in the process... This process is still in the very beginning stages as far as human application goes, of course; Shunichiro Miyoshi... says they have yet to figure out why some of the cells turned into heart muscle tissue and not the rest, and how to make it happen on command." I may be able to find more sources if requested to do so. -- 李博杰  | —Talk contribs email 13:50, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't think the Japanese are the only ones researching stem cells from menstrual blood. Adding a discussion of how menstrual fluid contains stem cells would certainly improve the article; I encourage you to be bold and add it. Lyrl^Talk _C 20:04, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

Menstrual Synchrony

I recently scoured PubMed on this subject, and there are absolutely no later studies that support menstrual synchrony. If someone with some time on their hands could dig in proper and annihilate this urban myth once and for all, humanity would be served.

Nerusai (talk) 22:57, 16 October 2009 (UTC)

Overview image

I have reverted the placement of a new overview image. I believe the older image is superior:

• The older image labels the later stages of folliculogenesis (recruited follicle, maturing follicle) and shows how the follicle turns into a corpus luteum.
• The older image clearly shows how the thickness of the endometrium changes over the course of the cycle. The newer image sometimes shows red inside the outlines of the uterus (as if within the uterine wall?), sometimes shows red outside the outlines of the uterus (as if blood is pooling within the uterus?), and the outlines of the uterus sides (but not the top) grow and shrink. However, the new image shows no clear relationship between cycle day and thickness of the red (the endometrium).
• The newer image shows a significant dip in temperature on the day of ovulation. Few women experience this dip; it is misleading to show it in a cycle that is supposed to represent the average, typical menstrual cycle.

The newer image looks cleaner and more professional, and I really appreciate the time that was spent in creating it. At this time, I prefer to keep the older image on the basis that it conveys more information to the reader. Lyrl^Talk _C 22:32, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

Regarding the body temperature issue, the two other sources I was able to find for this (without doing in-depth research) both show a dip in body temperature immediately before ovulation[1][2]. What is the source for your statement that this is not typical? I'll request that the creator of the diagram fix it if you have a source for the information. Regarding the quality of the diagram, I personally think the newer diagram is better for several reasons:

1. The old diagram failed to mention the uterine phases (menstruation, proliferative phase, and secretory phase)
2. The new diagram shows where the two phases take place with respect to the reproductive organs
3. The new diagram is much easier to read at small sizes
4. The new diagram uses the standard Wikipedia color palette and is graphically much cleaner
5. The new diagram is SVG and thus can be scaled to any size

Is there any way that the good qualities of the old diagram could be incorporated into the new one? Kaldari (talk) 23:57, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

Pages 150 and 306 of the 2nd edition of Toni Weschler's Taking Charge of Your Fertility state that few women experience pre-ovulatory temperature dips.

Menstruation is labeled on the old diagram, and is also graphically visible in the declining thickness of the endometrium. If I understand your usage correctly, you are defining proliferative phase as "follicular - menstruation" and secretory phase as "luteal - ischemic"? If so, there is a large overlap between the days included in follicular and proliferative, and the days included in luteal and secretory. I'm not convinced that the reader gains significant value from having both labels on the diagram.

I agree that having a drawing of a uterus and ovaries is a nice feature of the newer diagram. Unfortunately, the graphics of the newer diaphragm convey significantly less information about how the ovarian follicle and endometrium change across the menstrual cycle.

I agree about the ease of reading/color palette/image format being improved with the newer version. Your suggestion of changing the newer image to include information from the older one is the best solution. Until then, I would like to see the older image used because of the larger amount of information it conveys. Lyrl^Talk _C 00:30, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

Using the old diagram for now is fine with me. The phases issue is complicated. Different sources use different sets of phases and the definitions are inconsistent. The only phases that are consistently defined across all the sources I've seen (scientific and popular) are the follicular and luteal phases. These are sometimes called the "ovarian phases". The other phases are sometimes called the "uterine phases". The uterine phases are defined inconsistantly. I've seen all of the following:

• proliferative, secretory
• menstruation, proliferative, secretory
• menstruation, proliferative, secretory, ischemic

Although the middle one seems the most common, with secretory equaling the luteal phase in duration. Kaldari (talk) 01:14, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

BTW, I don't think the endometrium part of the old diagram is very effective. Since the only label is "Endometrial histology", I don't see how anyone unfamiliar with such diagrams would have any idea what they are looking at. It also fails as a chart in my opinion, as it makes it appear that the endometrial thickness changes dramatically on a daily basis during the luteal phase. It seems that you were attempting to combine a chart with an illustration, which doesn't make sense, IMO. Kaldari (talk) 18:00, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for your patience with me - I've been getting burned out at work and didn't realize it would take me this long to recover. I have started a modification of the chart (didn't have time to copy the hormone graph, and the temperature line is sloppy) and uploaded it to File:MenstrualCycle3.png.

• I think I have fixed the issue of endometrial thickness changing during the luteal phase; I'm not sure about the color, though. Perhaps a grayscale would be better, as in File:Figure 1.1 Endometrium cyclus.jpg?
• "Ovarian cycle" and "Uterine cycle" are not terms used to describe the changes in those organs during the menstrual cycle. I think "histology" is more correct, but understand that is not an accessible term. I'll think about other labeling possibilities, and am open to suggestions.
• When I copied it onto my computer, I found that File:MenstrualCycle2 en.svg is actually a png file - the extension name on Commons is inaccurate. The software I have will not make svg files, either, so anything I upload may have to be png. Any tips on how to make svg files?

It's back to work for me tomorrow... I'll be back with more work on the image and a response to any comments within a week. Thank you again for your patience with my long absences! Lyrl^Talk _C 03:14, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Reading about file types on Commons, it looks like SVG files are rendered into the browser as PNG files. I haven't figured out how to look at the base SVG version of the file - when I have time, I'll try to look into that. Maybe I'll figure out how to make SVG files in the process.

In the meantime, I have uploaded a PNG file that I hope is an improvement over both earlier versions. I'll leave it just on this article for a while and look for suggestions/comments before putting it up anywhere else. Lyrl^Talk _C 03:28, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

Regarding the temperature dip, according to this study, 75% of women experience their lowest basal body temperature within 1 day of their LH surge and 90% women experience it within 2 days of their LH surge. Whether or not there is a noticeable "dip", I don't know, as I was only able to read the abstract. There's also this illustration from the book Dimensions of Human Sexuality, although I have no idea how scientifically rigorous the book is. It looks like this study may be useful as well. Kaldari (talk) 00:38, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

File:MenstrualCycle2_en.svg has been fixed so that the drop in basal body temperature isn't as dramatic. Considering the statistics above, I think it makes sense to show some decrease in body temperature immediately prior to the LH surge, as this was experienced by 90% of women in the study mentioned. Also the use of the term "histology" in the current diagram is incorrect, as we are showing the progression of a cycle through a simple illustration, not showing microscopic analysis of tissue samples. Would anyone mind if I change the diagram to the SVG version? Kaldari (talk) 16:58, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

Odor

What causes the distinctive odor of menstrual blood? 98.246.183.207 (talk) 20:18, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

Misleading wording in summary.

"Overt menstruation (where there is bleeding from the uterus through the vagina) is found primarily in humans and close evolutionary relatives such as chimpanzees.[1] The females of other placental mammal species have estrous cycles, in which the endometrium is reabsorbed by the animal (covert menstruation) at the end of its reproductive cycle."

This passage suggests that species with estrous cycles, contrary to humans, do not bleed. But that's not always the case:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrous_cycle#Dogs

68.8.99.245 (talk) 18:15, 23 January 2010 (UTC)

Confusing sentence

I cannot understand the following sentence at all:

Eumenorrhea expresses normal, regular menstruation, which is actually spelt mensturation, that lasts for a few days (usually 3 to 5 days, but anywhere from 2 to 7 days is considered normal).

No other mention of "mensturation" occurs in the article. Does the word "eumenorrhea" mean the same thing as "mensturation" (regular menstruation)?

Request a rewrite to make this clearer. Wakablogger2 (talk) 22:16, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

Volume

There seems to be a contradiction between:

The average blood loss during menstruation is 35 millilitres with 10-80 mL considered normal;

and

Sudden heavy flows or amounts in excess of 80 mL (hypermenorrhea or menorrhagia)

I think the first one means 10-80 mL during a single menstruation cycle, but the second one seems to mean 80 mL per day. Perhaps this can be fixed simply by changing "amounts" in the second one to "amount," but overall, it seems unclear. Wakablogger2 (talk) 22:23, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

I'm a bit confused by the source for the sentence on volume (its currently citation 3). The link leads to a summary of some current research in ob/gyn and the author refers to another study which actually established the volume measurements as follows: "The excellent studies by Scandinavian workers over several years have confirmed that normal menstrual blood loss has a mean volume of 30-40 mL (Fig.1). The range of normal menstrual blood loss is typically 10-80 mL."

As far as I can see though, there is no actual citation of where these studies by the Scandanavians are located. I'm going to have a look around for some other journal articles but I don't think this link qualifies as valid citation. 194.81.199.35 (talk) 15:01, 16 May 2011 (UTC)

Can we remove the leading picture

I think that it does not show the best image of menstruation possible. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.53.248.76 (talk) 10:37, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

I also do think there should be a better image. The current one features mainly a finger being inserted in a vulva, which also seems to be menstruating. But the image seems to be focusing more on the insertion (the first version of that image in Commons, by the same author, has a different body part being inserted... guess :-D). I won't do any edits as there is a mini edit war about it, with the original editor (and creator of the image) replacing it after other editors delete it for the past couple days. --Cmontero (talk) 16:33, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

i do not feel that the images that are inserted by Amandalu862 (talk · contribs) are in good intention. Showing a finger or dick inerted into a blood soaked vulva doesn't educate folks about menstruation. Arjun^codename024

menstruation taboo

Many cultures/religions have rules or taboos regarding menstruating women. One example is Mosaic Judaism. There is a new report regarding the role of taboos in modern New Zealand Maori culture here: http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-news/pregnant-menstruating-women-warned-off-museum-tour-20101013-16inh.html

Menstrual Superstitions

The Snopes website has a page about menstrual superstitions via this link : http://www.snopes.com/pregnant/menses.asp Ern Malleyscrub (talk) 10:33, 19 April 2011 (UTC)