Women's health management

The core of women's health management has never been to follow the trend and copy standardized health lists, nor to pursue "perfect health indicators" despite discomfort, but to anchor one's own menstrual cycle characteristics and true feelings, and build a dynamic adjustment system that adapts to one's own rhythm of life - there is no universal template, and the best solution is what suits you.

Last week, I met a 27-year-old Internet operator at a women's health education event in the community. He came to me with a list of "Top 10 Things Women Must Do for Health" saved in his mobile phone. He said that he had strictly followed it for three months: drinking iced American style on an empty stomach every day to eliminate edema, running 5 kilometers in the morning, eating three meals according to the fat-reducing diet and not even touching milk tea. As a result, my aunt postponed it for 20 days, and her hairline moved back half a centimeter. There were no obvious abnormalities in the six hormone tests. My colleagues in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department said she had qi and blood stasis caused by long-term craving for cold drinks and excessive consumption. Western medicine judged that it was stress-induced endocrine fluctuations caused by long-term high-intensity self-discipline. The conditioning plans in the two directions did not conflict. She stopped the American style and changed her morning jog to a slow walk after get off work. Within half a month, her aunt came, and her hair loss also slowed down a lot.

Don’t think this is an exception. Too many people now turn their health management into KPI check-ins. It is said online that you should drink 8 glasses of water every day. Even if you have a slow metabolism, you will get edema if you drink too much.； It is said that if women want to fight aging, they have to take a bunch of supplements such as grape seeds, collagen, and evening primrose oil every day. It doesn’t matter whether they will break out acne or have early menstruation if they take them. Anyway, taking them means they are healthy.

Speaking of which, I have to mention a few controversial points that everyone is currently arguing about. In fact, there is no black or white answer. For example, many people say that the HPV vaccine is useless after the age of 26 when you get the nine-price vaccine. If you can’t get it, you are not willing to pay the second price. In fact, according to the WHO’s public guidelines, the HPV vaccine has the best protective effect for women aged 9-14 who have not had sex, but only after the age of 26. You must be willing to vaccinate. Even if you have had sexual intercourse or even been infected with a certain subtype of HPV, vaccination can still cover other uninfected subtypes. From a cost-effective perspective, for adult women, timely vaccination with the bivalent vaccine is much more protective than waiting one or two years for the nine-valent vaccine.

There are also questions that people often ask about whether you can exercise and eat ice during your menstrual period. There has never been a unified standard. The traditional concept is that you should rest during menstruation and avoid cold drinks. However, sports medicine research shows that if you don’t have severe dysmenorrhea or heavy menstruation, doing low-intensity yoga and walking during menstruation can promote pelvic blood circulation and relieve the discomfort of backache and abdominal distension. I have a nurse sister with adenomyosis. She used to be in so much pain that she couldn't get out of bed during her menstrual period. Later, she figured out a rule: stop all iced drinks as soon as ovulation is over, apply a 40-degree hot water bottle to her lower abdomen for 15 minutes before going to bed every day, and take half a tablet of ibuprofen if it hurts on the first day of her menstrual period. She doesn't have to carry it. Now her menstrual discomfort has been relieved by at least 60% compared to before, and she doesn't have to take time off to get painkillers.

To be honest, I have been a clinical educator in gynecology for 6 years, and I have seen too many girls turn their health management into self-PUA: they feel anxious if they weigh two pounds more than the standard value, they feel like they are going to age prematurely if they go to bed half an hour late, and they feel guilty when they occasionally eat hot pot. In fact, it is completely unnecessary. The human body is inherently dynamic, and hormone levels will fluctuate according to your stress, work and rest, and mood during the month. Occasionally, it is normal for indicators to fluctuate and your condition to be poor. There is no need to rely on "sickness" whenever there is a problem.

A girl with polycystic ovary syndrome came to me before. She was not fat and her insulin was normal. However, she had stayed up late at night for more than three months while working on a project, and her menstruation was irregular. She heard others said that if you have polycystic ovary syndrome, you need to take birth control pills and exercise to gain muscle. She forced herself to practice for two months, but her menstruation became even more irregular. I asked her to stop exercising, make sure to go to bed before 11 o'clock every day, and spend two days a week to dance her favorite jazz dance. She didn't have to have any dietary restrictions and could eat sweets if she wanted. Six months later, she checked again and found that her hormone levels were all normal and her menstruation was on track.

In fact, to put it bluntly, women's bodies have more fluctuations in menstruation, pregnancy, and breastfeeding than men, so it is not suitable to apply unified standards at all. You don’t need to worry about what other people say about “what a good girl should do”, and you don’t need to check each item on the health list. Your own feelings are the most accurate: if you experience menstrual cramps after drinking ice, don’t drink it. ； After exercising, continue if you feel refreshed. If you feel exhausted after exercising and can't recover for a week, stop. The management method that allows you to maintain a comfortable and stable state for a long time is the best.

Oh, by the way, I have to say one final word: Don’t skip the annual routine gynecological examination and cervical cancer screening. Don’t think you don’t need to go if you don’t feel uncomfortable. Many problems have no symptoms at all in the early stage. Early detection and early treatment are more effective than any expensive health regimen.