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Vomiting, malaise, headaches, loss of morale… In Lyon, the Croix-Rousse hospital takes care of women who suffer from bleeding periods. In France, it is the only unit reserved for women who have heavy periods.
“When I have my period, it’s very heavy periods and above all, I’m bent over backwards in my bed, I can’t do anything anymore. Vomiting, malaise… I can go up to twice a day to the infirmary in high school.” For some young women, this structure represents the last hope of relieving the pain caused by their menstruation. Brut spent a day at the Croix-Rousse hospital.
For Giulia Gouy, gynecologist, hemorrhagic periods are not “A fatality” and can even heal themselves. To assess patients, the hospital uses the “Higham score”. “It will allow us to have an idea and we will try to quantify more precisely and see the impact on the quality of life. If, every time you have your period, you’re tired, you’re anemic, you can’t do what you want because you have to change protection every hour, it’s complicated yes…”
At the Croix-Rousse hospital, the staff accompanies and helps the patients to find a pill adapted to their needs. Annah, 15, explains the difficulty in finding a facility that takes care of heavy periods. “I have a friend of mine who is struggling to find an appointment in the centre, because it’s a good centre. There should be more, in France, and even in the world”.