太空中女性宇航員如何解決大姨媽問題

Women here on Earth may think of their periods as monthly inconveniences, but consider what it』s like for astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

地球上的女性每個月都為大姨媽帶來的不便而困擾，那大家想一想遠在國際空間站（ISS）的宇航員將面臨什麼樣的困擾呢。

Up there, maintaining personal hygiene in general is not easy, as limited water is available for washing. The added challenges of changing hygiene products in microgravity only make things even more difficult.

在太空中，保持個人衛生可沒那麼容易，因為水資源是有限的。而且在失重狀態下更換衛生產品更是舉步維艱。

Then there』s the issue of plumbing: The water recycling system onboard the ISS — used for reclaiming water from urine — wasn』t designed with the possibility in mind that there would be menstrual blood in the mix.

那麼問題來了：ISS上的水循環系統主要是用來回收尿液中的水分，但是這個系統無法處理帶有月經血的尿液。

Indeed, there are several reasons why an astronaut might want to opt out of getting her period in space. But what』s the best way to go about it? For a shortmission, an astronaut may simply choose to time her cycle around her stint in space by using birth control pills, but for longer missions, skipping periods entirely may be preferred, said a new review of the subject, published on April 21 in the journal npj Microgravity.

事實上，宇航員一般在太空上要避開生理期有很多原因。但是如何合理的避開生理期呢？4月21日出版的《npj-微重力》雜誌對該話題的研究板塊指出，對於執行短期飛行任務的宇航員來說，一般只需服用一些避孕藥，來改變經期就可以。而對於執行長期任務的飛行員來說，避開生理期也許是最好的選擇。

Skipping periods (also known as 「menstrual suppression」) is becoming more common among women in general and is gaining acceptance by more and more doctors, said the review authors, Dr. Varsha Jain, a visiting researcher at the Centre of Human & Aerospace Physiological Sciences in London, and Dr.Virginia Wotring, an assistant professor at the Center for Space Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.

倫敦人類與航空生理科學中心的研究員Varsha Jain博士和德克薩斯州貝勒醫學院空間醫學中助理教授Virginia Wotring博士如是說到，避開生理期（也就是常說的「抑制月經」）在廣大女性生活中變得越來越普遍。也有越來越多的醫生認可這種做法。

Currently, there are several options for women who choose to skip their periods, but whether these options will fare as well during long spaceflights as they do here on Earth is the question, according to the review.

這項評論指出，目前女性有多種選擇來抑制月經。但是這些方法在長期的航空飛行中是否能像在地球上一樣有效依然尚未知曉。

「With more women going into space, we need to ensure they have the most up-to-date information on the options available to them, 」Jain said in a statement.

「現在越來越多的女性登上太空，我們必須保證她們對抑制月經方法的最新進展有所了解，」Jain在一份聲明中說到。

So what』s an astronaut to do?

那麼宇航員該怎麼做呢？

One of the most common ways for a woman to skip her period is by taking the pill, which uses a combination of estrogen and progesterone to suppress the menstrual cycle. While the authors of the review note that this method works well (in fact, it』s long been used in spaceflight, they write) some questions do arise.

女性避開月經最常見的方法之一就是服藥。一種含有雌性激素和孕激素的藥物，能夠抑制月經。儘管這項評論的作者提出這種方法非常奏效（其實，這種方法在航空領域已經是老生常談了），但是仍然有難題。

For example, taking hormones may affect bone density. While such slight losses in bone density are generally not a concern here on Earth, during spaceflight, where bone-density loss is accelerated, this would be more problematic, the authors said.

比方說，服用激素會影響骨密度。評論員提到，雖然輕微的骨密度流失在地球上並不會對人造成多大影響，但是在太空中，骨密度流失速度加快，這就是個大問題了。

And of course, taking the pill each day requires, well, a pill for each day. As audiences learned watching the movie 「The Martian,」 every extra bit of weight counts on a spaceflight. The review』s authors estimate that a three-year mission would require about 1,100 pills, plus their packaging. The authors also note that the stability of these drugs over such a long time in space has not been tested.

當然，採取服藥法要求每天要服下去一丸藥。看過『火星救援』這部電影的觀眾都知道在太空中，體重輕微的增加也會造成嚴重的後果。評論的作者預算，宇航員執行時長3年的飛行任務一共要服用大約1100丸藥，再加上它們的葯殼。而且他還提到，目前還沒有測量這些藥物在太空中是否能夠如此長時間的保持穩定性。

So rather than the pill, long-acting reversible contraceptives, or LARCs, may be an astronaut』s best option, the authors wrote. These contraceptives include intrauterine devices (IUDs) and under-the-skin implants.

因此，該作者寫到，排除這種方法，長期可逆避孕（LARC）也許是宇航員的最佳選擇。該舉措包括宮內放置節育器（IUDs）和皮下植入避孕。

Neither option has been shown to affect bone density in studies on Earth. In addition, a single IUD or under-the-skin implant would eliminate the extra bulk andstability issues of the pill, the authors wrote. And neither option would be expected to interfere with an astronaut』s ability to perform her tasks on the mission, the researchers wrote.

這兩種方法目前在地球上還未檢測出對骨密度有任何影響。除此之外，IDU和皮下植入避孕可以解決藥物的重量和穩定性難題。並且研究人員稱，這兩種方法也不會幹涉宇航員執行其飛行任務。

On a more squeamish note, the authors point out that there are no reports in the medical literature studying whether the devices could shift around in the body as a result of the strong gravitational forces that an astronaut experiences during launch or landing.

但是值得注意的是，該作者指出目前並沒有醫學界的研究報告提到，這些設備會不會由於發射或者著陸時產生的強大引力而在體內移動。

Currently, two types of IUDs are available. One type, which releases small amounts of hormones into the body over time to suppress a woman』s menstrual cycle, is the preferred option for spaceflight. The other available IUD prevents pregnancy by releasing copper ions, but it does not suppress a woman』s period.

目前，一共出現了兩種節育器。一種能夠在體內釋放激素以抑制女性月經，這種是航空領域的首選。另一種會產生銅離子來產生避孕效果，但是並不能抑制月經。

Subdermal implants work in a similar way as the hormonal IUD; they release small amounts of hormones over time. Unlike IUDs, however, which are inserted into the uterus, the subdermal implant is inserted just beneath a woman』s skin, typically in the upper arm. The implant doesn』t usually interfere with a woman』s clothing on Earth, and it』s unlikely that the method would cause problems in specific spacesuits, the review said.

皮下植入節育器和IDU的工作原理是一致的。它們都會不斷釋放少量的激素。與IDU不同的是，皮下植入節育器是植入皮膚表層，一半都是在上臂皮膚內，而IDU是植入子宮內。評論稱，皮膚表層植入在地球上不會對女性的穿衣造成困擾，也更不可能在航天服方面造成不便。

Because both options take time to effectively suppress a woman』s period, the authors said that an astronaut who chooses a LARC should have it inserted at least 1.5 to 2 years before her mission.

該作者稱，由於這兩種方式在抑制月經方面都需要一定的時間才能生效，因此打算採取LARC方式的宇航員在執行任務時應該提前至少一年半到兩年的時間植入設備。

※宇航員在太空是怎麼解決生理問題的
※宇航員如何解決放屁的問題？
※廁所里裝置了攝像頭！揭示宇航員在太空中如何解決私人問題
※如何解決宇航員「腿軟」？
※在太空怎麼解決大姨媽？這些女航天員都拼了！
※太空探索運用人體冷凍術 宇航員的壽命問題能解決？
※中醫教你如何解決嬰兒吐奶問題
※揭秘：宇航員如何解決上廁所問題
※孩子教育的九大問題如何解決
※大陸航母會不會解決天花板低矮的問題？機庫狹小的問題誰來解決？
※人類能否在太空中出生，征服宇宙如何解決生育問題？
※中國宇航員太空究竟過怎樣生活，最重要的吃是如何解決的
※雲南摔斷玉鐲女子失聯 商家喊話要求露面解決問題
※教你如何解決小戶型的空間問題
※如何在裝修的時候一勞永逸地解決室內空氣問題？
※運勢凄涼——父母如何解決孩子教育問題
※請問師父，如何用佛法智慧的解決生活中的問題
※戀愛新思維：和妹子長期相處中如何解決爭吵問題
※國產航母會不會解決天花板低矮的問題？機庫狹小的問題誰來解決？