Menorrhagia Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

What Is Menorrhagia ?

A type of abnormal uterine bleeding, menorrhagia is a type of menstrual period which is characterized by abnormality in quantity, timing, or duration of bleeding.

Periods are considered heavy if there is enough bleeding to soak a pad or tampon every hour for several consecutive hours. Such heavy periods may interfere with sleep and other daily activities.

Treatment of menorrhagia varies according to the severity, cause, and level of disruption caused in daily functioning. Possible treatments range from prescribing contraceptive pills to surgery.

Having heavy bleeding during menstrual periods is relatively common. However, not all of such cases are dubbed to be menorrhagia. Approximately 53 in 1000 women are diagnosed by menorrhagia or other types of abnormal uterine bleeding.

Other types of abnormal uterine bleeding include polymenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, metrorrhagia and postmenopausal bleeding.

Causes Of Menorrhagia:

A variety of causes can bring about menorrhagia. They may include:

Hormonal imbalance
Fibroids or noncancerous tumors of the uterus
Miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy
Use of blood thinners
Problems with a non-hormonal intrauterine device used for birth control
Adenomyosis
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
Uterine, ovarian cancer, and cervical cancer
Other medical conditions that can prevent normal blood clotting
Liver disease
kidney disease
thyroid disease
bleeding disorders
platelet disorders
Dysfunction of ovaries
Polyps
Infections or tumors in the pelvic cavity
High levels of prostaglandins (chemical substances which help to control the muscle contractions of the uterus)
High levels of Endothelin (chemical substances which help the blood vessels in the body dilate)

Menorrhagia is likely to affect either young girls who just started menstruating or older women who are approaching menopause.

Symptoms Of Menorrhagia:

The following signs and symptoms may be exhibited:

Nighttime bleeding that requires getting up to change pads or tampons
Passing large blood clots during menstruation
A period that lasts longer than seven days
Fatigue
Anemia
Shortness of breath
The need to change pads or tampons every hour
Needing to use double sanitary protection
Restricting daily activities due to heavy menstrual flow

Diagnosis Of Menorrhagia:

Menorrhagia can be diagnosed via:

Physical examination, which includes pelvic exam
Medical history
Blood tests
Pap test, to detect changes that may be cancerous or may lead to cancer, and to show noncancerous conditions, such as an infection or inflammation.
Ultrasound
Biopsy (endometrial)
Dilation and curettage (D & C).