So, it’s that time of month and you’ve got menstrual cramps. My name is Beverly Bitterman, ARNP, Health and Wellness Consultant and I’m here to talk to you about some tips and strategies to ease that pain.

One of the first things that I recommend for menstrual cramps is heat, heat on your abdomen.

You might find that a heating pad is your friend at that time of the month. And, you might want to just put the heating pad on for a few minutes, maybe ten or fifteen minutes, a few different times a day. You may find that heating pad at night is helpful, however we do not recommend sleeping with the heating pad on. You can turn it on, get it warm, go to bed, put the heating pad on, and then turn the heating pad off before you fall asleep so that you don’t have it on all night long, ’cause that’s not a good thing.

The other thing about menstrual cramps is to drink plenty of fluids. You want to kind of ease your body of that bloating so, herbal teas are a good idea. Sometimes you could even do something like put a little ginger in some hot water and let that steep for three or four minutes and then drink that to make yourself feel better.

If those things aren’t enough then you may find that you want to go to an over-the-counter remedy: some kind of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, probably works best. Something like an Aleve or an Advil generic varieties are just fine, take them according to the package directions. I recommend that you not take them more than about three days in a row. If you find that you need more than that, and you need that every month, then have a conversation with your gynecologist about, about that and make sure that they don’t need to do any testing for any other conditions or contributors to that menstrual cramp pain.

However, in the future if you want to do some things to help prevent it on a holistic level, make sure you do sort of a health check on yourself. People that exercise regularly, that eat healthy diets, that maintain a good body weight, often find that they experience less menstrual pain than those who perhaps don’t take quite as good care of themselves.

Again, this is Beverly Bitterman, Health and Wellness Consultant and I wish you good health and a pain-free period.