5 women reveal their ‘all-time favourite’ period hacks

Menstrual Hygiene Day is here and we’re all talking about doing our bit to address the elephant in the room – periods. On one hand, where the world is talking about grave issues like period poverty and how so many women are unable to subscribe to period products, we here at Health Shots are also drawing your attention to yet another problem: PMS.

Premenstrual Syndrome or PMS happens to all women who hit puberty. To some, it is a torturous phase of pain and mood swings. Unfortunately, they are inevitable, but some of our Health Shots readers have figured out some homely jugads that can totally put PMS issues at bay.

Here we present five women and their period hacks

Samantha, 28 – Dropping my cigarette was my gig

I know smoking is not a great habit to boast of. I do feel awful about it. But more than that, I regret indulging in this habit when I get my chums. I’ll tell you how. When I was 22-23, I didn’t feel the cramps. It was during this time I got into the habit of smoking. Again, initially it was fine but after crossing the age of 27, my cramps became severe. To distract myself, I opted for smoking again. Well, it was the worst choice. It made the cramps so bad that even over-the-counter pills for the pain didn’t work.

A quick online search on the causes of severe cramps made me realize that smoking could be a reason for the unbearable pain. It was really an eye-opener. I thought of giving up smoking during my next cycle. I tried to reduce my cigarette count and nothing really happened. I tried again, but didn’t see much difference. But in the third month when I literally did not smoke, I saw a considerable change in my cramps. They weren’t that severe and I didn’t have to take any OTC as well. I keep at it and let me tell you that not just my smoking has reduced, but my cramps have spared me too.

Aditi, 32 – More salad and less salt pressed pause on my bloating

My guilt is that I become a monster when I hit my periods. I eat everything that comes my way. If you have seen those binge-eating memes on Instagram, you can totally resonate with me. But when I saw that water retention in my body had gone to the next level, I was a little scared. You won’t believe I used to retain so much water that my weight would fluctuate 2 to 3 kgs. I used to feel so uncomfortable. I felt gassy, my denims would feel so tight, and I was always ditsy. When I consulted my gynae, she told me that I should stop noshing on processed foods because it has a lot of salt and high sodium during my periods made me blow up like a balloon.

Making a small change and eating a clean diet did wonders for me. I reduced eating junk and the best way to do it was to not fill my kitchen and fridge with them. Not only has my bloating reduced but I’m also less cranky during my periods. The moral of the story is small things can really make a big difference.

Mansi, 35 – I replaced my daily tea sessions with ajwain ka paani to tame my cramps

I’m a chai person. I’m not kidding, but I used to drink tea 6 to 7 times a day. I know I should not flaunt it, but my mom would often say I have more tea in me than blood! But having those many cups during my periods used to make me very irritable as I used to get acidity. In fact, I had puked quite a few times during my periods because having those many teas made me so nauseous. Not just that, but my cramps have also gone to the next level.

My mom came to my rescue and she suggested that I make this ajwain tea, especially when I’m down. She would boil a teaspoon of ajwain in 250 ml of water. I was amazed when I saw the results. It worked like a magic pill. My bloating was gone, cramps were reduced, acidity was under control, and it helped me lose weight too. So, replacing ajwain tea with my masala chai was a total win-win.

Latika, 27 – An ottoman rescued me and my feet from swelling

My problem was that my feet used to swell during periods. As per my doctor, it is normal and she told me a small trick which I use till date. She told me that whenever I’m sitting and if my feet are hanging, I should rest them on an ottoman. This small gig has actually helped me reduce swelling in my feet, especially when I am down.

Nancy, 32 – Skipping lemon water during my monthlies literally helped me with cramps

I don’t know whether it is scientifically true or not but for me, skipping lemon water or in fact, skipping sour things really helps me in reducing my cramp pain. I have read on many platforms and my doctor also told me that it doesn’t really work like that. But it makes a whole lot of difference to me and that’s why it is my go-to hack for period cramps.