About 2 out of 3 women experience pain, usually in the lower abdomen, when having their periods. The pain usually starts before or at the beginning of a woman’s monthly period, and usually last for 1 to 3 days. Though the pain is strong or bad enough to affect your normal daily activities, doctors say it isn’t too serious.

These periods that cause pain are called dysmenorrhea. This is caused by a chemical substance called prostaglandin that is made by the cells from the lining of the uterus. When the menstrual cycle begins, they cause the uterine muscles to contract. If excessive prostaglandin is present, the normal contraction response can become a strong and painful spasm. As it spasms, the blood flow is cut off temporarily, depriving the uterine muscle of oxygen and thus causing a "cramp." The cramps then help push out the menstrual discharge.

Hot compress or heating pads are very useful in treating the cramps. Moreover, there are also medicines without prescription available in drug stores. These medicines contain aspirine with either caffeine or antihistamines. Some of these are Midol, Premsyn, and Pamprin.

If the pain is not relieved however, it is possible that the cramps are not caused by prostaglandin. It may be caused by an infection, or worse, an ovarian cyst. When this happens, it would be better to consult a doctor who specializes in the field. The symptoms of such cases include: pain aside from the first days of period, abnormal vaginal discharge, bleeding, and unrelieved pain.