What Is Heavy Bleeding During Periods?

Most of us at some point must have wondered how much bleeding is normal during our periods? And it’s a good question, which needs to be explored purely because of the health implications attached to too much or too less bleeding. So what is heavy bleeding during periods?

There are many aspects when it comes to monitoring our menstrual health. Tracking our menstrual cycle and menstruation is a gateway to understanding our reproductive health. Some common menstrual problems, which are commonly faced by women are- periods occurring for less than 21 or more than 35 days; irregular periods; and heavy menstrual flow. 

What is Normal Period Blood Flow?

Every woman’s flow of blood during periods is different, but on average women lose somewhere around 10-80ml blood during the usual length of menstrual bleeding of four to six days. 

In other words, it is normal to soak 3 to 12 normal-sized pad or tampons (“sanitary products”) in a whole period but it, at last, depends on your convenience and usage. 

What Is Heavy Bleeding?

Any blood loss more than 80ml or if you have to change your pads every two hours, it is considered to be heavy bleeding and is usually caused because of an underlying health condition like adenomyosis or fibroids. 

Increased period blood flow disrupts normal functioning by forcing women to change tampons or pads every couple of hours causing severe cramps and also leading to anaemia.

Causes of Heavy Bleeding

Heavy bleeding without any pathology is most commonly seen in pubertal teens and pre-menopausal women. In adult women of child-bearing age, the common cause of heavy bleeding could be any of the following: 

• Uterine Fibroids
• Adenomyosis
• Thyroid problems
• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
• Miscarriage
• Childbirth recovery
• Non-hormonal intrauterine device
• Endometriosis
• Gynaecological cancers
• Von Willebrand Disease (A type of bleeding disorder)

Treatment of Heavy Bleeding

Treatment of heavy bleeding is focused on its cause. Your doctor may first recommend you to get certain blood tests and scans done to find the root cause of this symptom. After the evaluation of your reports, the doctor may recommend treatment depending on the cause (listed above). 

Following are some of the typical treatment options to address heavy bleeding:

• NSAIDs: Over The Counter Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs
• Birth control
• Dilation and curettage (D & C)
• Surgery

When Should You See A Doctor? 

You need to understand one very important thing, which is that panic will not take you anywhere and also tolerating your symptoms won’t too. So in order for timely detection of a health issue related to heavy bleeding, you must assess your symptoms, you can do that for free here. 

In case your symptoms are so bad that they stop you from carrying out your routine activity, go to a doctor asap, in order to avoid serious complication. 

Lifestyle Factors Responsible For Heavy Period Blood Flow

 Stress and lifestyle changes

Lifestyle factors play an essential role in the normal functioning of our periods. And sudden changes or unhealthy habits can disrupt the normal period-blood flow. Stressful conditions also play a major role in this. Gaining or losing a significant amount of weight, dieting, changes in exercise routines, travel, illness, or other changes in a woman’s daily routine can significantly impact menstrual cycle creating disruptions in normal blood flow.

Dietary patterns

Diet can also affect your periods. There are certain foods because of which periods can be heavier and longer than normal. 

1. Beetroots even though rich in iron, calcium, vitamins, potassium, folic acid and fibres. But they can worsen period problems.
2. Honey is soothing for the body but in case of periods, they can increase the internal heat of the body and cause periods to be heavier than normal.
3. The caffeine, major component of coffee can stimulate the oestrogen, which can worsen your condition.

Obesity

Estrogen is made because of extra fat in the body. And the extra estrogen changes the normal menstrual cycle and can cause missed, irregular, or heavy periods.

Consumption of certain medications

Improper consumption of birth control can interfere with cycle and lead to erratic bleeding on the first day of the period. Some other medicines, such as blood thinners can cause heavy or long periods.

Remember Natural methods like effectively coping with stress, maintaining healthy dietary patterns, and avoiding certain medications can help in effectively dealing with increased period blood flow.

Even though it is difficult to measure period blood, it is easier to assess your symptoms on time. Take our free symptoms assessment here to know the probable cause of your problems and we will provide you with the necessary care.

It is within our hands to maintain our health perfectly with adequate information about associated issues and with the timely assessment of our symptoms.