Raffinadery29
We need to start talking about period poop
Periodic is one of those things that no one talks about much, but so many people experience it. My anecdotal experience confirms this: Name ‘period poop’ to a group of people who are menstruating and you will hear a variety of stories, complaints, jokes and questions. But now, for the first time, science has given me support that the period of shit is a very common phenomenon, even if it is an underreporting one. As many as 37% of people report experiencing diarrhea during their period, according to recent findings from a study of 6,141 participants by Apple, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and the NIEHS. Research on symptoms of the period, especially lesser known ones such as diarrhea, is unfortunately lacking. If you search for the word ‘menstruation’ in PubMed, a website that summarizes scientific research articles, you will find approximately 8,000 hits between 2001 and 2018. Look for the same time frame for the terms ‘cardiovascular’, ‘prostate cancer’ or ‘erectile dysfunction’ , and you will see 900,000, 120,000 and 16,000 results, respectively, says a Harvard University researcher involved in the study. We actually do not know much about what a typical period symptom is and what a red flag is, which can make it harder for people to get help for problems that are interfering with their lives. It may seem a little silly, but it is extremely important to know how often shit and other symptoms occur. ‘I think we’ve all experienced that doctors sometimes do not immediately go on board with what you say. This study gives us another tool in our toolbox to be able to say, ‘It really is, so let’s talk about it,’ ‘said Sumbul Desai, MD, Apple’s director of health. “The more evidence we as doctors have to make decisions about clinical conditions and clinical actions, I think the better. So the more we can contribute evidence to this space, the better it will be for everyone. This is the driving force behind the Apple Women’s Health Study. It is meant to last ten years; researchers will analyze data collected from Apple’s Cycle Tracking app in an effort to better understand the menstrual cycle. (Participants explicitly chose for the study and can choose what data they want to share, from cycle detection to fitness and sleep detection.) The diarrhea statistic was released as part of an early snapshot of the first set of findings from the study. This is a dual benefit: data like this can enable people to talk to their doctor about their symptoms, and it can also help clinicians treat the symptoms more seriously, which will help people find relief more quickly. If you know how common a period of shit is, you are more likely to mention it to your doctor during an examination. And if your doctor understands that it is common, they will be more likely to know what is causing it and how it can be treated. For what it’s worth, here’s why a period of poop occurs: During your period, the body produces compounds called prostaglandins, which cause uterine contractions. Your digestive organs are close to the uterus, so through these contractions you can “go” more often. In an article in The New York Times, Jen Gunter, Managing Director, OB / GYN, said that using a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug such as ibuprofen may start shortly before your period may reduce diarrhea; the drug blocks the production of prostaglandin. Furthermore, the data coming from the Apple Women’s Health Study can also help doctors better understand symptoms associated with conditions such as PCOS and endometriosis. For example, women with endo are not diagnosed for ten years or more, in part because doctors copy the red flags as standard journals. The researchers involved in the study are excited to see what other information they get from their research. And while the findings recently released are very early, they expect this year to provide some very interesting insights. “Women around the world are experiencing unprecedented stressors in their lives: physically, economically, mentally, you name it,” said Michelle Williams, SCD, dean of the faculty at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, referring to the pandemic. ‘The real value of a longitudinal study as we undertake is that we can characterize that moment in time on these biological and behavioral methods. It is therefore coincidental that over time we will be able to do screenshot analyzes and look collectively at times like now, and hopefully, three or four or five years from now, when the same environmental stressors are not quite the same is not shallow, and see how our biology has changed. As you can see? How about even more R29 goodness, here? How can you have a sex shop with Cherie Hoeger, founder of SaaltPantone’s period color, really misses the point?