MENSTRUAL CYCLE
The healthy breasts are sometimes affected by the abnormalities in menstrual cycle.

What is a menstrual cycle?

The aspect of the reproductive system of which women are most aware, is the 'menstrual period' or menstrual flow, which they have every month. The time from the beginning of one period to the beginning of the next one is known as the menstrual cycles. Usually menstrual cycle last about 28-35 days, though anytime period from 3 to 6 weeks is considered normal.
During the menstrual cycle, the uterus gets ready for pregnancy. Under the influence of the hormone estrogen and progesterone, the lining of the uterus grows rich and thick to prepare for the fertilized egg. If pregnancy does not occur, the uterus must get rid of this thick lining so that it can grow a new one in the next cycle. The old lining passes out of the uterus through the vagina as the menstrual flow.

The menstrual flow thus consists of:
(1) The shed uterine lining;
(2) Blood (this comes from the blood vessels which are torn when the lining is shed);
(3) The degenerated unfertilized egg.

If the menstrual flow is heavy, sometimes clots may be formed in it. Some times, the uterine lining is shed as large fragments and these fragments may sometimes look like bits of pregnancy tissue to some women, who may think they are miscarrying. When the first menstruation appears, then it is considered that the girl is attained puberty. That is the gateway to womanhood. In this phase, girls body appearance begins to change. Breasts develop in size, pubic hair grows, voice changes, facial appearance appears to be more charming. Women experience delayed periods. These days they run to take hormone tablets or injections when there are the slightest delay in the on set of the periods. Surely one could try less harmful methods and give time for the system to fall back to its routine menstrual pattern. It is better & beneficial to have home remedies, or herbal treatments for delayed periods.

Naturopaths call menstruation as a periodic change occurring in human beings (especially feminine species) and higher apes, and consist chiefly in a flow of blood from the cavity of the womb, and are associated with various slight constitutional disturbances. It begins between the ages of thirteen and fifteen, though in warm climates and some races, it may begin earlier and in cold climates later. Secondary sex characteristics like the enlargement of the breasts, and characteristic hair distribution also appear with the onset of menstruation. The duration of the menstrual period varies from two to eight days and is a regular process in the majority of cases. The internal between the two periods is generally 28 or 30 days. Menstruation ceases between the ages of 45 and 50. The final stoppage is known as menopause or the grand climacteric.

In the majority of healthy women, the normal menstrual cycle is of twenty six to thirty days, with childbirth. But in some case disorder like amenorrhoea (the absence of menstruation) menorrhoea (excessive bleeding during menses) and dysmenorrhoea (pain during menstruation) appears.

AMENORRHOEA:
This may be due to anemia, bad feeding, want of fresh air and all causes lose of flesh, tend to cause diminution and finally stoppage of the menses. Disease like malaria, aggravated dyspepsia, tuberculosis and sudden fright, great grief many also produce scanty menses or totally stop them. Excessive bleeding during menses may be due to a certain extent to the same general conditions, which precipitate scanty discharge of blood. It is well known that the affect of sudden shock or deep grief on women has been observed to result in miscarriages and copious discharge of blood during the monthly periods. In addition, the menstruation may start at an unscheduled time and may continue for longer periods than normal.

DYSMENORRHOEA:
Dysmenorrhoea may vary from mere discomfort to an agonizing colic, accompanied by prostration and vomiting anemia is some times a cause of painful menstruation as well as of stoppage of this function. Occasional pain especially when it proceeds the menstrual Period is due to irritation in ovary and in this case it is generally accompanied by pain in the groin. For this type of pain, careful regulation of the bowels, regular exercise and the application of heat may be of advantage. Most women in our country believe that pain is a necessary accompaniment of women hood: they go through the agony of painful menstruation. Thinking this to be a normal condition. The maximum that they do is to take recourse to aspirin and other analgesics. Cases have some for treatment of headaches, which were persistent and had become chronic and the patients who also suffering from dysmenorrhoea vanished when their headache was treated in the unani herbal way.

Painful menstruation is an abnormal state resulting from the wrong type of diet and an unnatural way of living. Too much of addiction to tea and pain-killers to relieve the head ache, addiction to refined & fried foods, lack of exercise all these factors contribute to constipation in some cases of dysmenorrhoea. The chief cause of this malady is constipation and less than normal intake of water. Some girls purposely try to curb their intake of water so that they so not have to visit the toilet to relieve their bladders. This bad habit aggravates constipation, which is at the root of painful menstruation. The patient should give up refined foods polished rice sugar & potatoes. Foods like fruit and boiled vegetables, particularly greens with plenty of roughage, should be the mainstay of their diet. They will help relieve costiveness. Above cited menstrual abnormalities directly affects the proper development of healthy breasts. This also affects the well-developed breasts, shrinking & sagging. So it is important take care of regular menstrual flow.

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