One of the most common gynaecological complaints is abnormally heavy menstrual bleeding. Heavy menstrual bleeding is known by the scientific/medical term called “menorrhagia”. It is observed that during menstruation, women lose about 30 to 45 mm of blood over 4 to 5 days. The average blood loss can be compared to about 2 to 3 tablespoons. But when it comes to heavy bleeding, the patient tends to bleed more, usually lose double the amount of blood and it may last longer than seven days or more. Read on to learn what is menorrhagia.
Discussing What is Menorrhagia
Menorrhagia is a very common problem and it may happen to most women but, sadly, only one-third of them seek menorrhagia treatment.
Heavy blood loss affects daily life and interrupts work, but if left untreated it also leads to serious health issues. One of the major side effects of menorrhagia is anaemia.
When the body loses blood, there are not enough blood cells to carry oxygen to the rest of the body and meet demands of proper functioning which may cause various other symptoms of menorrhagia such as weakness, chest pain, fatigue, etc.
How can Menorrhagia be Treated?
Menorrhagia treatment is not the same for everyone; it varies depending on an individual’s case, cause, and amount of bleeding.
Doctors will provide treatment based on the patient’s age, medical history, and general health.
Like every other disease, menorrhagia can also be treated by drug therapy and by surgical methods.
1. Medicinal Treatment
Following are some of the options included in the drug therapy:
- Anaemia can be treated using iron supplements.
- Heavy blood loss and irregular periods can be controlled by taking birth control pills.
- Heavy blood loss can also be stopped by the intake of tranexamic acid which is a anti-fibrinolytic drug. Note: It is recommended to take drugs under medical supervision.
- Heavy blood loss can also be reduced by hormone therapy which includes drugs containing progesterone, oestrogen, or both.
- Irregular or heavy blood flow can also be stopped by planting a hormonal IUD in the uterus.
2. Surgical Methods
There are a variety of surgical processes that are suitable for menorrhagia and a doctor knows best which one to apply. The treatment will be based on the age of the patients and their medical history. Menorrhagia can also be treated using surgical interventions.
Following are some of the surgical treatments that are used to treat this condition:
- Curettage and dilation: In this case, the surgeon operates on the uterine lining. Excessive bleeding can be stopped by scraping off the layer.
- Uterine artery embolization: This process involves treating fibroids. This blocks the supply of blood to them and hence stops heavy bleeding.
- Operative hysteroscopy: These treatments involve the removal of polyps and uterine lining to reduce heavy blood flow. In this operation, the surgeon fixes a camera inside the uterus to evaluate the lining.
- Focused ultrasound ablation: In this procedure, the fibroid tissue is killed by using ultrasonic waves.
- Myomectomy: In this process, heavy bleeding is stopped without removing the uterus. The process involves the removal of uterine fibroids.
- Endometrial ablation: In this process, the lining of the uterus is destroyed, and hence it reduces menstrual bleeding.
- Hysterectomy: In this procedure, the cervix, uterus and ovaries are removed from the body and hence it stops the menstrual bleeding. But the major side effect of this technique is that the patient cannot become pregnant. However, Hysterectomy is mostly suggested in severe cases and to women above the age of 50.
What are the Symptoms of Menorrhagia?
Heavy bleeding is itself a serious symptom, but still, other menorrhagia symptoms may indicate that the patient is suffering from a serious health issue.
- If the patient has to change pads every hour due to severe bleeding or if this heavy bleeding continues for more than 5 days, then it’s a sign that the woman may be suffering from menorrhagia. Generally, heavy bleeding does not last more than 3 days.
- If someone has to use more than one-period equipment at a time, then it may indicate that this heavy bleeding is menorrhagia.
- If the menstrual flow lasts more than 7 days, then it may be a sign that something is not normal.
- If someone experiences shortness of breath especially during the period days that maybe this is a symptom of menorrhagia. As discussed before, heavy blood release leads to iron deficiency or anaemia, which may cause excessive fatigue.
A woman who suffers from menorrhagia will constantly feel pain in the pelvic area or the lower abdominal area. A constant heavy feeling in the abdominal area can also be a sign of menorrhagia.
What are the Causes of Heavy Menstrual Bleeding?
Although there are many different causes of heavy bleeding during menstruation, the main causes can be divided into three groups:
- Hormonal issues
- Uterus-related issues
- Bleeding disorders
- Other disorders
The following are some of the points that justify what causes menorrhagia.
- Growth of non-cancerous tumours around the uterine wall can be one of the causes of menorrhagia, which may lead to painful periods.
- Overgrowth of endometrial tissue, which is present inside the uterus, may also cause heavy bleeding.
- Irregular ovulation can be caused by hormonal disruptions during which the lining of the uterus becomes thick, leading to heavy bleeding.
- When the muscle of the uterus embeds with the tissue from the lining of the uterus, it leads to heavy menstrual bleeding and can be painful.
- Setting up birth control devices such as non-hormonal intrauterine devices in the uterus can lead to heavy bleeding.
- Some patients may have inherited bleeding disorders or platelet function disorders that cause heavy bleeding.
Every woman should be aware of the menorrhagia causes to avoid unnecessary health complications. Numerous factors, including hormonal imbalances or other illnesses including cancer, PID, ovulation, or PID, can result in bleeding.
Also, genetic bleeding diseases can contribute to this issue. Although every heavy bleeding issue is not caused by menorrhagia, it can also be caused by pregnancy-related complications.
Conclusion
With the information provided above we hope one has understood what is menorrhagia. If a woman has heavy menstrual bleeding, she must see a doctor right away because every woman deserves the chance to resume her regular life and maintain her health. A thorough evaluation by the doctor will result in the finest possible care.
