A Study on Dysmenorrhea and Its Self-Care Behaviors Among Women of Reproductive Age in Tiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu.

INTRODUCTION

Menstrual cramps, which can be categorized as primary or secondary depending on the etiology, are a painful feature of dysmenorrhea. Researchers from throughout the country found that self-care practices for dysmenorrhea included reducing physical activity, adjusting diet, medications, or treatments, adopting alternative therapies, recording symptom clusters of discomforts, and expressing feelings.  Methodology: There were 246 women in the reproductive age range who took part in this study. Thiruvallur district's Thirumazhisai town panchayat served as the location of a community-based cross-sectional study. Parameters such as menstrual history, food history, self-care techniques during dysmenorrhea, and sociodemographic information were evaluated using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire.

RESULTS

The prevalence of dysmenorrhea was found to be 71.54%. Among 47.15% of the participants, 75.8% who were married were found to have dysmenorrhea, whereas 67.7% of the 52.54% participants who were unmarried had dysmenorrhea. The association between age, smoking habits, exercise, and the presence of dysmenorrhea was found to be statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

Women, especially in India, have certain taboos and misconceptions associated with menstruation which can hurt their hygiene and self-care practices. This study highlights the need for menstrual hygiene awareness among women and proper self-care methods to be followed.