Abnormal Menstruation

Abnormal Menstruation

Normal menstruation lasts about 3-5 days where the bleeding is neither too little nor too heavy, where you change your pad every four hours. If the duration or the severity of your periods is different from regular periods, it is known as abnormal menstruation. Known as menorrhagia, heavy bleeding can be a dangerous condition when you experience prolonged or heavy bleeding as it can cause severe anemia or iron deficiency. This is a curable condition.

What are the Types of Abnormal Menstruation?

Menorrhagia – Heavy bleeding

Amenorrhea – Absence of a woman’s periods for 90 days or more

Oligomenorrhea – Infrequent periods

Dysmenorrhea – Painful period and severe menstrual cramps

Abnormal Uterine Bleeding – Heavy flow and period that lasts longer than seven days

What Causes Abnormal Menstruation?

Medication

Taking anti-inflammatory drugs, hormonal medications, or anticoagulants can impact your periods. Heavy bleeding can also be because of intrauterine devices used for birth control.

Hormonal Imbalance

When the hormonal or progesterone buildup in the lining of the uterus, it can cause heavy bleeding. It generally occurs in women who begin menstruating or women who are close to menopause.

Medical Conditions

Medical conditions, such as Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), Endometriosis, Inherited blood disorders and cancers can cause abnormal bleeding.

Other causes include lack of ovulation, adenomyosis, and ectopic pregnancy.

What are the Symptoms of Heavy or Irregular Periods?

Some of the symptoms of heavy or irregular periods are;

• Changing pads once in an hour due to heavy flow
• Waking up at night to change pad
• Passing large blood clots during your periods
• Irregular periods
• Missing three or more periods in a row
• Periods that last longer than seven days
• Periods that come with pain, severe cramps, and nausea
• Bleeding after menopause

When Should I See A Doctor?

You must contact your medical care personnel immediately if;

• You experience severe pain during your periods
• Very heavy bleeding
• Vaginal discharge with foul smell
• A high fever during periods
• Periods that doesn’t end even after seven days
• Vaginal bleeding or spotting that occurs between your periods
• Nausea or vomiting during the periods
• You experience symptoms of shock syndrome, which includes fever of 102 degrees, diarrhea, vomiting, and dizziness

Request an appointment at Apollo Spectra Hospitals, pune

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How is Abnormal Menstruation Diagnosed?

To diagnose abnormal menstruation, your doctor might;

• Do a physical examination and talk to you about your medical history
• Conduct pap test and/or blood tests (to rule out any medical disorder or anaemia)
• Vaginal cultures to look for any infections
• To look for polyps, fibroids, or ovarian cysts, the doctor might do a pelvic ultrasound
• An endometrial biopsy might also be suggested where a small piece of the tissue is sent to the laboratory for further examination

How is Abnormal Menstruation Treated?

• Your doctor might prescribe estrogen or progestin to help control any heavy bleeding
• Over the counter, painkillers or other medication may be prescribed to combat pain
• For uterine fibroids, surgery can be an option if other treatment options don’t work
• Birth control pills may be used to regulate periods

Abnormal menstruation is a treatable condition. Therefore, if you ever notice any of the symptoms, don’t suffer, instead, visit your gynecologist immediately.