It is a natural part of the female reproductive system, yet menstruation remains a taboo topic in many countries, including the Philippines, even to this day.
Myths and misconceptions surrounding it have been prevalent throughout history, negatively affecting the health and status of women in certain societies, according to a May 2019 information sheet by the United Nations Population Fund. Among those that have circulated in the Philippines are that a woman who takes a bath during her period could go crazy, or become sterile.
Recently, VERA Files Fact Check found seven Facebook (FB) posts with false claims and myths about menstruation, published between March 2018 and May 2020. All continue to receive engagements from FB users, collectively receiving over 111,600 reactions, 83,200 comments, and 389,000 shares.
They include misconceptions that drinking cold or carbonated water, eating coconut or cucumber, getting hit with a hard object on the stomach, and taking a shower and shampooing during menstruation may cause complications ranging from a simple headache to sterility or even cancer.
The posts were published by two FB users, the pages Peace, Uya Pogi, Mr. Advice, and Zynergia – Team Radiance, and public group SAN ROQUE MEXICO, PAMPANGA.
All have been debunked by medical practitioners.
Read on to know more about each claim:
Coconuts and cold or carbonated water don’t affect periods
Drinking either cold or carbonated water “has no impact on the menstrual cycle,” said doctor Marjorie Santos, president of the Philippine Society of Maternal and Fetal Medicine (PSMFM), in an email to VERA Files.
She explained that two separate systems “function[ing] differently from each other” are at work when a woman is drinking and when she is menstruating: the former being the digestive system, and the latter being the reproductive system.
“There is no risk that the period will stop and menstrual blood will be retained in the uterine cavity for years and would cause cancerous growths later on in life,” she added, debunking the viral posts’ claims.
More FB posts carrying the same claims were debunked by Agence France-Presse (AFP) Mexico in October 2019. Reproduction specialist Kiyoshi Macotela Nakagaki said consuming coconut, just like cold water, has “no relationship” with either infertility or cancer, and that the viral posts’ claim has “no scientific basis.”
Bathing or shampooing during menses don’t cause headaches
Santos told VERA Files that there is research suggesting the enlargement of women’s pores during menstruation. “There is no evidence to suggest, however, that this dermatological change enhances entry of substances into the body to cause biological effects such as headaches,” she added.
She cited a 2006 study published in the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research which found that “in certain exercise situations,” women sweat more during the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle—or just before menstruation starts—due to a higher number of progesterone sex hormones. Santos said this comes with a “slight enlargement in pore size to dissipate heat.”
The study did not say anything about pores allowing substances, like shampoo, to seep into a woman’s head during a period and eventually cause headaches.
Another gynecologist, Anais Reyes-Navarro, had told AFP that headaches experienced by a woman during menstruation could be due to the so-called “premenstrual syndrome” or PMS, a set of symptoms associated with the change in hormone levels. Apart from headaches, a woman could also have “sensitive breasts, mood swings, and cramps” during her menstrual cycle.
Experts and researchers in a 2012 manual on menstrual hygiene produced by British non-profit organization WaterAid debunked the belief that washing the body during the monthly period would make a woman infertile, as claimed by some circulating FB posts. The manual stated that taking a bath during menstruation “is necessary” as this “prevents a woman from getting infections.”
Claims on cucumber and menstruation wrong
“There has been no evidence found linking cucumber consumption to female sterility,” Santos said.
Aloysius Inofomoh, an obstetrician from Nigeria, explained in a May 2019 Africa Check fact check article debunking similar claims: “Cucumber is a vegetable that, when eaten, passes through the alimentary canal. It does not get to the uterus at all. There is no relationship between it and barrenness.”
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the United States has listed a number of possible reasons behind a woman’s inability to get pregnant, including the failure to ovulate, existing infections, and problems in the menstrual cycle or the reproductive system. The list does not include anything about the consumption of cucumbers.
Santos also noted that cucumbers are recognized by health experts for their numerous nutritional benefits, including their cancer-fighting properties due to their antioxidant content, and their ability to regulate insulin in the body to help prevent diabetes.
A hit to the stomach is not a hit to the uterus
The FB posts circulating locally also advised women to not get knocked down, fall, or have their stomachs hit by hard objects as this may hurt the uterus and cause the vomiting of blood.
The stomach is located in the upper abdomen, while the uterus is within the female pelvis located below the abdomen. It is for this reason, Santos said, that the vomiting of blood after getting hit in the stomach is most probably due to a “severe damage” in the stomach or its surrounding organs, and, “in most situations,” does not involve or affect the uterus and the rest of the female reproductive system.
Reyes-Navarro, in AFP’s report, also pointed out that since the uterus is an organ “surrounded by intestines, fat, muscles and skin,” it would take a “deep stab” for it to get wounded.
The false posts said that a hit to the stomach—which they claimed injures the uterus—could cause a woman to have ovarian cancer. The American Cancer Society said this is a myth. “Falls, bruises, broken bones, or other such injuries have not been linked to cancer,” according to the organization’s web page on frequently asked questions about cancer.
Photos in viral posts were from different sources
Of the seven viral FB posts, six were accompanied by five different photos lifted from various sources.
- A female reproductive system diagram which could be traced to a Harvard Medical School web page on fibroids or non-cancerous growths in the uterus;
- a collage of four photos taken during an ovarian cyst removal surgery in 2016, published by British media The Daily Mail, The Sun, and The Daily Telegraph and credited to a Caters News Agency;
- a Getty Images stock photo of blood in between someone’s feet;
- a photo of blood running down someone’s legs and feet, first uploaded by Tumblr account vermelho que me jorra as part of a “photographic and collaborative project” that aims to “naturalize and give new meanings to menstruation”; and
- a 2010 Getty Images photo showing the bloody feet and clothes of a Shiite Muslim in India, taken as the unidentified person took part in a self-flagelation ritual during the “Ashura mourning period.”
Sources
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Philippines, Menstruation is OK: from taboo to acceptance, Nov. 15, 2019
United Nations Population Fund, Menstruation and human rights – Frequently asked questions, May 29, 2020
The Philippine Star, Masama bang maligo kapag may ‘mens’?, May 6, 2001
GMA News, Masama nga bang maligo ang may regla dahil baka raw mabaliw?, Oct. 25, 2019
Personal communication with Dr. Marjorie Santos, Nov. 3, 2020
Agence France-Presse, No, consuming cucumber, coconut or cold water during menstruation will not cause ‘uterine cancer’ or ‘sterility’, Oct. 12, 2019
Garcia, A.M.C., Lacerda, M.G., Fonseca, I.A.T., Reis, F.M., Rodrigues, L.O.C., & Silami-Garcia, E.. (2006). Luteal phase of the menstrual cycle increases sweating rate during exercise. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 39(9), 1255-1261. Epub August 21, 2006. https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0100-879X2006005000007
Better Health Channel of the State Government of Victoria, Australia, Menstrual cycle, April 30, 2014
WaterAid, Menstrual hygiene matters, 2012
Africa Check, Busting four false claims about menstruation, cancer and women’s bodies, May 16, 2019
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, What are some possible causes of female infertility?, Jan. 31, 2017
American Cancer Society, Questions People Ask About Cancer, July 8, 2020
Harvard Medical School, Fibroids, March 15, 2019
The Daily Mail, Is THIS the world’s biggest cyst? Woman, 24, with ovarian growth weighing the same as TEN BABIES has it removed after it crushes her organs, March 20, 2017
The Sun, ‘IT WAS CRUSHING HER LUNGS’ Woman has massive FIVE STONE cyst removed thought to be ‘world’s largest removed whole’, March 20, 2017
The Daily Telegraph, Woman has five stone cyst removed in life-saving operation, March 21, 2017
Getty Images, Directly Above Shot Of Blood Amidst Woman Standing In Bathtub – stock photo, n.d.
Vermelho Que Me Jorra, “Photographic and collaborative project,” May 27, 2015
Getty Images, Muslims Mark Ashura In Delhi, Dec. 17, 2010
(Guided by the code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, VERA Files tracks the false claims, flip-flops, misleading statements of public officials and figures, and debunks them with factual evidence. Find out more about this initiative and our methodology.)