All women are well aware of the existence of PMS. Most of us associate the concept of "PMS" with the irritability, tearfulness and aggressiveness of a woman in the period preceding the onset of menstruation. But this is only a small part of the truth, which we will try to supplement.
So, PMS - what is it? The term was first coined by Robert Frank in 1931, but was officially recognized only after seventeen years. A premenstrual symptom is called a painful condition in women before the onset of critical days. General malaise, drowsiness, sweating, depression, nausea, headache, loss of control over emotions, impaired memory and concentration are common manifestations of PMS.
“But such conditions often arise not only in women, but also in men, so do they also have PMS?” - you can object and you will be not far from the truth. Of course, the presence of such symptoms is a sign of PMS only if they appear every month at approximately the same time (before menstruation). In other words, if on the eve of menstruation every month a woman faces a certain set of negative conditions, then we can say with a high degree of confidence that there is the notorious PMS. That this phenomenon is common, proves the following fact. According to statistics, more than half of the female population of the earth face this phenomenon. Women of childbearing age (from 20 to 40 years), thin girls, very emotional and unbalanced natures are most susceptible to PMS. Not all women have PMS in the same way: some ladies feel a slight malaise, which in general does not very much affect their well-being and performance, while others turn out to be practically excluded from life.
PMS: signs . What are the signs of PMS? Probably, all women know that this condition is many-sided. Doctors believe that there are about 150 symptoms of the manifestation of premenstrual syndrome, but each woman has a specific set of symptoms (of course, not all 150). Here are the most common ones:
• Slight weight gain,
• Pain in the lower back and pelvic area,
• bloating,
• Weakness, fatigue,
• Coarsening of the mammary glands, the appearance of pain in the chest,
• irritability,
• Drowsiness / insomnia,
• Puffiness.
There is a popular belief that PMS is something like a character trait, characteristic for a while to come to the fore and then recede into the shadows. But the “capriciousness" of the premenstrual symptom is not a woman’s whim, but a feature of the existence of her body in certain conditions. Who is guilty of this? Scientists believe that hormones, water-salt imbalance and vitamin deficiency (especially vitamin B deficiency) are to blame.
Doctors distinguish four forms of PMS manifestation:
Ø Neuropsychic;
Ø Edematous,
Ø Cephalgic
Ø Crisis.
In the first form of PMS, the most common symptoms are tearfulness, irritability, aggressiveness (in young girls); depression and melancholy (in older women).
With the edematous form of PMS, the mammary glands swell and become very sensitive, any touch causes pain; swelling of the face, legs, hands; sweating appears; the sense of smell becomes very acute.
With the cephalgic form of the syndrome, a woman suffers from headaches, nausea, vomiting, often dizziness, heartaches.
The crisis form is the most dangerous, in such cases, women feel squeezing in the chest, a frantic rhythm of the heartbeat, arms and legs seem to go numb, there is a panic fear of death.
This is the many-faced widely known PMS. What kind of misfortune we found out, it remains to understand how to deal with it.
Treatment of premenstrual syndrome.
Treatment measures depend on the specific case. The doctor prescribes complex therapy, in which the intake of hormone-containing drugs, vitamins, herbal medicine, sports loads and dietary nutrition coexist.
Hormonal drugs can be taken only as prescribed by the doctor, he also recommends taking vitamins (in the case of PMS it is usually vitamins A, B and E, taking calcium or magnesium).
As for the PMS diet, it is focused on the use of fiber-rich foods, fruits and vegetables, herbal teas and juices.
Eating during this period is recommended in small portions in five to six doses, so that the sugar level is maintained at the same level throughout the day. This will reduce irritability and weakness.
Several times a week you need to eat sea fish. These foods are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which can reduce depressive moods and activate brain activity. Meat products during the ICP period are taboo. The same can be said about sweet and salty foods. Sugar causes a feeling of fatigue, salt accumulates water, resulting in swelling.
Do not forget about reasonable physical exertion, which saturate the body with oxygen, and also contribute to the production of endorphins - hormones of joy and well-being.