Premenstrual Syndrome and Indian Men

Abstract

A woman is the most complex creation of nature. A woman’s womanhood is a result of a dramatic interplay of various hormones naturally present in her body. These hormones impact a woman’s reproductive cycle and also impact her body both physically and mentally. After the menarche, a woman goes through the menstrual cycle for almost 4-5 decades, during which she goes through enormous physical and emotional changes. The premenstrual syndrome or PMS is an inherent part of the lives of many women across the world. PMS is not a permanent condition, and it occurs during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and ends after the start of menstruation. During this time, women experience a lot of physical symptoms, like body ache, headache, fatigue, cramps, bloating and also behavioral symptoms, including mood swings, crying spells, forgetfulness, depression, irritability etc. A range of medicines can be found helpful in treating physical symptoms like pains and bloating but certain symptoms like fatigue and even the behavioral symptoms need to be dealt with differently. The solution to this problem of PMS lies in the support and understanding from the closed ones in the family. Husbands/partners or even mothers can play a crucial role in combating the PMS symptoms. Awareness of PMS and how to deal with PMS through educational intervention via active participation of family doctors, gynecologists and health workers can work wonders in leading to PMS-free women. This study throws a light on the involvement of men in understanding women going through PMS and also aims at gaining knowledge about, if the men are observant and if they are aware of how to deal with PMS.