Menorrhagia (Heavy Periods)

The signs of menorrhagia are heavy or prolonged vaginal bleeding. Excessively heavy bleeding is defined as when a woman soaks through her sanitary products (i.e., her tampon or pad) enough to require changing them every hour. Bleeding is considered prolonged when a period lasts longer than seven days.

 

Other symptoms of a heavy period can include 

  • Nighttime bleeding that requires getting up to change pads or tampons
  • Passing large blood clots during menstruation
  • A period that lasts longer than seven days

In severe cases, heavy menstruation can interfere with sleep and daily activities. Blood loss from heavy periods can also lead to anemia, causing symptoms such as fatigue and shortness of breath.

 

Causes of Menorrhagia 

There are many possible causes of heavy menstrual bleeding.

They include:

  • Hormonal imbalance, particularly in estrogen and progesterone this is most common in adolescents who recently began their periods and women who are getting close to menopause.
  • Fibroids or noncancerous tumors of the uterus; fibroids typically occur during childbearing years.
  • Miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy -- the implantation of a fertilized egg outside the uterus, such as in the fallopian tube
  • Use of blood thinners
  • Problems with a non-hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) used for birth control 
  • Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), an infection of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and other organs of the reproductive system
  • Uterine, ovarian, and cervical cancer; these are rare but possible causes of heavy menstrual bleeding.

Other medical conditions that can prevent normal blood clotting, including liver, kidney, or thyroid disease, and bleeding or platelet disorders

 

Treatment for Heavy Periods 

If you are having heavy menstrual bleeding, it is important to visit our doctor at clinic to determine the cause. Treatment will depend on what's causing the bleeding.

Depending on the cause of the menorrhagia and your history, our doctor will recommend you treatment to control the cause of bleeding to overcome the problem and the weakness caused due to excessive bleeding and the problems associated with it.

The loss of blood through heavy periods can lead to iron-deficiency anemia. Therefore our doctor may prescribe or recommend an iron supplement until bleeding is controlled.