Why some women experience heavy menstruation

For many women, menstruation is a usual routine for womanhood although sometimes its irregular cycle period may last longer and be even heavier than it has been in previous months which affects their daily routine.

Heavy menstrual bleeding known as menorrhagia is a common disorder among women who experience intensive menstruation bleeding during their periods.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) menorrhagia refers to bleeding that lasts longer than seven days and involves more blood flow than it is during the typical menstruation period which in some cases leads to some medical conditions such as anaemia.

The Center for Disease Control statistics state that the Heavy period bleeding is one of the most common problems women report to their doctors. It affects more than 10 million women around the world each year. This means that about one out of every five women has it.

This condition often lasts longer than seven days although the how long will depend on what is causing your bleeding according to Dr Walter Otieno from Migori Country Hospital.

"If one changes their pads in under three hours or the bleeding comes out with big blood clots or they have to wake up at night to change a pad may also be clues of heavy menstrual bleeding. Says Dr Otieno

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He continues to explain that menorrhagia can have many causes, ranging from hormone-related issues to Uterine-related problems and also the Bleeding-related disorders, such as von Willebrand disease

"The hormones that a woman body produces, like oestrogen and progesterone, help regulate their menstrual cycle, including how heavy the periods are.

Having a condition like the Thyroid disease and the Polycystic ovary syndrome that causes your hormones to become imbalanced and can lead to heavy period bleeding.

"Benign growths in a woman's uterus is a conditions that causes cells in the uterus to grow improperly and can cause heavy menstrual bleeding such as the Polyps which are small growths that occur in the inner lining of the uterus and are in most cases associated with intermenstrual, heavy bleeding, Adenomyosis a condition that occurs when the cells in the inner uterine lining go to the muscle of the uterus causing the uterus to become enlarged, leading to pain and heavy menstrual bleeding finally is the Fibroids that are the growths which occur in the uterus leading to enlargement resembling a pregnancy, causing heavy and prolonged menstrual bleeding, the other reason maybe Infections, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can cause heavy bleeding during menstruation according to Dr. Otieno

According to Bramwell Omboto a nurse at Wellcare Hospital in Mombasa county heavy menstruation can lead to lose of blood and important nutrients in the body leading to serious health problems if not treated with immediately.

"Heavy menstrual bleeding can be serious if a person loses so much blood that you show signs of anemia which is a condition arising from having too little iron in your body and can be life-threatening without treatment."

Adolescents with heavy bleeding may have impaired school attendance and performance, decreased participation in sports, and may present with symptoms of depressed mood or anxiety

"Make sure to drink lots of water to remain hydrated, blood loss can cause you to become dehydrated and If you are experiencing heavy bleeding, you may need to drink as much as 4 to 6 additional glasses of water a day.

A daily electrolyte solution may also help reduce symptoms of dehydration" He advices

What on eats during menstruation either it's normal or heavy menstruation matters alot, due to loss of excessive blood, this iron rich foods are recommended.

"Eating iron-rich foods can help reduce your risk for iron-deficiency anemia. These include liver, beef, and sardines. If you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, lentils, spinach, and white beans are good plant-based sources of iron" Bramwell concludes.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists report on Screening and Management of Bleeding Disorders in Adolescents With Heavy Menstrual Bleeding of September 2019 says treatment one will get will depend on the cause of the bleeding and how serious it is, the use of antifibrinolytics such as tranexamic acid or aminocaproic acid will reduce the amount of bleeding by stopping a clot from breaking down once it has formed use of Desmopressin Nasal Spray to stop bleeding in people who have certain bleeding disorders, as von Willebrand disease and mild hemophilia, by releasing a clotting protein stored in the lining of the blood vessels that helps the blood to clot and temporarily increasing the level of these proteins in the blood.