Period Problems Every Female Should Be Aware

If your periods are regular, it means that your body and your reproductive system is working normally. Most of the females of reproductive age have periods every month unless she is pregnant or breastfeeding. Post-menopause the periods stops. Any medical condition may also cause your periods to stop. If a female is suffering from painful, irregular and heavy menstruation, it may be an indication of some underlying serious health issue. Below in this article we have discussed common period problems every female should be aware.

Common Period Problems

Dysmenorrhea Or Painful Menstruation

Pain and discomfort during the periods is very common. Few females feel just heaviness in the stomach while others experience severe abdominal pain during menstrual bleeding. Dysmenorrhea is of two types:

Primary dysmenorrhea – It is caused due to the contraction of uterus to shed the uterus lining. Primary dysmenorrhea gets less painful as the female age. The risk of primary dysmenorrhea is more if menarche happens before the age of 11, during stress, smoking or when the female is having heavier or longer period.

Secondary dysmenorrhea – Secondary dysmenorrhea happens due to underlying health issues and the pain usually gets worseif the female gets older. Common health issues that cause secondary dysmenorrhea includes uterine fibroids, endometriosis and ovarian cyst.

Irregular Periods

If the duration of your menstrual cycle is longer or shorter than it is considered irregular. If the duration between the first day of your periods to the start of the next periods is more than 38 days or less than 24 days it is considered irregular.

Irregular periods is normal in perimenopausal female and teenagers. Other causes of irregular periods include:

Eating disorders – An irregular periods can be a sign of anorexia nervosa or other eating disorders such as binge eating disorders or bulimia nervosa.

Thyroid issues – Overactive thyroid gland or hyperthyroidism increases the production of thyroid hormone and causes lighter and fewer menstruation.

Certain medication of anxiety and epilepsy also makes your period irregular.

Increased level of prolactin hormone – The prolactin hormone is responsible for the growth of breast during puberty and for the production of breast milk during the childbirth it also controls the menstrual cycle.

Pelvic inflammatory disease – The infection of the reproductive organs can be a cause of irregular period.

Uncontrolled diabetes, stress and obesity also causes irregular periods.

Heavy Menstruation

Heavy menstrual bleeding happens due to the problems with the uterine lining or ovulation. It may happen if the hormones get out of balance or the uterine lining gets out of balance. Other causes for heavy menstrual bleeding include uterine polyps, uterine fibroid and certain medicines such as blood thinner. Heavy unusual bleeding may be a result of miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. Female suffering from bleeding disorders such as haemophilia also experience heavy menstrual bleeding.

One more cause of heavy bleeding may be obesity because the extra fat in our body affects the production of the hormone oestrogen. More production of oestrogen changes the menstrual cycle and leads to heavy or irregular periods.

Amenorrhea Or Missing Periods

Amenorrhoea is defined as the absence of periods for more than 3 months in a row or if a female do not get her periods by the age of 15. Amenorrhea if not caused due to breastfeeding or pregnancy maybe due to some underlying health issues such as anorexia nervosa or other eating disorders, too much stress, polycystic ovarian syndrome or other serious health issues such as birth defects or tumours.

Abnormal Bleeding

Abnormal or unusual bleeding is any bleeding that happens between your menstrual bleeding. Abnormal bleeding may be caused due to endometriosis, ovarian cyst, and cervical, uterine or ovarian cancer. It is also caused due to the changes in the level of hormones during puberty or perimenopause.