After years of debate on menstrual cramps or Dysmenorrhoea as it is technically called, it has finally been ruled by doctors to be as painful as having a heart attack.
Professor of reproductive health at University College London, John Guillebaud, told Quartz that patients have described the cramping pain as ‘almost as bad as having a heart attack.’
Physicians added that painful periods may also be a symptom of another severe condition known as endometriosis.
Endometriosis is a disorder in which tissues that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus.
Guillebaud went on to say that the issue has been overlooked because “Men don’t get it and it hasn’t been given the centrality it should have. I do believe it’s something that should be taken care of, like anything else in medicine.”
Many women who reacted to the report on social media appear not to be surprised at the finding as they say it only confirms what they have been thinking for generations.
One Miss Toni said, ‘’If men had periods, ‘menstrual leave’ would probably be a thing,’’ adding that “it is time to take women’s health seriously’’
If men had periods, ‘menstrual leave’ would probably be a thing.
RT this tweet if you’ve ever had to take a day off work because you were suffering from agonising period pain. pic.twitter.com/TVJg3MGSY3
— Toni (@t0nit0ne) February 21, 2018
But yet we’re expected to suck it up, take a pain killer, and not complain about anything. Screw you https://t.co/uw1uLyZAag
— andrea ? (@aerdnalopez) February 28, 2018
Doctors Have Finally Ruled Menstrual Cramps Are as Painful as Heart Attacks https://t.co/cfQigoPhit pic.twitter.com/REtPeKopyy
— Marie Claire (@marieclaire) February 27, 2018
The website Medicinenet.com offers helpful tips like trying to use exercise, yoga, sleep, massage, and possibly an orgasm or two to help deal with menstrual cramps. It listed menstrual cramp symptoms as:
Headache
Nausea
Diarrhea
Vomiting
Constipation
Tender breasts
Lack of concentration
Mood swings
Exhaustion
Severe pain that can extend from the lower abdomen to the back, inner thighs, hips, and legs