GIRLS ONLY PLEASE! What do period cramps feel like? Where do girls feel the cramps? How do you act as if you are not having any cramps?

ever got a Charlie Horse? it's a muscle cramp and it hurts like hell. that's what period cramps are. the uterus is a muscle and it seizes up. it usually happens during the period and can last up to a week, sometimes longer. it's different for each girl. they can hurt so bad, the girl can't get up to go to school.

This may sound a bit odd, but can you remember a time when you got sick with like a diarrhea flu for a day so?

Or maybe a time when you had a bad gas bubble? I think the physical sensation is similar. A sharp pain in your lower abdomen that doesn't really move around. It just sits in that one spot.

The cramps are caused by muscle contractions. Hormones trigger muscular contractions in the uterus to shed & expel the unused uterine lining. The contractions are sort of rhythmic. The discomfort will fade for a few minutes. Then the pain comes back for a few minutes. For me, left untreated, the pain level intensifies over the course of the day. It's this muscle group that doesn't do much the rest of the month, and now it has to work double time. It sucks. It is even possible to have radiating pain, where the cramps make the lower back ache too.

Some women have mild sporadic cramping in the week before the bleeding starts. As the hormones change they can trigger practice contractions. Not everyone gets those. I've experienced it a few times. Those usually aren't bad. They don't hang out all day. It's like a teaser trailer, brief. Everyone is different though.

There are ways to deal with the pain. Modern medication is amazing. Muscle relaxers, pain blockers, and anti-inflammatory medications can be very helpful. Again everyone is different so what works for one person may not work for the next. Over the counter meds (Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Motrin, Aleve, Advil) work for most people. The brands Midol & Pamprin specifically focus on periods, and market exclusively as such. If someone has severe pain or a condition that effects their reproductive system....there are prescription medications available for period pain. Obviously you have to talk to a doctor for that.

Most other remedies focus on heat. Heat application relaxes the muscles. This is why ladies we we could put on comfy sweatpants and hang out at home in a pile of blankets until the whole thing passes. Hot water bottles, electric heating pads, heated car seats, Thermacare heat wraps, and any way really to apply heat to the lower abdomen and back.......are all popular options for handling cramps.