Recipes for Disaster: an anarchist cookbook

fortable position: try leaning back on some pillows at about a 45-degree angle, witii your knees up and open. Remember to have your mirror and desk lamp or flashlight within arm's reach. Try opening and locking your speculum in position a couple of times before actually inserting it, until you are comfortable with how it works. Insert the speculum by spreading the inner lips of your vagina with two fingers of one hand, holding the bills of the speculum tightly together with the thumb and index finger of the other hand, and guiding it into vaginal canal. You can use water-soluble lubricant or water to make insertion easier. You may want to insert the speculum sideways initially, then turn it with the handles still pinched together until the handles are facing up. Once the handles are facing up, open the bills and lock the speculum in position. Do this by sHding the short handle down and the long handle up?^when you hear a click, the speculum is locked into place. This will stretch the vagina open and reveal the vaginal canal and cervix. With the speculum locked, you can adjust the placement of the mirror and your light source. It is best not to leave the speculum unattended: the muscles in your vagina can push the speculum out even while it is locked open, which can be very painfiil. Keep one hand on it if you can! If you are using a flexible-necked lamp, aim the light at your vaginal opening and use the mirror to see what it illuminates. If you only have a flashlight, hold it in your mouth and aim it at the mirror, which will reflect light into the speculum. With proper positioning of the mirror and light, you should be able to give yourself a thorough exam.

What you can see: vaginal walls, vaginal secretions (if any), cervix (the neck of the uterus), OS (the opening of the cervix), and any irritations (e.g., yeast, trichomonas, bacterial infections). Throughout your monthly cycle, you can see changes in the color, texture, and secretions of your cervix: these are all indications of whether or not you are fertile, and where you are in your cycle. Take a look at the outside of the vagina and the vaginal walls. Become familiar with what this part of your body looks like, and look for any irritations, bumps, or blemishes. Next, take a look at your cervix. The cervix may not

You can put whole garlic cloves in and around genitals to help with yeast and bladder infections.

You can use cloth rags or sea sponges instead of pads or tampons, or steal organic all-cotton tampons.

Health Care 279

You can ease menstrual cramps

by applying hot water bottles,

having orgasms, practicing yoga,

stretching, exercising, anything that

increases blood circulation to that

region of your body. Alternatively,

try drinking a combination of

peppermint/chamomile tea.

Health Care 280

be immediately in view: if you can't see it, remove the speculum and try moving around, jumping up and down (really, this works!), or moving to a firmer surface. Your cervix may be directly in line with the speculum, or it may be off to one side if you have what is called a "tipped uterus." This is perfectly normal, as everyone's uterus is tipped in some way. Your cervix might be pink and smooth, have reddish blemishes, or even be rough and splotchy. Depending on where you are in your menstrual cycle, there may be fluid coming out of it (especially if you are ovulating) or it may be very dry.

If you see blemishes or bumps that worry you, go to a gynecologist and ask her to look at them, and get a pap smear. Most likely, they are perfectly normal, and you will know for the fiiture that these spots are just part of your body. Because of the changes that your body xmdergoes throughout your monthly cycle, you may want to do a self-exam at the same time each month so you can spot irregularities. You may also want to do them at different times of the month, so you can watch the changes and become familiar with your body throughout its cycle.