Women and their womenhood! Menstruation for women is a very intimate topic. Some like discussing about their femaleness openly, while some shy away from the topic. But for every woman, knowing about menstruation, its cycle, irregularities and treatment is extremely important. After all, it is menstruation that prepares a girl for womanhood and for conceiving a child.

• Knowing Menstruation more closely
• Irregular periods
• Is treatment necessary for irregular periods?
• Irregular periods treatment

Knowing Menstruation more closely

Menstruation is the term that refers to the vaginal bleeding that occurs due to the shedding of the womb’s inner lining. The menstruation cycle occurs monthly in most women, and may vary from 21 to 35 days. The cycle period lasts for 3 to 5 five days. However, some women suffer from an irregular menstruation cycle and require treatment.

Irregular periods

You are having irregular periods if:

• The time of your periods changes every month.
• You lose more or less menstrual blood than usual.
• The number of menstrual days varies during your periods.

Medically, irregular periods have been classified as:

• Oligomenorrhea: Infrequent periods that occur between 35 days or more. Women with this condition have only 6 to 8 menstrual cycles in a year.
• Metrorrhagia: Irregular but frequent periods
• Menometrorrhagia: Irregular longer or heavier periods that are frequent
• Amenorrhea: absence of periods for at least 3 to 6 months or sometimes even more.

Is treatment necessary for irregular periods?

Irregular periods do not require treatment always. It largely depends on the cause and the patient’s desire to bear a child in her future life.

There are many factors that cause irregular periods. For instance, body hormone levels (estrogen and progesterone) can cause irregular periods. This is one reason why girls entering the puberty stage and women approaching their menopause have irregular periods.

Apart from the above mentioned reason, there are also a few other factors that cause irregular periods. These reasons include:

• Intrauterine device (IUD)
• Taking certain medications or changing your birth control pills
• Excessive exercising
• Polycystic Ovary disease
• Asherman syndrome (severe scarring of the uteral lining)
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding
• Hyperthyroidism
• Uterine fibroids
• Stress
• Uterine lining thickening or polyps

Irregular periods treatment

Treatment for your irregular menstrual cycle is required only if the conditions are extreme or bothersome. The treatment procedures available for curing irregular periods include:

• Undergoing treatment for an underlying disease
• Hormone therapy
• Surgery
• Lifestyle change or weight loss
• Changing the type of birth control pills

Treatment options

Treatment for irregular periods depends largely on its cause. In order to know the reason behind irregular periods, your doctor will ask you to undergo a series of blood tests, hormone tests and thyroid test. This will clearly state the cause for irregular periods.

1. Undergoing treatment for an underlying disease

Amongst all, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and thyroidism are the most common reasons for irregular periods in women. These conditions are cured by balancing their hormone levels or giving them prescribed medications.

Women with PCOS are provided with birth control pills or hormone medications to initiate periods. For women with hypothyroidism, thyroid hormone supplements are provided to cure the condition.

2. Hormone therapy

Imbalance in the body hormones also causes irregular periods. In such conditions, contraceptives or oral birth control pills that balance the estrogen and progesterone levels in the body are prescribed by the doctor. Progestin is a medication that is commonly prescribed during these conditions.

3. Surgery

Internal structural problems, particularly in the womb or fallopian tube of a woman may lead to irregular periods. In such conditions, it is best to undergo a surgery and correct the problem. This usually leads to problems conceiving a baby in the future. Surgery is the best option for treating the condition from its root.

4. Lifestyle change or weight loss

Too much exercising, stress or diet regimes, all contribute to irregular periods in a woman. Hence, it is best to have a balanced lifestyle with moderate exercising, proper diet and relaxation to cure your irregular periods.

5. Changing the type of birth control pills

Consuming oral birth control pills is quite common in women nowadays. Most of these pills have no harmful effects on the body. But, sometimes women start having irregular periods after consuming the pills for a long time. In such cases, doctors prescribe other type of birth control pills that may help you have a regular menstruation cycle.