 Medical
information
Heavy menstrual bleeding
Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is a common health complaint. Also called heavy periods or menorrhagia, HMB affects one in five women in Australia and New Zealand.
Although HMB is usually defined as a total menstrual blood loss of more than 80 millilitres during every period, this can be difficult to measure. Therefore, the diagnosis is made on the basis of other signs, such as:
- An unusual increase in menstrual blood loss
- Menstrual blood loss (excluding spotting) that lasts longer than seven days
- Frequent flooding or menstrual loss that is not contained by pads or tampons
- Increase in the number of times you have to change pads or tampons (more than every four hours, or more than once during the night)
- Passing of blood clots that are wider than three centimetres
(a bit more than one inch); small stringy clots are common
and normal
- Iron deficiency of the blood (anaemia) caused by HMB.
As your experience may vary from the points listed above, talk to your doctor so you can better understand HMB.
Causes of heavy menstrual bleeding
- Dysfunctional uterine bleeding
- Fibroids
- Endometrial polyps
- Endometrial hyperplasia
- Adenomyosis
Uncommon causes of HMB
- Thyroid imbalance
- Blood clotting disorders, including medication taken to treat or prevent blood clots elsewhere in the body
Medical treatments for heavy menstrual bleeding
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
- Oral contraceptive pill
- Oral progesterone (progestogen)
- Tranexamic acid
- Danazol
- Progestogen intrauterine device
- Iron supplements for anaemia
Surgical treatments for heavy menstrual bleeding
- Endometrial ablation
- Myomectomy
- Hysterectomy
The information above is reproduced from 'HEAVY MENSTRUAL
BLEEDING - a guide for Women', published by the Royal Australian
and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
and Mi-tec Medical Publishing. The complete pamphlet is available
from your doctor.
|
