MENSTRUAL DISORDERS IN WOMEN
For a lot of women, menstruation occurs with little or no problem. They may experience pain in the back and stomach - for a minimal period of time and then get on with their life. Their periods occur at a fixed time gap of say 22-28 days. But for other… ...Read more
For a lot of women, menstruation occurs with little or no problem. They may experience pain in the back and stomach - for a minimal period of time and then get on with their life. Their periods occur at a fixed time gap of say 22-28 days.
But for other set of women, menstruation could be a real pain. Apart from emotional as well as physical symptoms, these women could experience uncontrollable mood swings, terrible back, stomach and abdominal pain.
A normal menstrual cycle is the one that occurs once in 28 days indicating various changes in different parts of your body like uterus, breasts, ovaries and vagina. A normal menstrual cycle runs for about 5-7 days. However, you must understand that a set of factors like heredity plays a key role in your menstruation. Here are 4 common abnormalities that are experienced by women:
1) Abnormal uterine bleeding: This includes one of the 3 conditions- Irregular periods (bleeding between periods), no bleeding (amenorrhea) or heavy bleeding.
Of the 3 conditions stated above, heavy bleeding is the most common one. It is believed that 1 in 5 women experience this. Bleeding is considered to be heavy when it interferes with your life in a way that you may have to take leave from work or school and so on. A normal menstrual bleeding is about 5 tablespoons a day. In case of heavy bleeding, you may have to change your pad or tampons every hour (rather than 4 pads a day).
2) Amenorrhea is the condition where you do not experience any menstrual bleeding. This could be due to menopause, pregnancy, stress and hormonal imbalance.
3) Dysmenorrhea (severe menstrual cramps): Most women will experience some sort of painful menstrual cramps as a part of monthly routine. However, if this is unbearable and interferes with your walking or sleeping cycles, you may have to immediately call for help.
4) Pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) is a set of emotional, psychological as well as physical symptoms that occur right before a period. These severely rupture your lifestyle. The symptoms include:
- a) Swollen, painful breasts
- b) Bloating
- c) Terrible mood swings
- d) Irritability
- e) Anxiety
