Features
Managing excruciating pain during ovulation and menstruation
This is a subject area I am not well vexed in because I am not a gynaecologist, neither am I a medical expert or a trained nurse who deals in issues related to women’s health. I am only a simple and common journalist, but with curious and inquisitive mindset who always wants to probe into issues involving all spheres of national life. It can be politics, education, agriculture, sports, corruption, graft, family planning, mining, forestry, oil and gas extraction among other subject areas of the economy, that need to be highlighted for the benefit of the entire citizenry. Therefore, the medical experts, should pardon me if I am not able to delve deep into the subject area, I have chosen to write on.
RESEARCH INTO
UNFAMILIAR AREAS
Many of my readers and patrons will ask me this vital question; You have admitted that you are not familiar with the subject area you have chosen to write on, why then, do you have to waste your time and energy to thread on that path? They, may be rightly so in asking me that question, but as a trained journalist, you have to muddy through the waters and research into unfamiliar areas and present the facts as they should in your write-ups.
My interest in this very topic, “Pains during ovulation and menstruation” was premised on the ground that I recently visited a male friend of mine, (the location of which I will not disclose in this article) whose wife was experiencing severe and excruciating pain in the abdomen at the time of my visit. Realising the condition of the woman and being so inquisitive, I decided to engage my friend (her husband) in a short conversation about what was going on with regards to pain by the lady. It was in our conversation that he told me point blank that, it was a regular monthly feature for her during her ovulation and menstruation. I felt bad for both of them. I lost my wife so many years back and even when she was alive, I did not witness such a situation from her.
BAD AND PAINFUL EXPERIENCE
The bad experience I witnessed from my friend wife’s condition, compelled me to delve into that subject area by doing a bit of research work to establish the causes of pains during ovulation and menstruation among women and probably the antidote.
To the lay man or woman on the street, menstruation or what is commonly referred to as period, is the bleeding that occurs after ovulation, if you don’t get pregnant. During menstruation, blood mucus and tissue flow out of the cervix and vagina each month. Ovulation, on the other hand is when the egg is released from your ovaries to be fertilized. In an average, 28-day menstrual cycle, ovulation typically occurs about 14 days before the start of next menstrual period.
LUTEAL PHASE OF MENSTRUATION
The luteal phase of the menstrual cycle starts when the eggs have been released during ovulation, so around 14 days before your period starts, the eggs leaves behind its shell which starts to produce progesterone to hold the lining of the uterus mature. In the medical world, menstruation happens when an egg that is released from your ovary is not fertilized, so the uterus sheds its lining. In view of this, you cannot technically menstruate without ovulating. However, you can still bleed and experience your period without ovulating.
Your menstrual cycle begins on the first day of your period and continues up to the first day of your next period. You are most fertile at the time of ovulation which usually occurs 12 to 14 days before your next period starts. A girl can get pregnant during her period. This might happen when a girl has bleeding that she thinks is a period, but it is bleeding from ovulation. A woman’s ovulation cycles can vary so it is statistically possible, she can become pregnant while on her period. While pregnancy is less likely in the earlier days of her period, the chances increase in the later days.
ONE-SIDED PAIN IN LOWER ABDOMEN
Some women get one-sided pain in their lower abdomen when they ovulate. It happens about 14 days before your period, when an ovary releases an egg as part of the menstrual cycle. Once ovulation occurs, your eggs travel through your fallopian tube and it is in your tube that your eggs meet the sperm for fertilization. If conception occurs, the fertilized egg travels down your uterus.
During your menstrual period, your uterus contracts to help expel the lining. Hormone-like substances (prostaglandins) involved in pain and inflammation trigger the uterine muscle contractions. Higher levels of prostaglandins are associated with more severe menstrual cramps. Having painful period is a condition called dysmenorrhea. It is the most commonly reported menstrual disorder.
More than half of menstruating women report pain. While painful periods themselves may not be linked to fertility issues, some of the causes behind the pain are associated with infertility. Some of these conditions can get worse over time which is why getting diagnosed and treated early is important.
CONDITIONS THAT
CAUSE PAIN
Conditions that cause abdominal pain during menstruation and also impact negatively on fertility include endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts and pelvic inflammatory diseases. It appears that not all women experience pain during menstrual periods, some may have theirs easy and smooth sailing while that of others can be unbearable.
Like I stated earlier, I am not an expert in that field and therefore, I cannot say much about the subject but at least my little research on the subject will be of interest to my readers and patrons, especially women, more importantly the adolescent girls who may not understand the causes of this painful menstruation.
TEACHING OF HEALTH SCIENCE IN BASIC SCHOOLS
I will advocate the infusion of this particular subject area in the curricula from the Junior to Senior high schools, so that the female child is kept abreast of issues relating to the emergence of pregnancy from infancy to adulthood in order to avoid lifestyles that will inhibit their future and progression.
We need to intensify the teaching of health-related issues in our educational institutions especially at the lower level as it is done in the case of health and applied science in our tertiary institutions because children in their formative years, can pick up easily on what they are taught as they progress to the higher level in their education.
We have to use textbooks or open discussions to create awareness about menarche. Social support includes, providing moral support to girls and spreading knowledge to other sectors of the population so that menstruating girls are not treated as outcasts. Giving the multiple challenges women and adolescent girls face, it is evident that promoting menstrual hygiene management is not only a sanitation matter. It is also an important step towards safeguarding the dignity, bodily integrity and overall life opportunities of women and girls.
MENSTRUAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT
Menstrual health management is a critical component of reproductive health and an important entry point for adolescent sexual reproductive health programming. Factual information on mental health management and puberty is part of the school curriculum and the capacities of teachers are built to teach these issues with comfort.
There is the need for us as a country to intensify and highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene on May 28 each year, a day designated as Menstrual Hygiene Day which is celebrated across the world.
Contact email/WhatsApp of author:
ataani2000@yahoo.com 0277753946/0248933366
By Charles Neequaye
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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