Menstrual irregularities: should you sound the alarm?

2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14

Almost every woman carefully monitors her menstrual cycle from an early age and throughout the entire childbearing period. Keeping control of menstruation, you can always be prepared for their onset and accompanying ailments. Violation of the menstrual cycle is a pathology, the result of which can be a complete absence of menstruation, a failure of their regularity, as well as abundant and painful discharge.

Signs and symptoms of failure

Before talking about the treatment and the causes of menstrual irregularities, one should clearly define the symptoms that accompany the pathology.

There are situations when menstruation changes at once according to several indicators, for example, the nature and time of the appearance of the discharge have changed.

Classification of menstrual irregularities

• Amenorrhea is a complete absence of menstruation for several menstrual cycles.
• Oligomenorrhea is expressed in the appearance of discharge every 3-4 months. Girls under the age of 14 should not worry, as the cycle goes through a period of formation and will become regular in the future.
• Opsomenorrhea is a scanty, dirty discharge for 2-3 days.
• Hyperpolymenorrhea - profuse discharge during the normal period.
• Menorrhagia is a profuse discharge that lasts more than 10 days.
• Metrorrhagia is characterized by an irregular discharge that can occur mid-cycle.
• Proyomenorrhea - frequent occurrences of menstruation with a cycle of less than 21 days.
• Algomenorrhea is represented by regular menstruation, accompanied by severe pain up to disability.
• Dysmenorrhea - menstruation is accompanied not only by painful sensations, but also by vegetative disorder with symptoms of intoxication.

Possible reasons

Many experts say that menstrual irregularities are not in themselves a disease. This is a clear sign of pathological and sometimes natural age-related changes in the female body.

Most often, a hormonal malfunction lies behind the pathology, and this may not always be a violation of the activity of the glands of the reproductive system. Menstrual failure is very common, the causes of which are associated with hormones of the thyroid gland, adrenal glands and even the brain.

There are many factors that provoke disruptions of the hormonal system and the subsequent violation of the cycle:

• Diseases of the nervous system, including being in stressful situations;
• Complex diseases of internal organs;
• Heredity;
• Diseases of an infectious nature.
• Taking medications;
• Poisoning and radiation exposure;
• Improper diet, which causes sudden weight loss or, conversely, obesity;
• Avitaminosis;
• Abrupt change of place of residence.

Do not forget that menstrual irregularities after 45 years of age can be caused by the onset of menopause.

In some cases, even a slight violation of the cycle indicates the development of serious diseases:

• ectopic pregnancy;
• a brain tumor;
• tumor of the cervix or ovaries, both malignant and benign;
• sexually transmitted diseases.
• tuberculosis.

Some women find that using hygienic tampons can also cause menstrual irregularities. This is a misconception that has been confirmed by numerous medical studies.

Treatment of menstrual irregularities

In most cases, the irregularity of menstruation is temporary and not associated with serious illnesses, but it is still worth contacting a gynecologist for a clear diagnosis. Moreover, you should not delay the treatment of the doctor if the violation of the menstrual cycle is long.

Failures caused by climate change, stress or overvoltage do not require serious treatment.

With increased loads, you should organize a long and good rest. You should walk less, but you shouldn't lie in bed either. Some activity is still encouraged.

If the cycle is disrupted due to climate change, no action should be taken. The problem is eliminated on its own when the body gets used to new conditions. After some time, all processes will be restored.

Treatment for stress-related disruptions should begin by identifying the cause. After that, it should simply be excluded.

When menstrual irregularities are caused by a new diet, you should definitely stop following it and switch to a balanced diet. Very often vitamin deficiency can be the cause of failures. In this case, you will need to take a complex of vitamins and minerals, which a gynecologist or other doctor can help you choose. Correct vitamin therapy in case of menstrual irregularities will help to recover as quickly as possible.

Conservative treatment

The doctor prescribes medication if:

• there is a hormonal imbalance;
• diagnosed with gynecological and infectious diseases;
• there are congenital and acquired pathologies of the genitourinary system.

Hormone therapy is prescribed when hormonal imbalance is confirmed, as well as in the presence of certain infectious diseases. To restore the cycle will help:

• Oral contraceptives. The drugs of this group often contain hormones of both the first and second phases. Under the influence of synthetic analogs of hormones, the endocrine glands restore their function and menstruation becomes regular. OK is taken within 3-6 months. In some cases, this therapeutic effect is temporary and the cycle is interrupted again as soon as the woman stops taking the drug.
• Hormonal drugs. Unlike OK, they contain a synthetic analogue of only one hormone or substances that block the production of a certain hormone. Based on the results of a blood test, the doctor prescribes a separate drug for each hormone, whose concentration exceeds or, conversely, does not reach the permissible norm.

With heavy bleeding, the pathology of blood clotting is first eliminated, and then drug regulation of the cycle is carried out.

The following can be used as hemostatic agents:

• Hemostatic drugs, which are prescribed intramuscularly in the hospital, and sometimes in the form of tablets: "Vikasol", "Etamzilat", "Tronexan";
• Aminocaproic acid will help reduce bleeding by 60%;
• To restore blood loss with heavy bleeding, plasma infusion is also used, less often - blood.

Surgery

With irregular menstruation caused by hormonal disruptions, accumulations of blood clots can form in the uterine cavity, which, for various reasons, do not pour out into the vagina in full. Such blood accumulations are fraught with the development of inflammation, which can be prevented by scraping the uterine cavity. The operation is performed in a hospital under general anesthesia.

The extracted contents of the uterus are sent for histological examination, and the menstrual cycle is corrected in the future with hormonal therapy. If the latter is abandoned, clots may form again and a second surgical intervention will be required.

Treatment with folk remedies

None of the remedies offered by traditional medicine should be used without first consulting a gynecologist.

• With heavy bleeding, you can drink a decoction of nettle. A tablespoon of the herb should be poured over with boiling water, and then cooked over low heat for 10 minutes. The liquid is filtered and drunk during the day in three doses. It is not recommended to drink nettle broth for more than three days.
• Calendula flowers can be used to normalize the menstrual cycle. 10 grams of raw materials must be poured with a glass of boiling water and insisted for about half an hour. This medicine should be taken three times a day, a couple of tablespoons.
• To relieve painful sensations in the lower abdomen, you can prepare an infusion of the roots of three herbs: 4 parts of the roots of a brown rosehip; 1, 5 parts curly parsley; 1 part fragrant rue. A tablespoon of such a mixture is poured with a liter of boiling water. The infusion should be taken 100 ml twice a day.
• With abundant discharge during menstruation, a decoction should be prepared on the viburnum bark. A tablespoon of bark is poured with a glass of boiling water and cooked for another 15 minutes, and then filtered. It is worth drinking three times a day for a tablespoon.

Prophylaxis

Since there are a large number of causes and diseases that can cause menstrual irregularities, then preventive measures should be aimed at preventing each of the factors.

Key prevention measures include:

• minimizing casual sex,
• condom use;
• healthy balanced diet;
• regular intake of vitamin complexes;
• regular visits to the gynecologist at least once every six months, which should become a habit from an early age.

Every woman, regardless of how old she is, should strictly monitor the regularity of her periods using a special calendar, and, at the slightest failures, go to the doctor for a consultation. The sooner the problem that caused the violation of the cycle is identified, the faster and easier the treatment will be.