22 Surprising Facts About Menstruation I Bet You Don’t Know; The Last Five Will Shock You

A few weeks ago, it went viral that a lady died as a result of menstrual cramps. The news brought cold chills to many, especially in Africa. Here are amazing facts you may not know about monthly flow:

1. Your periods get worse when it is cold.

Cold weather can impact your period, making it heavier and longer than normal.

2. You can still get pregnant if you’re on your period.

Many people assume that you cannot get pregnant if you have sex while on your period. However, this is not true.

This is because sperm can survive in the body for up to five or six days — so if you have a relatively short cycle, have sex towards the end of your period, and ovulate just after your period finishes, you could potentially fall pregnant.

3. Your period can affect how you sound and smell.

According to vocalization researchers, women’s voices can change slightly during their menstrual cycle due to our reproductive hormones affecting the vocal cords. This means women can sound different while on their period, and even “less attractive”.

The same female reproductive hormones also affect your natural scent, meaning you smell differently when you are on your period.

4. On average, a woman menstruates for about 4-7 years during their lifetime.
5. In Hong Kong, an Indonesian maid once added her menstrual blood to her employer’s food in an attempt to improve their relationship.
6. The only mammals to undergo menopause are elephants, humpback whales, and human females.
7. Many prostitutes don’t take time off for their period.

They either wedge cotton balls up against their cervix or they take birth control pills to control menstruation.

8. Approximately 70% of women of menstruating age use tampons.

A woman may use nearly 11,400 tampons in her life.

9. An entire menstrual period usually releases less than half a cup of blood, including clots.
10. A New Guinea man once divorced his wife because she slept on his blanket while menstruating.

He later killed her with an axe.

11. Some cultures believed that menstrual blood could cure ailments such as warts, birthmarks, gout, goiters, hemorrhoids, epilepsy, worms, leprosy, and headaches. Menstrual Blood was also used to create love charms and to wade off demons.

Additionally, a virgin’s first menstrual napkin was thought to be a cure for the plague.

12. When a girl is born, her complete potential egg supply is born with her. In the womb, she creates about seven million egg cells. At birth, she has two million.

By puberty, there are only about 400,00 left, of which fewer than 500 are released.

13. The human female egg is the largest cell in the human body. It is the only human cell that can be seen with the naked eye.
14. Up until the age of about 18, irregular periods are quite common because the body is still working on perfecting the system.

15.
Oligomenorrhea is a term used when a woman has her periods less frequently than normal.

Amenorrhea is a term used when she does not get her periods at all.

16. Nicknames for a menstrual period vary among women and may include: Aunt Flo, On the Rag, I’m at a Red Light, Surfing the Crimson Tide, Checked into Red Roof Inn, Curse of Dracula, Leak Week, My Dot, Monthly Oil Change, etc.
17. In the past, Christian churches refused communion to menstruating women.
18. Smoking cigarettes can kill a woman’s eggs and cause menstrual periods to stop prematurely.
19. The average age a woman can stop her period is 51, though symptoms of menopause (perimenopause) can start as early as 32.
20. It is a biological fact that menstruating makes you hornier.

The hormone progesterone is said to lower a woman’s libido. Yet while menstruating women produce less progesterone, which makes them likelier to crave sex during this phase.

21. You can use tampons and still be a virgin.

Since tampons are thankfully smaller and thinner than most penises, a girl can safely insert one inside her vagina without rupturing her hymen.

Besides, one loses one’s virginity by having sex, not by breaking their hymen.

22. A rare period disorder can cause bleeding of the eyes.

Known as vicarious menstruation, this rare (but terrifying) condition makes you bleed from organs besides your uterus — like your eyes — while you’re on your period,

Please, pamper your daughters/girlfriends during this period. They are going through a lot that you will not understand or come to terms with.

And please for the ladies, try not to take pain relief. Rather, use warm water to massage your lower abdomen, drink enough water ( warm water especially) avoid anything cold, and take enough fruits.