Menorrhagia is a condition described as abnormally heavy or prolonged bleeding. Although heavy menstrual bleeding is a common concern, most women don’t experience blood loss severe enough to be defined as menorrhagia. With menorrhagia, it becomes difficult to maintain the usual activities during the periods because of the excessive blood loss and cramping.
The common symptoms associated with menorrhagia would be:
- Periods extending for more than a week
- Heavy bleeding
- Excessive blood loss
- Becoming anemic
The common causes associated with menorrhagia are hormonal imbalances, malfunctioning of the ovaries or fallopian tubes, presence of uterine fibroids or polyps, cancer, pregnancy related complications, and possible genetic or hereditary disorders. In most cases, the imbalance of hormones is what causes menorrhagia. In a normal menstrual cycle, a balance between the hormones estrogen and progesterone regulates the buildup of the endometrium but with an imbalance the development of endometrium happens in excess and it is eventually shed by way of heavy menstrual bleeding.
The treatment for menorrhagia factors in various conditions of your health. This includes, the overall health and medical history, the underlying causes of the condition, future child-bearing plans and your lifestyle. Clinical intervention can be made with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and a course of oral contraceptives. For more complicated and severe forms of the condition, certain procedures may have to be performed. These include – dilation & curettage, uterine embolization, ultrasound surgery to destroy the fibroid tissue.
