Self-check for excessive menstruation! What are the causes and treatments? Introducing the guideline for hospital visits!

I feel like I have a lot of menstrual bleeding, but what is the normal amount? What causes heavy bleeding? are you sick somewhere? If you feel uneasy, first check whether you have excessive menstruation by performing a simple self-check. There are many possible causes of menorrhagia, so let's take a look at each cause and how to treat it. Find out in this article

• Symptoms and Causes of Menorrhagia
• Self-check for menorrhagia
• Treatment methods by cause of menorrhagia

What is menorrhagia

Menorrhagia is a condition in which the amount of bleeding during menstruation is greater than normal. Normal bleeding is defined as 20 to 140 ml of blood per menstrual period . Menstrual bleeding exceeding this range is called menorrhagia.

Causes of menorrhagia

There are several possible causes of menorrhagia. Sometimes it is difficult to determine the cause of excessive menstruation by yourself, such as hormonal abnormalities or diseases hidden in gynecological organs such as the uterus . Therefore, if you feel that the amount of menstrual blood is abnormally large, we recommend that you first consult a medical institution. Hormonal imbalance is common in adolescent women who have just started menstruating and menopausal women who are beginning to lose ovarian function. Even if you are in your 20s and 30s and have a stable menstrual cycle, you should be aware that your hormones may be out of balance due to fatigue, stress, or excessive dieting.

Are you menorrhagic? Let's do a self-check

Even if you feel that you have a lot of menstrual blood, it is difficult to know if it is more than the normal amount. You can use a commercially available menstrual cup to measure the amount of menstrual blood, but first, let's do a self-check with a few check items. If you have any of the following or similar symptoms, there is a high possibility that you are suffering from menorrhagia, so check it out.

✔ Produces so much that the napkin needs to be changed every hour

✔ Menstrual period lasting more than 8 days

✔ Symptoms of anemia such as lightheadedness

✔ Lever-like blood clots seen in menstrual flow

✔A total of 140ml or more of one menstrual period by measuring the menstrual cup

Causes and treatments for menorrhagia

There are several possible causes of excessive menstruation, including hormone secretion disturbances, functional diseases such as luteal insufficiency, gynecological organic diseases such as uterine fibroids and endometrial polyps, and internal medical diseases such as blood diseases. It may be caused by an underlying disease, so be careful.

hormonal imbalance

Excessive menstruation may occur due to female hormone imbalance. Luteal insufficiency and anovulatory cycles (no ovulation despite periodic bleeding) can cause menorrhagia. These symptoms are often seen in people in their teens who have just started menstruating, in their early 20s when menstruation is often unstable, and in their late 40s who are close to menopause. If the amount of menstrual blood is large in these age groups, where hormone balance is likely to be disturbed, it is often caused by hormonal abnormalities. Diagnosis is made by interview, basal body temperature chart, hormone test, etc.

Abnormalities of the uterus

Gynecological organic diseases such as uterine fibroids, uterine fibroids, and endometrial polyps can cause increased menstrual flow. Diagnosis includes pelvic examination, ultrasound MRI, and hysteroscopy. In addition, there are cases of endometrial cancer and cervical cancer, which are considered to be malignant diseases, so caution is required. To detect these diseases, it is very important to receive regular gynecological examinations, cervical cancer examinations, and body cancer examinations.

blood disease

Hypermenorrhea may occur due to abnormal hemostatic and coagulation function caused by medical diseases such as blood diseases. Conversely, blood disorders may be found during the examination of menorrhagia. Blood diseases include idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), von Willebrand disease, and hemophilia. All of these are diseases that make it difficult for blood to stop, so symptoms of excessive menstruation can be seen.

How to treat excessive menstruation

If you have excessive menstruation that interferes with your daily life, or if you have anemia, we recommend that you consult a medical institution and receive treatment. Treatment for menorrhagia includes medication and surgery, depending on the cause. First of all, we will find out the cause by examining hormone secretion, etc., and proceed with treatment according to the cause.

Hospital drug treatment

Hormone therapy is often used. Hormone therapy can stabilize the balance of female hormones by administering drugs. The main therapeutic drugs used in hormone therapy include estrogen/progesterone preparations (so-called pills), luteinizing hormone preparations, and GnRH analog preparations. Pills and progesterone preparations are artificially made female hormone preparations that have the effect of regulating hormones. GnRH analogues work on the pituitary gland, which is the main source of adjusting female hormones, and stop menstruation by creating a state similar to menopause. In principle, continuous use of this drug for more than 6 months may lead to menopause-like symptoms and a decrease in bone density. There is also a treatment that places a device called the progesterone-releasing intrauterine system (Mirena) IUS into the uterus. Progesterone has the effect of suppressing the proliferation of the endometrium, and as a result, it is said that the amount of menstrual flow is reduced. Tranexamic acid (Transamin tablets), which has a hemostatic effect, may also be administered.

Surgical treatment by hospital

For uterine fibroids and uterine fibroids, surgery may be performed if drug treatment does not improve. There are conservative surgery to remove only part of the lesion and radical surgery to remove the uterus. If you completely remove the uterus, you will not be able to get pregnant on your own, so the surgical method may change depending on whether you want to get pregnant or not. In this way, the treatment method is determined according to the type and condition of the disease and whether or not there is a desire for future pregnancy.

Also read the following articles → Introducing herbal medicines that are effective for excessive menstruation

summary

Even if you think that you might have a lot of menstrual blood, you can't easily compare it with others, and people tend to ignore it because there are large individual differences. Let's go see a doctor. This is a good opportunity to check your ovarian function and uterus for any problems or diseases. In particular, excessive menstruation may occur as a symptom of a blood disease or internal medical disease, so don't put up with it and consult a medical institution.