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Heavy Periods
Heavy periods or prolonged periods are known as a condition called menorrhagia. At some given point of time, ladies must have experienced heavy bleeding during periods. But how much bleeding is enough to be tagged as menorrhagia. Experts say that if a woman is soaking her pad or sanitary napkin every one hour requiring her to change it hourly for many consecutive hours, the woman is said to be experiencing mnorrhagia. Alternatively, if a woman’s periods last for more than a week with heavy flow, she is said to be experiencing menorrhagia.
Causes Of Heavy Periods
Uterine Fibroid Tumor
Uterine Fibroid Tumor
Many women in their 30’s and 40’s develop fibroid tumor in their uterine. These tumor are non cancerous. They appear usually during the childbearing years. They develop in the muscles of the uterus and result in heavy periods. Fibroid tumor can be treated either surgically or through oral medicines. If left untreated, they often shrink and vanish after menopause.
Hormonal Imbalance
During adolescence, when young girls start menstruating, due to a hormonal fluctuation, they often experience heavy bleeding. Various hormones start developing in their body and the onset is often accompanied by heavy periods. Also, during perimenopause or before the menopause, hormone level again fluctuates leading to heavy periods. This continues for several years before menopause during the menstrual cycle.
Use of IUD
IUD or intra uterine devices used as a means for contraception can be a potential cause of heavy bleeding. Few women experience heavy bleeding while they use IUD. Such women are advised to get IUD removed and opt for some other means of contraception.
Ovary Dysfunction
During menstrual cycle, if ovulation does not take place, progesterone hormone will not be produced as well. This causes imbalance of hormone in the body which leads to excessive bleeding.
Medications
Medications
Certain medicines like anti inflammatory medicines often cause a heavy bleeding. Also, incorrect uses of hormone medicines also result in heavy periods. In such cases, the medicine should be discontinued and a medical practitioner must be consulted.
Cervical Polyps
They develop either in the endocervical canal or on the mucosal surface of cervix. Cervical polyps are small and have fragile growth. The exact cause of cervical polyp is not known. However, they are known to increase the effect of estrogen in the body leading to heavy periods. Sometimes they block the blood vessels of cervix which is accompanied by sudden heavy flow of blood from the uterus. Treatment of cervical polyp is available and is very simple.
Early Miscarriage
Sometimes, an early miscarriage can result in heavy bleeding. An ectopic pregnancy, in which the fertilized egg gets implanted in fallopian tube rather than uterus, can lead in miscarriage. Or when the fertilized egg is not healthy enough to survive, it leads to miscarriage. It seems as a late periods and is often accompanied by heavy and prolonged bleeding.
Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer is a condition in which cells of the cervix shows uncontrollable growth damaging healthy cells. This cancer disrupts healthy cells of cervix which result in excessive bleeding.