Your
menstrual period says a lot about your health. Being aware of the changes and
how they happen can help you make choices about your health.
Menstrual
cycle is the monthly series of changes in a woman’s body; it is also called
menses, emmenia or catamenia. It starts at the age of 12-15 years and isn’t the
same for every woman.
The day when
bleeding starts is considered as the first day of the menstruation and this may
last for 2-7 days. During this period, there is sudden reduction in the release
of estrogen and progesterone in the ovary and the decreased level of these two
hormones is responsible for menstruation.
Lack of
these estrogens and progesterone causes sudden involution of endometrium of the
uterus and this leads to reduction in the thickness of endometrium up to 65% of
original thickness.
During the
next 24 hours, the tortuous blood vessels in the endometrial undergo severe
constriction. This vasoconstriction leads to hypoxia which result in necrosis of
the endometrium. And due to this necrosis, about 35ml of blood along with 35ml
of series fluid is expelled.
The blood
clots as soon as it oozes into the uterine cavity and then it stops between 3rd
&7th day of menstrual cycle but continues in some exceptional
cases which are abnormal.
PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME
This is the
symptoms that appears before the onset of menstruation, it lasts for about 4-5
days prior to menstruation. The symptoms appear due to the salt and water
retention caused by estrogen.
The features
of premenstrual syndrome:
1. Mood swinging
2. Anxiety
3. Irritability
4. Emotional instability
5. Headache
6. Depression
7. Constipation
8. Abnormal cramping
ABNORMAL MENSTRUATION
1. AMENORRHEA: This is the absence of menstruation during
reproductive period of females and it is caused by intensive exercise, extreme
weight loss, physical illness and stress. This is not a disease but an
abnormalities that has the propensity to cause infertility in women who dare to
become pregnant.
Amenorrhea :caused by excessive exercise can be treated by a change of
exercise plan, excessive weight loss may require a professional supervised
weight gain regime. but amenorrhea that
is inborn or genetic will need a surgical operation.
2 Menorrhagia: Heavy or
prolonged menstrual periods, or menorrhagia, are the most common type of
abnormal bleeding from the uterus. Periods are considered heavy if there is
enough blood
to soak
a pad or tampon every hour for several consecutive hours.
Other symptoms of a heavy period
can include:
* Night-time bleeding that requires getting up to
change pads or tampons
* Passing large blood clot during menstruation
* A period that lasts longer than
seven days
Causes of Menorrhagia
* Uterine,
ovarian, and cervical cancer; these are rare but possible causes of heavy menstrual bleeding
* Use of
blood thinners
* An
infection of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and other organs of the reproductive
system.
A normal menstrual
cycle is 21–35 days in duration, with bleeding lasting an average of 5 days and
total blood flow between 25 and 80 mL. A blood loss of greater than 80 mL or
lasting longer than 7 days constitutes menorrhagia.
Usually no
causative abnormality can be identified and treatment is directed at the symptom,
rather than a specific mechanism. Most common cause include blood disorder or
stress-related disorders. A brief overview of causes is given below, followed
by a more formal medical list based on the nature of the menstrual cycle
experienced.
COMPLICATIONS:
- Pregnancy complications:
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Incomplete abortion
- Miscarriage
- Threatened abortion
- Nonuterine bleeding:
- Cervical ectropion/erosion
- Cervical neoplasia/polyp
- Cervical or vaginal trauma
- Condylomata
- Atrophic vaginitis
- Foreign bodies
- Pelvic inflammatory disease:
- Endometritis
- Tuberculosis
Treatment
Do you know some chai tea can reduce menstrual cramps?
·
Where an
underlying cause can be identified, treatment may be directed at this. Clearly
heavy periods at menarche and menopause may settle spontaneously (the
menarche being the start and menopause being the cessation of periods).
·
The
condition is often treated with hormones, particularly as dysfunctional uterine
bleeding commonly occurs in the early and late menstrual years when
contraception is also sought. Usually, oral combined contraceptive or progesterone only pills
may be taken for a few months, but for longer-term treatment the alternatives
of injected Depo Provera or the more recent Progesterone releasing IntraUterine system (IUS)
may be used.
·
If the
degree of bleeding is mild, all that may be sought by the woman is the
reassurance that there is no sinister underlying cause. If anemia occurs then iron tablets may be used to help
restore normal hemoglobin levels.
· Anti-inflamatory medication like NSAIDs may also been used. NSAIDs are
the first-line medications in ovulatory menorrhagia, resulting in an average
reduction of 20-46% in menstrual blood flow.
·
3. Polymenorrhea: Frequent
periods or polymenorrhea might be frustrating and cumbersome to handle. However,
it is hardly a symptom of a terrible disease as many woman often think it is.
The average
length of the cycle is 28 days and this is the length often used in
textbooks. Normal menstrual cycle length can be anyway from 21 to 35
days. If your cycle length is within this range, and that is what you have
every month, then that is what is normal for you.
If your cycle is 21 days, then in 365days of
the year, you will have about 17 periods ( 365/21=17). Similarly, if your cycle is 35
days, you will have 10 periods in a year( 365/35= 10). We therefore
expect that women with normal cycle length between 21 to 35 days should have 10
to 17 periods a year.
Causes of polymenorrhea
The causes of
polumenorrhea overlap with many of the cause of abnormal uterine bleeding or
those of irregular periods. Common, simple causes includes stress, excessive
exercise, medications. More serious causes include disease of the pelvic organs
especially those with hormonal disturbances like polycystic ovarian disease.
TREATMENT: such
person involved should see a medical doctor.
4. Oligomenorrhea: This is a decrease in the frequency of menstruation.
Oligomenorrhea is not considered
serious on its own. Menstrual periods can be adjusted with a change in hormonal
contraception use or progestin.
5. Dysmenorrhea: This is
the medical term for the painful cramps that may occur immediately before or
during the menstrual period.
There are two types of dysmenorrhea: primary
dysmenorrhea and secondary dysmenorrhea.
Primary dysmenorrhea: is another name for common
menstrual cramps. Cramps usually begin one to two years after a woman starts
getting her period. Pain usually is felt in the lower abdomen or back. They can
be mild to severe. Common menstrual cramps often start shortly before or at the
onset of the period and continue one to three days. They usually become less
painful as a woman ages and may stop entirely after the woman has her first
baby.
Secondary dysmenorrhea: is pain caused by a disorder
in the woman's reproductive organs. These cramps usually begin earlier in the
menstrual cycle and last longer than common menstrual cramps.
What Are the Symptoms of Menstrual
Cramps?
The symptoms of menstrual cramps include:
- Aching pain in the abdomen
(Pain can be severe at times.)
- Feeling of pressure in the
abdomen
- Pain in the hips, lower
back, and inner thighs
When cramps are severe, symptoms may
include:
- Upset stomach, sometimes
with vomiting
- Loose stools
What Causes Common Menstrual Cramps?
Menstrual cramps are caused by contractions in the uterus, which is a muscle. The uterus,
the hollow, pear-shaped organ where a baby grows, contracts throughout a
woman's menstrual cycle. If the uterus contracts too strongly, it can press
against nearby blood vessels, cutting off the supply of oxygen to the muscle
tissue of the uterus. Pain results when part of a muscle briefly loses its
supply of oxygen.