Menstrual health tracking assistant

For the vast majority of women who have menstrual troubles or who want to monitor their gynecological health on a daily basis, a compliant menstrual health tracking assistant is the most cost-effective and lightweight health management tool - it does not cost extra time. The recorded information can not only help you get rid of the anxiety of "other people's 28 days and 35 days is abnormal", but also provide the doctor with the most accurate reference basis when seeking medical treatment, which is much more reliable than blind descriptions based on your fuzzy memory.

A while ago, I accompanied my colleague to see a gynecologist. Her menstruation was sparse and delayed for almost two months. The doctor asked her about the start time of her period, changes in menstrual flow, and whether it was accompanied by severe abdominal pain in the past six months. She clutched her phone and thought for ten minutes. She couldn't even remember whether it was the 12th or the 18th of last month. In the end, she could only order six hormones and a bunch of B-ultrasound tests, and spent a small amount of 1,000 yuan to diagnose the problem. If she had just jotted down the date on the tracking assistant before, these unnecessary examinations could have been completely avoided, and the doctor could have determined where the problem was more quickly.

Of course, I also know that many people have concerns about this thing, and even think it is an "anxiety-generating machine." There are two completely opposite feedbacks in my circle of friends: There is a girl who didn’t understand anything before. After using the tracking assistant, she found that her cycle was one week longer than the APP’s default 28 days. She checked the “Signs of Premature Ovarian Failure” for three days in a row. She was so scared that she went to the emergency room overnight. The doctor said that she had a 35-day cycle since menarche, which is normal. She was just scaring herself. ； There is also a friend who always felt that his menstruation was irregular. For more than half a year, he found that every time he postponed his period, he happened to be working overtime to catch up on projects. After adjusting his schedule, he soon became regular, and he no longer buys menstrual supplements blindly. In fact, to put it bluntly, there is no right or wrong in the tool itself, it just depends on how you use it.

I have been tracking my period for almost 3 years. I have never regarded it as a task that must be checked in every day. I just remember two core information: first, the date of the first day of each menstrual period, and second, whether there are any abnormal symptoms beyond the daily routine - such as pain that is so painful that I need to take ibuprofen before I can get out of bed, or my period is so heavy that it lasts only two hours and I use it at night. Sanitary napkins, whatever small things are left, such as breast swelling, bad mood, eating ice, etc., remember it when you think of it, even if you can't remember it. It is a tool to help you reduce your burden. You can't be kidnapped by it in reverse. At the end of each day, you force yourself to recall "Did I feel uncomfortable today?", but it will make your nerves tense.

If you are using it to calculate ovulation as a contraceptive, then I really advise you to stop. When I was a volunteer at a gynecology clinic, I saw too many girls who relied on apps to calculate safe periods for contraception and ended up falling victim to it. Ovulation is too metaphysical. Staying up late at night, traveling to a different city for business, or even having a fight with your partner may cause it to be earlier or later. If you really want to avoid contraception, you should be honest about physical protection. Don’t bet your body on the accuracy of the app. But if you are preparing for pregnancy, by combining it with ovulation test strips and recording your basal body temperature, you can find out your ovulation pattern more quickly, and your chances are much higher than taking random chances.

There are still many people who don’t know that your long-term recorded menstrual data is really the “hard currency” when seeking medical treatment. Last winter, I had two menstrual periods that were so painful that I vomited. I looked through my previous records and found that my dysmenorrhea had not been severe enough to require painkillers for more than ten years. I hurriedly went to register. The doctor looked at the records I handed over and asked me to check for signs of endometriosis. Early detection and early intervention have helped me. Now, except for the occasional cramping pain on the first day of my period, I have basically never suffered from it again. On the contrary, many people rely on "like", "probably" and "maybe" descriptions when seeking medical treatment. Even if the doctor wants to help you, he cannot give an accurate direction for investigation.

Oh, by the way, don’t regard the recorded content as “diagnostic criteria.” I once met a girl who recorded her diet and menstrual reactions for more than a year, and came to the conclusion that "drinking iced milk tea will cause dysmenorrhea." However, drinking hot drinks every day in winter still hurts to the point of breaking out in cold sweats. After going for a checkup, I found out that it was adenomyosis. After more than half a year, it only worsened. Recording can only help you find abnormal signals. If something is really wrong for two or three consecutive cycles, it is wise to stop speculating on the record and seek professional medical advice immediately.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the menstrual health tracking assistant is no different from the shopping list or work memo on your mobile phone. Whether it is useful or not depends on how you use it - don't treat it as a "health bible" that can tell fortunes, and don't treat it as a useless display. If you can easily record two key pieces of information, you can save two trips to the hospital and spend less money at critical moments, which is already worth the price.