Fasting women risking health by taking tablets to delay periods
A file photo shows Saudi women at a beauty shop in Riyadh.
Published: Aug 21, 2010 23:58 Updated: Aug 22, 2010 00:58
TAIF: There is a growing tendency among young women, especially unmarried ones, to take drugs to delay menstrual cycle in the holy month of Ramadan.
“Out of their eagerness to observe fasting throughout the month of Ramadan without missing any days, many young women customers, including unmarried, are coming to buy Primolut N tablet. The sale of the tablet is on the rise with the advent of the fasting month of Ramadan,” Al-Watan daily reported, quoting a pharmacist in Taif.
According to the pharmacist, most of the customers of this tablet are unmarried girls. “They are not at all bothered about the side effects after using these tablets. They approach familiar pharmacists to buy it without a prescription,” he said.
Primolut N tablet contains the active ingredient norethisterone, which is a synthetic hormonal product similar to the natural female hormone progesterone. It is used in a wide range of menstrual disorders.
Primolout N is used for timing of menstruation and to treat disturbances in monthly bleeding, premenstrual complaints, menstrual cycle related complaints of the breast, endometriosis and heavy menstrual bleeding.
Ummu Faris, a private sector employee, says that she takes the tablet out of eagerness not to miss any days of fasting in the holy month. “Being a married woman, I had never encountered difficulties while buying the tablet,” she said.
Reem Salem, whose marriage took place one month ago, said that she started using the tablet one week before marriage to delay menstrual bleeding for some days. “I consulted this matter with one pharmacist, and started using it as per his advice. I stopped using it two days after the marriage,” she said.
Nawf Al-Owad, an unmarried young woman, says that she has been using this tablet for about eight years. “I use this medication only during Ramadan. I never experienced any complications after using it,” she said.
Hayat Ahmad, another unmarried girl, says that she uses contraceptive drugs obtained from her married sister to delay menstrual bleeding during Ramadan. “I use this secretly without telling any other members of my family to avoid any misunderstanding among them,” she said.
Dr. Hanan Oyara, consultant gynecologist at Al-Ameen Hospital in Taif, warns young women against using such tablets. “Using such tablets may lead to serious health complications, including a possibility for sterility,” she said.
Echoing the same view, Dr. Fatima Younis, internist at the same hospital, says that these tablets would cause serious complications among women with hormone deficiencies. However, some other medical sources played down side effects of using the tablets.
Dr. Dalal Namnaqani, consultant pathologist at King Abdul Aziz Specialist Hospital in Taif, says that taking this drug should be under medical supervision and that the quantity should be limited and only for a temporary period. “There may not be any serious effects if young women use them once,” she said.
Despite all these medical warnings, there has been huge increase in the number of customers for this tablet.
Muhammad Al-Sayyid, a pharmacist, says that a large number of women, especially girls, are coming to buy this tablet to delay menstruation. “This was more evident during Ramadan as well as during the Haj season. Similar was the case with the newly married women,” he said, adding that most of these women come without a medical prescription despite repeated warnings from medical experts.
Saudi scholar Sheikh Abdul Mohsen Al-Obaikan earlier issued a religious edict (fatwa) permitting using of the tablet to delay menstrual bleeding provided that it does not do any harm to the health of the persons concerned.
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