You probably think you might be a ‘know-it-all’ regarding periods? Period Pal is here with a blog to tell you the facts about periods that you might not be familiar with or are uncommon among women.
Period cramps, a symptom of femininity rejection?
In the 1930s, when women got period cramps, doctors believed it was a symptom of women rejecting their femininity. And women getting PMS (Premenstrual syndrome) were considered to be trying to repress their pregnancy.
2. Period Parties? – Been there, done that (or) Period Parties have been celebrated since the 1800s
Women in the west and other modern countries now celebrate a girl’s first bleeding called Period Party. Well, guess what? This has been a tradition in the southern part of India for a long time, with snippet evidence of puberty celebration conducted in 1870, 150 years before it became a trend today.
Puberty celebration goes by different names in various places:
Saddangu (சடடங்கு) or Manjal Neerattu Vizha (மஞ்சள் நீராட்டு விழா)- Tamil Nadu
పెద్దమనిషి పండగ) - AP and Telangana
3. Menses impact your breathing
Have you experienced severe asthmatic symptoms at specific intervals? According to a study by Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine, allergic sensitivity coupled with lower lung capacity might cause premenstrual asthma (PMA) in 19 to 40 per cent of women with asthma.
4. Worldwide, there are more than 5,000 euphemisms for periods
Euphemism is used as a substitute to express an unpleasant word. More than 5000 euphemisms denote periods, despite the ‘period’ itself being a euphemism. Euphemism probably came into play when people were uncomfortable speaking about menstruation in public places. Here’s a list of prominently used euphemisms providing a creative twist to menstruation.
5. Women experience approximately 450 periods in their lifetime
Wonder how many years of your life are used up by your periods? A woman experiences 400 to 450 visits from Aunt Flo, which adds up to approximately ten years or 3500 days.