Personal pain costs women nine days without productivity every year

Painful period costs women nine days without productivity annually, one study says.

Scientists say that women are going to school or are working even though they are not well, so they do not have good work performance.

The historical study is the first of its kind to discuss a topic that scientists said remains taboo.

More than eight out of ten women are reportedly working or studying while suffering pain or mood disorders, so they were less productive.

The findings, published in the Medical Journal, also said paralyzing symptoms force women to take a break because of periods at least one day a year.

Researchers in the Netherlands asked almost 33,000 women between the ages of 15 and 45.

Participants were asked to discover the details of their menstrual cycle and how strong the symptoms were. The average period lasted five days.

Menstrual symptoms led nearly a third of women to visit the family doctor and one in seven women to the gynecologist.

Based on the symptoms of these women, researchers calculated that these women lost nine days of productivity each year.

Sometimes the symptoms were as intense as the women needed to rest from work or school. Nearly 3.5 percent said that this happened in almost every menstrual cycle.

About two thirds of women said that they wanted them to have a more flexible work or school time when they are at their period.

Although we have two decades in the 21st century, discussions about period symptoms continue to be taboo.

Young women, under 21 years of age, seem to take more leisure time for period than older women.

This is the greatest study of how period symptoms affect work or school productivity.