Social media has a approach of turning medical misinformation into viral traits, and the most recent instance is making gynecologists all over the place cringe. Movies claiming which you could merely “scoop out” your interval have racked up thousands and thousands of views. Some posts even recommend that docs can do that forward of huge occasions like weddings, holidays, or athletic competitions to keep away from bleeding altogether.
It sounds nearly too good to be true. And in line with ob-gyns, it completely is.
The viral movies suggest that menstrual blood—and even the uterine lining itself—will be eliminated in a single fast step, stopping a interval totally. However that’s not how menstruation works.
“The period of the menstrual cycle is decided by the shedding of the uterine lining, which passes by way of the cervix and the vagina previous to leaving the physique,” Christie Cobb, MD, FACOG, tells SELF.
“Eradicating what’s within the vagina with the fingers is basically the identical as inserting and instantly eradicating a tampon. It would flush what’s current within the second, however won’t change the stream from the uterus.”
Not solely is it not an efficient technique, it isn’t protected both.
“That is positively not one thing to be tried at dwelling. First, there may be the danger of damage from scrapes or cuts to the vaginal mucosa or cervix from finger nails,” Dr. Cobb says.
It will possibly additionally enhance the danger of an infection by introducing micro organism or yeast, and it could throw off the vagina’s pure pH—particularly if water or cleaning soap is concerned, Dr. Cobb explains.
Your physician will not ‘scoop out’ your interval
Whereas docs do carry out a process known as dilation and curettage (D&C), it’s finished for eradicating the remaining tissue after an abortion or miscarriage, or for accumulating tissue samples to diagnose sure situations that may trigger irregular bleeding. It isn’t used to shorten the period of a affected person’s interval.
“Within the basic D&C, you are utilizing a steel instrument to scrape the liner of the uterus,” Samantha Kaplan, MD, MPH, an ob-gyn at Boston Medical Middle tells SELF.
“We even have suction triage. It may be handbook or it may be electrical, and these are procedures that could be finished in somebody who’s postmenopausal or premenopausal…. Even the best therapies to take away uterine lining are in depth,” she says.
The surgical process can be used to cease extreme, medically harmful bleeding, Karen Tang, MD, board-certified ob-gyn and writer of It’s Not Hysteria, tells SELF.