초록
Middle and high school girl students' menstruation characteristics, appearance of menstruation dysmenorrhea, and coping with the menstruation dysmenorrhea were examined in order to give information in instructing girl students about menstruation dysmenorrhea, in delivering health education in the school, and establishing health policy. 970 girl students in middle and high schools in Cheju-do were selected and surveyed using the questionnaire the author developed based on the previous studies. The findings are as follows. First, the age of first menstruation was average $12.9{\pm}1.22$ years. The younger they were, the earlier their first menstruation came. The most common menstrual cycle was such one that continuously irregular from the beginning or that regular and irregular cycle run together. The first irregular menstrual cycle changed regular one within 1 or 2 years. Most of the respondents had normal menstrual cycle of $21{\sim}35$ days and menstruation period of $3{\sim}8$ days. Second, symptom of menstruation dysmenorrhea was orderly; hurt in the underbelly, tired, hurt in the waist, and headache. It was higher with high school students than middle school students. For the most part, time of heavy menstruation dysmenorrhea was the 2nd day after menstruation starts and period of menstruation dysmenorrhea was 2 days. More than the half of the respondents felt that the present menstruation dysmenorrhea was similar with the first one and they felt not comport in daily life due to menstruation dysmenorrhea, and 'hard to live a normal life' was higher with the high school girl students than with the middle school students. Third, how to cope with menstruation dysmenorrhea was enough sleep, relax and rest, taking a hot water shower, listening to music or watching a movie, taking medicine, and doing excercise. Few of the respondents have ever visited a doctor due to menstruation dysmenorrhea, and the reason was mostly irregular menstruation and heavy dysmenorrhea. Forth, when they took medicine due to menstruation dysmenorrhea, they gathered information on the medicine from family members and friends, while extremely low from a pharmacist or a doctor. The most of them have ever took medicine during menstruation once and took standard dose. While excess dosage was higher with high school students than with middle school students. From these findings, a good many girls are experiencing menstruation dysmenorrhea since their first menstruation. To discover early the severely abnormal findings and to treat, more interest from home and school, counseling and sexual education on time, and expert's diagnosis are necessary. Rather than unconditionally taking pain-relievers which can plainly solve the pain, continuous health education at home and in the school should be carried on for the girls to practice proper measures one think effective or an expert recommends.