Menstrual Health Certificate

At present, no official institution in China has issued a formal certificate called "Menstrual Health Certificate". This concept that is often mentioned in the field of gynecology is actually a dynamic management file of menstrual health that is exclusive to women. There is no unified template and no authoritative stamp. As long as you record regularly enough, you can identify more than 70% of early asymptomatic reproductive system health risks in advance, which is more effective than the annual routine gynecological examination.

I have been in a gynecological clinic for almost 7 years, and I have seen too many girls suffer the consequences of not counting their periods. The 98-year-old girl who came last month suffered from menstrual cramps so painful that she broke into a cold sweat on the waiting chair. I asked her if her menstruation was regular. She took out her mobile phone and looked at the APP. She only recorded the date of each menstrual period. She couldn't even tell how many years the pain had been, whether there were blood clots, or the amount of menstruation. In the end, it was found that it was an early stage of ovarian chocolate cyst. If she had started consciously recording abnormal signs of menstruation half a year earlier, there would be no need for surgery.

As for how detailed this "health certificate" should be, there is actually no consensus in the industry. Many gynecologists I know well use the minimalist version: just mark the date of onset and end of menstruation on the calendar, put an asterisk if it hurts, and write nothing else. For them, as long as the cycle does not fluctuate for more than 7 days and there is no non-menstrual bleeding, there is no big problem. However, there are also many bloggers and nutritionists in women's health management who advocate keeping a complete record of the day's diet, mood, amount of exercise, and even whether you lost your temper or touched ice. I once met a girl who worked in Internet operations and kept detailed accounts for a whole year. Finally, I found out that as long as she stayed up after 12 o'clock for three consecutive days, her next period would be delayed by three days and three acne would break out. Later, she adjusted her schedule, and most of the menstrual acne that had troubled her for several years disappeared.

Oh, yes, there are still many people arguing, saying that there are so many menstrual cycle apps, and they will be automatically analyzed after filling in them. Why do you need to make your own "health certificate" in vain? Seriously, the APP’s algorithm is a universal template, but your body is unique. I met a 42-year-old sister before. The APP diagnosed her as "abnormal menstrual period" every time because her cycle has always been 40 days. This has been the pattern since her first period. The standard for your "Menstrual Health Certificate" can only be your own long-term pattern, not the general values ​​​​on the Internet, nor the red warning of the APP.

I have also seen the simplest "health certificate", which belongs to the proprietress of the fruit shop downstairs in my community. She is not well educated and does not know how to use those complicated APPs, so she hangs the records on the old calendar behind the cashier. Every time she gets her period, she makes a circle with a red pen, puts a cross if it hurts, and draws a mark if the quantity is large. She had memorized the triangle like this for three years. Last year, she drew the triangle for two consecutive months. She felt something was wrong, so she came for a checkup. It was found to be a small endometrial polyp. It was removed in the outpatient department in ten minutes, and she did not even need to stay in the hospital. The doctor said that she came too soon. If she delayed for another six months, it might become malignant.

As for the "menstrual taboos" that everyone is quarreling about, should we include them? I think it all depends on how your body feels. For example, if you run three kilometers during your menstrual period and it doesn't hurt, or drink iced milk tea and it doesn't hurt, then you don't need to include "no exercise" and "no cold weather" in your precautions. There is no need to compete with online health bloggers, and there is no need to bear the discomfort to prove that you are "in good health." I once had a patient who was a yoga teacher. She went to class as usual during her menstrual period and even did handstands. She had no problems, but her back ached when she rested. Naturally, there was no "cannot exercise" in her "health certificate".

In fact, to put it bluntly, this "menstrual health certificate" is essentially a tacit agreement between you and your body. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or complicated, even if it’s just a few lines written on a piece of paper, as long as you can pinpoint the little tempers of your body and notice when something goes wrong, it’s more effective than anything else. After all, whether your health is good or not is never decided by others, right?