Puberty is a sign that a person has entered adulthood. Both boys and girls will experience signs that indicate that they are entering puberty. Generally, when entering puberty, women will experience signs such as breast growth, fine hair, and menstruation.
Early menstruation usually occurs in women aged 12 to 13 years. Generally, menstruation occurs every 21 to 35 days, and can last for 2 to 7 days.
For adult women, menstruation has become a normal thing. However, for teenagers who are considered beginners, menstruation is still an unusual thing, so sometimes it makes their feelings mix between confusion and panic. This condition sometimes makes them feel uncomfortable.
Thus, as a beginner, there are several things you need to do when starting your period for the first time.
Things Beginners Should Do During Menstruation
For women who are experiencing menstruation for the first time, they will feel uncomfortable with some of the changes that occur during menstruation. Thus, there are several things that they can do before and during menstruation.
1. Choosing the Right Pads
For beginners, the first thing to do is to choose the right pads. As we know that there are various types of sanitary napkins available in the market. Everything does not necessarily promise good quality.
There are some pads that are not good if they are used during menstruation. Thus, choose sanitary napkins that do not contain perfume. This aims to avoid irritation of the female area.
In addition, there are several types of sanitary napkins, such as winged and wingless pads.
2. Bring Sanitary Napkins in Bag
Since this is your first period, it is a good idea to always have a sanitary napkin (pad) in your bag. This is intended to anticipate a leak or a need to replace your pad during the day.
3. Tracking Menstrual Cycle
As a beginner, it is good if you often track your menstrual cycle. Irregular menstrual cycles indicate a problem with the reproductive system. That way, you can predict when your period will come.
To make it easier and more practical, you can track your menstrual cycle on your cellphone through the free Nona Woman application available on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store.
4. PMS Symptoms
When menstruation comes, some women will feel Premenstrual Syndrome or commonly called PMS. PMS itself is a collection of various symptoms that can be felt before menstruation.
For those of you who are beginners, do not panic when you feel PMS symptoms, such as unstable mood changes, increased appetite, pain in the stomach and back, and so on. These symptoms will improve as menstruation progresses.
5. Clean the Vagina
Some people have the perception that during menstruation, our female area will be very dirty. Thus, they think that cleaning the female area during menstruation requires soap. However, this perception is not correct. The vagina is self-cleaning, whether during menstruation or not.
To clean the female area, whether during menstruation or not, it is enough to wash the female area with running warm water. Then dry using a tissue or towel, so that the feminine area is not in a damp condition. If you want to clean the vulva (not the vagina), the outside part that you can see, you can use organic intimate soap from Nona Woman to maintain the pH level of your feminine area.
6. Self Care
When entering puberty, various body problems will also occur. Like, body odor, acne, and so forth. Thus, as a woman, it is good if you can take good care of yourself.
At this time, taking care of yourself is one of the processes of maturity. You can start by diligently exercising to keep your body healthy, meditating, eating nutritious foods, and so on.
As a beginner, it is good if you can consult with people closest to you, such as your mother, older sister, aunt, or peers. That way, you will gain knowledge that can help you deal with body changes during menstruation.
Read more on Explaining Menstruation to Men.
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