Is it possible to take a steam bath during menstruation?

The question of whether visiting the steam room is allowed during menstruation is controversial. This depends on the individual characteristics of the female body: in some cases, a bath or sauna may be allowed during certain periods, while in others it is strictly prohibited.

What happens to the body during menstruation

The menstrual cycle is based on the preparation of the epithelial layers to receive a fertilized egg. If, after the allotted period, conception has not taken place, the uterus gradually rejects the epithelium, thereby triggering the natural self-cleaning of the body.

The bathhouse is also known for its cleansing properties: staying in the steam room improves blood circulation, starts metabolism and removes harmful substances through the skin.

Logically, the combination of two cleansing processes - menstruation and visiting a bathhouse - should have a doubly beneficial effect on a woman’s health, but in practice this is not the case.

During this period, a woman experiences the following changes:

The process of releasing an egg is painful. Over the course of several days (usually up to 5), there is a strong deterioration in health. In addition to constant aching pain and spasms, fatigue is felt (even with minor exertion), working capacity is reduced, and sleep problems are possible;
The woman becomes irritable. Hormonal changes, pain and a constant feeling of discomfort often lead to neuroses and breakdowns;
To push away the layers of epithelium, the cervix opens and becomes like an open wound with unstoppable bleeding. In this situation, the internal organs are highly susceptible to infection.

The bathhouse, despite all its positive functions, even under normal conditions is a strong burden on the body.

The female body, exhausted by menstruation, needs to be treated with care, and the steam room is a test of strength for it, and can cause dangerous consequences.

Safe visiting period

If you are unable to refuse to visit the bathhouse during your period, then still try to refrain from the steam room in the first three days of your cycle. During this period, blood loss is the highest, and your body is more vulnerable than on other days.

The most favorable time to visit the bathhouse during menstruation is the period from the fourth day. The discharge becomes less intense and decreases, and the risks are minimized.

However, try to avoid long stays in the steam room.

It is better to visit it several times within a few minutes than to spend one long session there.

Consequences of a bath during menstruation

During this period, the body is required to perform a number of tasks aimed at balancing the woman’s physical health and bringing hormonal balance back to normal.

Staying in a steam room is an additional dose of stress, and a tired body does not always have the strength to cope with it.

A visit to the bathhouse during menstruation can cause dangerous consequences:

High temperatures in the steam room dilate blood vessels and increase blood circulation
. On critical days, this is fraught with severe and prolonged vaginal bleeding. In the most dangerous cases, medical intervention is required to stop it;
Some women experience the opposite reaction - after visiting a steam room with a very high temperature, menstruation may stop
. This phenomenon is considered a pathology and requires consultation with a doctor;
Due to the dilation of the cervix and high temperatures, there is a high probability of contracting a fungus
or other pathogenic infection in the bathhouse. This even applies to private saunas, because it is almost impossible to maintain absolute sterility in them. Some infectious diseases can lead to infertility.

Women often mistakenly believe that using a tampon allows them to visit the steam room without harming their health.

This measure only partially reduces the likelihood of infection; a hygienic tampon cannot protect against other consequences.

The above consequences are a significant explanation for why you should not visit a sauna or steam bath during menstrual periods. You should take care of your health and not risk it.

Benefits for women's health

First, let's look at the positive aspects of visiting a bathhouse during menstruation.

The female body is able to retain much more water than the male body, especially immediately before and during menstruation.

This is where the sauna creates many additional benefits, because during a session in the steam room you lose excess water.

And along with it, accumulated toxins that are formed due to illness, smoking, stress and from the environment are removed from the body. The steam has a therapeutic effect.

A bath can help relieve uterine cramps and back pain that often accompany your period. It also positively stimulates the work of the pituitary gland, adrenal glands and ovaries. Some believe it helps increase fertility!

Don’t forget the benefits of visiting a bathhouse for the nervous system. Along with excess fluid, stress and accumulated fatigue leave the body. A visit to the sauna stimulates the production of endorphins and improves mood.

But the most important thing is that women who are accustomed to the bath feel great in it. The physical benefits to the reproductive, nervous and glandular systems are just a nice bonus.

What is allowed during menstruation

A trip to the bathhouse with gentle visits to the steam room can be planned on the last or penultimate day of menstruation.

When the intensity of discharge is minimal and the cervix has almost narrowed to normal diameter, the risk of infection and heavy bleeding is reduced.

If a visit to the bathhouse on the first day of your period cannot be avoided, it is better not to take a steam bath, but to spend time in the dressing room with a cup of relaxing herbal tea.

Depending on the woman’s well-being and the individual characteristics of her body, during critical days some procedures can be allowed:

If, due to the physiological characteristics of a woman, her periods are not intense, painless and pass with good health, you can try going to the steam room. It is not advisable to stay inside for more than a couple of minutes; you need to carefully monitor your sensations all the time - if you feel the slightest deterioration, you should leave;
You need to steam for shorter periods of time than usual. At the same time, it is allowed to increase the number of visits. By adhering to this principle, you can gently reduce the load on the heart;
It is better to wash after the steam room under a slightly warm stream of water - this will bring relief and also will not increase the load.

Games without a mind

In cases where a woman is already taking combined contraceptives prescribed by a doctor, the problem is solved quite simply: instead of the usual seven-day break, she must immediately start taking pills from a new pack.

If a woman has not taken contraceptives before, she can consult a doctor who will help you choose the pills that are most suitable and start taking them according to the same regimen. In this case, menstruation does not begin. Then you can return to the previous course or cancel it.

Many people begin to practice critical days postponed for the duration of certain events on a regular basis: in the case of a tourist trip, competitions, going to the pool or spa, romantic dates or job interviews. Moreover, not everyone consults a doctor about this. Some people get by on the advice of a friend or a pharmacist at the nearest pharmacy. It would seem so simple and convenient: take a pill - and no premenstrual syndrome and subsequent bleeding.

Such experiments with the female menstrual cycle are not as safe as they might seem at first glance. By “cancelling” or postponing the onset of menstrual periods at our discretion, we inevitably interfere with one of the most important functions for humans - the reproductive system. She is quite fragile and vulnerable. Such games of playing masters of nature can end very badly.

Do not risk!

The most serious complications of taking hormonal contraceptives, sometimes fatal, are venous and arterial thrombosis and hepatic coma, when the patient does not always have time to be taken to the hospital. In obstetrics and gynecology, these are primarily menstrual irregularities, uterine bleeding, and various neoplasms. Against this background, problems may arise with the onset of pregnancy, including infertility. Negative consequences are also possible from the mammary glands.

Obstetricians and gynecologists know many such stories. They are often approached by young women who, while taking hormonal drugs on their own, have experienced thromboembolism of small branches of the pulmonary artery literally in the first cycle, and this is a deadly condition. Even more often, as a result of taking this type of medication, menstruation stops completely, amenorrhea occurs, which also has to be treated for a long time and not always successfully.

Steam room precautions

While in the bathhouse, a woman should adhere to the following recommendations:

Hygiene products must be proven and reliable. For additional protection, you can use both a tampon and a pad;
Avoid drinking alcohol of any strength before, during and after leaving the bath. It puts additional stress on the heart, which is undesirable;
Do not expose yourself to severe overheating. The air temperature of the steam room should not exceed 80 degrees - this reduces the risk of heavy bleeding;
Sudden temperature changes are contraindicated. You shouldn’t jump into the pool - it’s better to leave the steam room for a dressing room or shower with warm water, and let your body gradually normalize its temperature.

There is a certain category of women for whom a sauna is even recommended by a doctor for the purpose of treatment: when problems arise with irregular menstruation and their scarcity.

One of the methods of treating such cases is to carry out certain procedures in a bathhouse, for example, a poultice of flaxseeds, oats, and salt in the lower abdomen.

If you have doubts about whether it is possible to take a steam bath during your period or whether it is better to abstain, you should consult your gynecologist.
Share your symptoms during your period with your doctor and make a rational decision together. [media=
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Dangers and Risks

Having considered all the positive aspects of a bath during menstruation, it’s time to figure out why doctors insist so much on abstaining from couples’ procedures during such an intimate period?

Firstly , the risk of getting an infection through the genital tract increases. During menstruation, the uterus opens and presents as a bleeding open wound. This creates a free entrance for all sorts of unpleasant infectious diseases and fungi. Many people think that a tampon can help them out, but this is a misconception.
Secondly , the risk of bleeding increases. Under the influence of high temperature, blood vessels dilate and blood flow accelerates several times. Even scanty periods can develop into serious bleeding, which can only be stopped in the hospital.

Be sure to consult your doctor before visiting a bathhouse during your period. It is better to prevent dangerous consequences before they occur.

Increased salt intake is one of the reasons

Salt (sodium chloride) is vital for the normal functioning of the entire body. Salt components (in particular, chloride ions) are the main component of hydrochloric acid, produced by the parietal cells of the stomach and necessary for normal digestion of food. Salt also ensures the functioning of the nervous system by participating in the transmission of nerve impulses and helps improve the nutrition of muscle tissue.

Table salt should not be consumed in large quantities, as it causes fluid retention in the body.

During menstruation, fluid can accumulate in the subcutaneous fatty tissue of the pelvic organs, and increased consumption of salty, smoked and pickled foods can increase tissue swelling and cause acute or aching pain in the lumbar and tailbone areas.

Prevention

Sometimes it is enough just to change your habits a little to forget about this unpleasant condition forever.

Don't get too cold

This golden rule for preventing diseases of the genitourinary system works great in this case. Dress according to the weather, insulate the pelvic area in winter, no short skirts in cool weather. Strong local and general immunity will help you forget about bladder inflammation.

Maintain hygiene

Choose skincare products that do not cause irritation and regularly cleanse the genital area in a front-to-back motion. This reduces the risk of microflora from the anus and vagina entering the urethra.

Choose the right underwear

Synthetics and thongs can provoke inflammatory processes in the urogenital area. Natural cotton underwear, on the contrary, helps maintain a healthy microclimate in the intimate area.

Go to the toilet on time

Ignoring the body’s signals “in a small way” is fraught with excessive concentration of urine, loss of sediment and the onset of an inflammatory process against the background of reduced immunity and accumulation of blood in the uterine cavity.

Avoid physical inactivity

A sedentary lifestyle provokes a whole cascade of disorders in the body. This includes the occurrence of inflammation in the genitourinary system before or during the onset of the monthly female cycle. Regular physical activity, exercise and 10,000 steps a day will help you forget about this problem.

Be attentive to yourself and your health!

Tyuzikov I.A. Hormonal mechanisms of the pathogenesis of chronic recurrent cystitis in women as a promising pharmacotherapeutic option for disease management 2022. — (date of access: 06/26/2021).
Guide to urology / ed. ON THE. Lopatkina. 1998
Zaitsev A.V., Kasyan G.R., Spivak L.G. Cystitis, 2022 - (date of access: 06/26/2021).
Khalilova U.A. Skvortsov V.V. Ismailov I.Ya. Lugovkina A.A. Proleyskaya N.A. Cystitis, 2022 — (date of access: 06/26/2021).
Ivanov V.V. Herbal medicine for acute cystitis / V.V. Ivanov, V.E. Khitrikheev // Bulletin. East Siberian Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. - 2010. - No. 3. - P. 72–75.
Instructions for use of the drug PHYTOLYSIN® Paste for the preparation of suspension for oral administration

Causes of cystitis during menstruation

The occurrence of this condition can be facilitated by a hormonal surge associated with the beginning of the cycle. The dependence of the microflora and protective epithelium of the bladder in women on the level of sex hormones was discovered back in 1947. Today, the key role of sex hormones, especially estrogen and progesterone, in the sufficient synthesis of protective mucopolysaccharides is beyond doubt. They prevent the development of pathogenic microflora and prevent contact of bladder cells with aggressive elements of urine [1].

Accordingly, the lack or incorrect ratio of these hormones cannot ensure the normal functioning of the epithelium, which increases its susceptibility to various adverse factors, including infectious attacks.

“You can get foot fungus if you walk barefoot on the floor.”

Photo is for illustrative purposes only.

Concerns about fungal pathology are not unfounded, says Alexander Navrotsky. Today, mycoses are a pressing problem: according to statistics, every third person after 50 years suffers from fungal infection of the feet, which is accompanied by itching and redness of the skin, discoloration and deformation of the nails. And the humid and warm environment of swimming pools is very favorable for the habitat and reproduction of pathogenic fungi.

The causative agent of mycosis of the feet can be “picked up” in areas near the pool, in showers and locker rooms, by touching your bare foot with the floor, side or other surface contaminated with fungal spores. To prevent this, you should only walk in the listed areas in rubber or plastic slippers, which should be washed frequently.

— Some visitors, in order to avoid contracting fungal diseases, use antifungal ointment. What do you say about this precaution? - I’m asking a specialist.

“To prevent fungal infections, it is enough to follow normal personal hygiene measures,” says Alexander Navrotsky. - But if someone wants to play it safe, then let them use it. After the pool, you need to rinse your feet, wipe them dry and treat them with an antifungal agent (optionally - miconazole, terbinafine, formidron solution, etc.). Particular attention should be paid to the spaces between the fingers, where the skin sweats more, creating suitable conditions for the proliferation of the pathogen.