Menstrual disorders are physical and emotional symptoms that may occur pre-post or during
menstruation. In most cases periods work in a clockwork manner where they start and end at
around the same time of every month.
However, for some women it may not be that simple. They may experience symptoms like
unmanageable mood swings, excessive bleeding, early or late periods,etc.
These seemingly normal symptoms can have an unimaginable effect over a woman’s mental
and physical health that not only disrupt her life but also the life of those around her in major
ways.
Some common menstrual disorders are:
● Abnormal Urinary Bleeding:
AUB includes disorders like excessive menstrual bleeding, no menstrual bleeding or
irregular menstrual bleeding. Heavy menstrual bleeding is a disorder where a woman
loses more blood than usual during a period. Such a disorder can be caused by various
hormonal imbalances and medical conditions like leukemia and liver and kidney
problems. Amenorrhea is a condition where women may experience no menstrual
bleeding- just opposite of heavy bleeding. It may be normal to have this condition during
pregnancy or before puberty. However, it may be a topic of concern if it occurs for a
period more than 3 months suddenly after regular periods.
● Dysmenorrhea( Severe menstrual cramps):
Cramps are a part of regular menstrual cycle ,but for some reason they become
especially painful or longer in duration they are called Dysmenorrhea. Conditions like
lightheadedness, diarrhea, and occasional faintness are known to follow severe cramps
caused by a hormonal imbalance.
● Premenstrual syndrome(PMS):
PMS is a term used to denote the various physical and mental symptoms experienced
during a menstrual cycle. These symptoms may last for about 5 to 7 days and disappear
once the period starts. Symptoms like bloating, constipation, anger , anxiety, frequent
mood swings are a few examples of conditions included in PMS.
Experiencing any of these symptoms can have serious mental and physical implications over a
woman's health. Therefore, It is very necessary to properly diagnose these symptoms at an
early stage in order to avoid prolonged pain and risk of infection or and further escalation of the
situation. After timely diagnosis comes proper treatment.
A few treatments are mentioned below:
● A prescription of hormones like estrogen and progestin can help regulate untimely
periods and control heavy bleeding.
● For excessive pain, over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or
acetaminophen can reduce discomfort. Simple treatments like taking a hot bath or the
use of heat pads are also effective.
● In case of heavy bleeding, the use of iron supplements can prevent and treat anemia.
Written by: Bharat Gupta
Edited by: Siddhi Deelwal
Uploaded by: Anoushka Ishi