One in two women experience menstrual cramps once a month. There is a fast-acting menstrual pain reliever called Painkiller, but I have to bear the burden of taking it long every month for about a week. However, experts recommend not putting up with the pain and discomfort of menstrual cramps and only taking painkillers. Pharmacist Kim Ji-young set out to clear up misconceptions about menstrual cramps.
Menstrual pain medicine is a drug that does not develop toleranceㅣSource: Getty Image Bank
Are you developing a tolerance to menstrual cramps?
There are not a few women who think that it is not good to take medicines and blindly bear them, even if the menstrual cramps are so strong that they cannot go about their daily life. Pharmacist Kim Ji-young replied, “We usually take antipyretic analgesics or anti-inflammatory analgesics for menstrual pain, but they are all medicines that do not cause tolerance or addiction.”
She continued: “The medicine worked well before, but if you don’t want to take it this time, it’s because the degree of pain, i.e. the progress of the disease, has worsened, so you have to find the cause of the worsening menstrual cramps. Depending on the conditions of the month or the stressful situation, there may be a difference in the degree of pain. However, if there is severe pain, it may be secondary dysmenorrhea caused by a pathological source within the pelvis. Causes of secondary dysmenorrhea include endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease and infection, adenomyosis, fibroids, polyps and adhesions, and ovarian cysts. If severe pain recurs, it is recommended to find a hospital and consult a doctor to determine the cause of the disease.
Is it good to take menstrual pain relievers in advance?
The main culprit in primary dysmenorrhea that occurs without numbing lesions is a hormone called prostaglandin (PG). Therefore, if you want to take pain relievers for menstrual cramps, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that block this hormone are very helpful.
If you have severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS), it’s natural to take pain relievers before your period starts. However, pharmacist Kim Ji-young replied that if you have pain after starting your period, you don’t need to take it beforehand. It’s not that menstrual cramps are bad, but there’s no need to overdose when you don’t need them.
Pharmacist Kim Ji-young explained, “A pain reliever in a soft capsule formulation that is absorbed quickly may be effective immediately even if you take it when the pain starts.” In this regard, we recommend a product that is easy to transport. He added, “These days, products are being released that come in bulk, so they’re convenient when you go out, too.”
Help = Pharmacist Kim Ji-young
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