The menstrual cycle is one of the most important female biological processes. It is extremely important for every woman to get her period on time every month in order to ensure that everything is fine with the ovulation process in her body. Regular timely menstruation not only indicates good reproductive strength but also ensures sound health. However, you may still wish to forward or delay your periods at times because there are some important functions and having menstruation during those days would be very inconvenient. So, what should you do in such kind of dilemma? Well, there are a number of natural remedies and few tablets available around for this purpose, but you must make an informed choice rather than a hasty one. Here is how to prepone and postpone periods naturally and medicinally along with the drawbacks you need to know as well as a bunch of frequently asked questions.
Prepone And Postpone Periods Naturally
You can find quite a few simple natural remedies at your hand that are harmless and can be used for forwarding or delaying your menstrual cycle days without any issue. These are all food items and hence, you need to bring a few changes to your eating habit and diet. Basically, foods that induce heat in the body can prepone the periods and those which cool down the body can delay the periods. Let us talk about them below:
[A] Natural Remedies To Prepone Periods
1. Papaya
Papaya is said to produce enough heat in the body while carotene in it increases the levels of estrogen. You can consume papaya throughout the day for accelerating your period.
2. Pomegranate Juice
Pomegranate juice should be consumed at least 2 to 3 times a day for a span of 10 to 15 consecutive days. This is very helpful in getting the period before time.
3. Dates
Dates are a heat-inducing food. Hence, the consumption of dates in a regular manner can introduce the period earlier than its schedule.
4. Carrot
Carrot contains high amounts of carotene, which promotes the production of estrogen in the body and brings on the period sooner than expected. Drink a cup of fresh carrot juice 2-3 times every day for this purpose.
Also Read – 9 Proven Home Remedies To Delay Your Period Naturally!
5. Pumpkin
Pumpkin also contains carotene and helps in bringing the menstruation cycle forward. You can munch on a slice of pumpkin by adding a teaspoon of honey and a dash of cinnamon to it.
6. Pineapple Juice
In order to prepone periods, you can drink pineapple juice at least twice a day. Pineapple forms heat in the body, which helps the menstruation start early.
7. Sesame Seeds
Take 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds and add 1 tablespoon of jaggery or honey to it. This mixture can be consumed daily to get your periods early.
8. Ginger
Ginger is another good natural remedy for preponing periods. You can have ginger in the form of tea or just drink fresh ginger juice with honey on an empty stomach.
[B] Natural Remedies To Postpone Periods
1. Parsley Leaves
Boil a handful of parsley leaves in half a liter of water for about 20 minutes. Strain the infused water and drink it warm along with honey. It has to be done 2 to 3 times a day. This remedy is very beneficial for postponing periods.
2. Gram Lentils
Consume fried gram lentil soup with warm water for a full week on a daily basis before the onset of your periods. This soup is best to have on an empty stomach.
3. No Spicy Food
If you are trying to delay your periods, you have to cut out all spicy food from your diet including chili, hot pepper, garlic, paprika, black pepper, etc. The idea behind this is to cut off even the slightest trace of heat from your body.
Read Also – Prepone Or Postpone Periods With These Medicines
[C] Prepone And Postpone Periods Medicinally
If you want your period to arrive sooner or later, there are also medicinal remedies for you. But they should always be taken after consulting the doctor. Following are three medications that are most commonly used for this purpose:
1. Primolut-N
This prescription drug can both prepone and postpone periods effectively with its active ingredient ‘norethisterone’. To forward the timing of your menstruation, start taking 5 mg. of Primolut-N at least 10 days prior to the expected date. Conversely, start taking the medicine at least 3 days before your expected date if you want to postpone your period.
2. Ibuprofen
You will have to take 800 mg. of ibuprofen every 8 hours and a double dose of vitamin B6 on a daily basis. Start the dosage a week or two before the expected date of the period.
3. Ovral-G
Being a combination of estrogen and progesterone, this medication helps in delaying the period in a less painful manner. It should be continued until the menstruation needs to be started again.
Read Also – Here Are Top 10 Sanitary Pads In India – Have A Safe Period!
Drawbacks Of Preponing And Postponing Periods
We need to understand that the menstrual cycle is a natural biological process in a woman’s body. Manipulating it in any way will tamper with the integrity of your internal system by altering your hormone levels. So, every time you schedule your menstrual cycle as per your own convenience, you end up disturbing your hormonal balance. This hormonal imbalance can make your periods unhealthy in terms of both quantity and frequency while giving you minor to major side effects for short-term use. Prolonged use of synthetic drugs for delaying or forwarding your period can also affect your fertility in the long run.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Which Is Better – Preponing Or Postponing?
It is always better to prepone the period instead of postponing it. You have lots of natural remedies for forwarding those days while delaying them come with lesser natural options.
Can Anyone Go For It?
Teenage girls, especially those under the age of 16, should never try to manipulate their menstrual cycles either naturally or medicinally. It would take a toll on their reproductive system which is under development and thus, affect their health significantly.
How Often Can I Do It?
Generally, it is not advised to prepone or postpone periods unless it is an emergency. Natural remedies always outweigh synthetic period-delaying drugs in terms of safety and effectivity. Therefore, choose them over OTC medications. But if you have no way other than taking medications, always do it under the guidance and supervision of a physician.
How Long Should I Use Medicines?
If you are relying on prescription drugs for rearranging the dates of your menstrual cycle, make sure that you do not use that for more than 12 or 14 days in one go. While single or short-term usage of these medications is known to be safe, using them frequently will disrupt your hormonal balance and make you infertile.
What Are The Possible Side Effects?
Frequent manipulation of the menstrual cycle can lead to complications like rashes, dizziness, bloating, upset stomach, irregular bleeding, inadequate bleeding, amenorrhea, headache, migraine, nausea, mood swing, hypersensitivity, visual disturbances, thrombophlebitis, edema, dyspnoea, and chest tightness.
