A Period Awareness Day
OCTOBER 24 was declared Period Awareness Day by sexologist Dr Shelly-Ann ‘Sexy’ Weeks, as a way to end stigma, shame and facilitate more open discussion about the menstrual flow.
Speaking at the launch last Monday at Excelsior Community College, Dr Weeks emphasised that a period is natural, while cautioning women to pay attention to their diet as it affects their menstrual flow as well as their cardiovascular health.
She shared her own experience with fibroids and the changes she had to make in order to now have a symptom-free period.
“I used to have heavy periods with a lot of pain. I would stay close to the bathroom, have a seat on the toilet, and read a book. Eventually I was diagnosed with fibroids. By the time I was diagnosed I had three grapefruit-sized fibroids and I was told I would have to have a hysterectomy — remove my womb.
“I made up my mind I was going to do it and I told almost everyone that I had surgery coming up. I spoke to this lady and told her, and she said, ‘Don’t you dare do it’, then she went into her handbag, took out eight bottles of tablets, and said she had to be taking them every day because she had done the exact same surgery,” she explained.
Subsequently, Dr Weeks said she sought the advice of nutritionist Tehuti Ma’at who helped her change her diet to combat her oestrogen production, and since then she said she has not had any complications.
She also encouraged men to be more open regarding speaking and educating themselves about the period, and cautioned women not to rejoice if their monthly cycles are irregular.
“Men who have a problem buying feminine products need to get a reality check. The period is natural. And ladies, if you’re not having a period and you’re not pregnant, you need to go and see a doctor. Every month that your period comes, it is a good thing. There are women who are suffering because their period isn’t flowing how it should,” she said.
She added that proper vaginal health is also important and advised that women should make visits to their gynaecologists a priority.
“The good thing about the vagina is it takes care of itself, so if something is wrong, it tells us. It could be that it smells different, it looks different or it feels different. If you can’t bend down and look, get a mirror and look at what’s happening. Know if the discharge is how it’s supposed to be. Not every discharge is a yeast infection. You need to recognise symptoms and pay attention to your body. If something is wrong, see a gynaecologist,” she cautioned.
— Kimberley Hibbert
