Menstrual Disorders
How to treat various abnormalities of the woman’s menstrual cycle.
The menstrual cycle plays an important role in the health of women in reproductive years. First, we will learn about the characteristics of a normal menstrual cycle. The menstrual cycle should be around 28 days in duration. The ideal time for ovulation is around the 14th day of the menstrual cycle. Now we’ll discuss various disorders of the menstrual cycle.
If ovulation doesn’t happen frequently, then disorder called as oligoovulation. Here, the menstrual cycle lasts longer than around 46 days. A more serious disorder of ovulation is called anovulation. Here, ovulation doesn’t occur. It’s different from menopause but if not treated then it can lead to infertility.
If the length of the menstrual cycle is less than 21 days, then the disorder is called as polymenorrhea. When the length of the menstrual cycle is greater than 35 days, then the disorder is called oligomenorrhea. Sometimes vaginal bleeding happens even mid-cycle during time of ovulation; it’s called intermenstrual bleeding.
Amenorrhea is a serious disorder that often leads to infertility; it’s characterized by the total absence of the menstrual cycle in young women. Other disorders include light bleeding in the menstrual cycle (hypomenorrhea) and heavy bleeding in the menstrual cycle (menorrhagia). Disorder that causes painful menstruation is known as dysmenorrhoea.
If you want to get relief from any of the above discussed menstrual disorders types, then having detailed information about these disorders is essential. We will discuss the causes of menstrual disorders, its symptoms, and available treatments.
Causes of menstrual disorders:
- Stress: Lifestyle has an impact on the menstrual cycle. Excessive stress and weight can cause menstrual disorders.
- Contraceptives: Birth control pill contains hormones. After stopping the pills, you may have irregular periods for 6 months.
- Uterine tumors: Small benign growth inside uterine known as uterine polyps and tumors inside uterine is known as uterine fibroids. They can cause menstrual disorders.
- Endometriosis: The endometrial tissue that grows inside the walls of the uterus; it starts growing outside the uterus. It leads up to menstrual disorders.
- PID (Pelvic Inflammatory disease): Here, the upper part of the female reproductive tract gets infected with bacteria that cause menstrual disorders.
Symptoms of menstrual disorders:
These include irregular periods (less than 21 days or greater than 35 days), vaginal bleeding between the period, extremely light or heavy periods, painful periods, etc.
Menstrual disorders treatment:
- Hormones estrogen and progestin are used to treat heavy bleeding.
- Pain relief: Pain reliever such as acetaminophen used to treat cramps.
- Endometriosis: Birth control pills help to prevent excessive growth of uterine tissue.
- Uterine tumors: Hormone agonists used to shrink the size of tumors.
Your menstrual disorders doctor may opt for surgery in extreme cases.
The best treatment for menstrual disorders is acupuncture. As you have read, there are many different types of disorders associated with the menstrual cycle. Acupuncture provides an excellent treatment option to treat all these disorders. As per studies, acupuncture helps to treat all menstrual disorders types.