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Menstruation, also known as menses or period is the monthly flow of blood from the #vagina. Normally, menstruation occurs in puberty and ends later in life, averagely between the ages 45 and 60. Menstruation disorders are the abnormalities in the monthly flow of blood in a woman. Naturally, menstruation tends to be irregular at the beginning (menarche) and the end of menstruation (menopause). Irregularities that set in apart from these two reasons range from the absence of blood to high flow of blood. Other disorders include the irregular flow of blood or a skip in the period, the discharge of foul smell during the bleeding, intense and disturbing stomach ache or the interval of bloodshed. (Use our ovulation/ fertility calculator here)
Various Types of Menstrual Disorder
There are many types or ways by which menstruation can be tagged as being abnormal. They have been discussed in the latter part of the first paragraph but they will be now fully discussed. Abnormalities can be anovulatory or ovulatory bleeding.
- Anovulatory Bleeding
Anovulatory bleeding depicts an absence or reduction of monthly flow. Anovulation occurs when a woman does not ovulate. This is further divided into two classes which are “amenorrhea” and “oligomenorrhea“. These two classifications are under the broad term “anovulatory”.
- Amenorrheais when there is a total absence of menstruation (read more about menstruation here) in a girl when she reaches the average puberty age which is 16 years or when there is a stop in menstruation for some months ( 3 months on the average) in a lady in the absence of pregnancy and menopause, that is, when a young lady that is not yet in menopause and not pregnant did not see her period for at least three months.
- Oligomenorrheais the other division under anovulatory, it is a situation when there is an abnormal length of menstrual cycle. The normal average menstrual cycle is between 28 and 35 days. A menstrual cycle of 25 to 27 days is still seen as normal. But when the menstrual cycle of a woman goes beyond 35 days, it is seen as abnormal. The patient of Oligomenorrhea have infrequent and skip of menstrual flow.
- Ovulatory Bleeding
Ovulatory Bleeding on the other hand also has two divisions, which are, “menorrhagia” and “dysmenorrhea”.
- Menorrhagia occurs when there is a heavy, excessive or prolonged flow of blood during the menses. This can include situations when the blood loss is more than 40cc or three tablespoons, when pads get soaked and are being changed often, say like, within every two to four hours or when there is a long duration of days of bleeding or when the sanitary pads are being doubled. Menstruation lasts 3 to 8 days on the average. But when bleeding last more than 8 days, menorrhagia is known to occur.
- Dysmenorrhea , on the other hand, is an irregularity that occurs when serious abdominal pains or discomfort known as “menstrual cramps” accompany menstrual period. The excessive blood flow or long days of bleeding can result in fatigue, anaemia that result from loss of iron or fainting
- Polymenorrhea
Other categories of menstrual disorders that fall out of the above groups include situations of “Polymenorrhea”, when the menstrual cycle is 21 days or less and the short bleeding period which is less than 3 days. Polymenorrhea leads to having more than one menstruation a month, three periods in two months or more than 12 flows in a year. Spotting is another form of the menstrual disorder. This occurs when there is light vaginal bleeding or bleeding between periods. Causes of menstruation disorders
- Pregnancy
When there is a stoppage of monthly flow, the first thing that set in is the thought of pregnancy. A woman that walks in for a medical check-up on menstrual disorders will first be asked some questions about her sex life, the last time she had sex and if she has been having unprotected sex. This norm is normal because pregnancy can be one of the reasons for menstrual irregularities. Pregnancy set in when the female egg gets fertilized by the sperm during the ovulation period. So, when there is an unprotected sex, risky foreplay during the ovulation period (read on ovulation period here), there is a high percentage of being pregnant, thus menstruation and ovulation stops. Although, this is not always true because there are exceptions where some women bleed few months in their pregnancy while some can also bleed all through their pregnancy. This nullifies the belief that menstruation always stops due to pregnancy. Some people may stop monthly bleeding and might not be pregnant while some even bleed in pregnancy.
- Changes In The Body System and Weight
Another cause of menstrual disorder might be due to the changes in body weight, which could be the gain or loss of body weight. Changes in body weight can be caused by changes in diet. Diet and weight changes work hand in hand and are both the important factors that can lead to irregular blood flow. When there is Mal-nutrition, growth will be hindered or slow, thus the tendency of a female child not to reach the age puberty on time which may delay the coming of the menses, that is, amenorrhea. Also, there tends to be the reduction of blood flow when there is a poor diet. Also, too much of sweetened meal, snacks or drinks can lead to the heavy flow of blood (menorrhagia) or menstrual cramps (dysmenorrhea). Heavy consumption of alcohol, cocaine, caffeine and other life-threatening drugs can also alter the regular blood flow.
- Stress or Changes In Daily Activities
Stress, changes in the daily routines/activities, changes in mood or circumstances surrounding an individual can lead to menstrual disorders. This can alter the menstrual cycle, either by bringing it forward or extending it. Stress can also either reduce or increase the blood flow. During stress, the adrenaline produces the cortisol hormones which affect the sex hormones (oestrogens) that aid ovulation and menstruation. Exercise (read more about exercise here) or the engagement in sports can cease ovulation. Female athletes are known to have an irregular period. In this case, the brain proteins and hormones are being altered, thus cannot lead to the production of oestrogen.
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases
The presence of sexually transmitted or chronic diseases (read more about STDS here) such as pelvic infection, fibroid, ovarian, uterine or cervical cancer can make the menstrual blood irregular. Also, the menstrual period of a woman that is breastfeeding can misbehave. Solutions to menstrual disorders Any form of the menstrual disorder should be reported to an experienced gynaecologist (read more on STDs here). Prescriptions should be obeyed strictly. Diet rich in carbohydrates should be reduced. Alcohol and caffeine are to be discarded. Stressful situations should be handled well. The hours spent during exercise should be reduced and every form of discomfort, diseases(STDs) or abnormal discharge from the #vagina should be reported. Women are generally advised to visit the clinic for regular medical examination. If you enjoy this article please drop a comment If you find this article interesting, please like us on Facebook and Twitter, you should also share it by clicking the buttons below to enable other people to benefit from it.