10 Causes of excessive menstruation that every woman needs to watch out for

Excessive menstruation, aka menorrhagia, is a condition that cannot be taken lightly. Menstruation is said to be excessive if you have to change sanitary napkins every 1-2 hours in a row. Excessive menstrual blood not only interferes with activity, but may also be a risk to health. Come on, try to find out what causes excessive menstruation so you know how to deal with it.

Causes of excessive menstruation

Excessive menstruation does not just come without a clear reason. The speed of your blood flow every month can be motivated by many factors, from hormones to hereditary diseases. Here's more details:

1. Hormones are not balanced

Normal or not your menstruation is regulated by the hormones estrogen and progesterone in the body. Estrogen and progesterone regulate the development of the uterine lining which will be shed during menstruation. If the two are in balance, the menstrual schedule runs normally.

But if not, the lining of the uterus, which is called the endometrium, will grow thicker. This is what makes menstruation longer and heavier than usual.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), obesity, insulin resistance, impaired ovaries, and thyroid problems are among those that cause the body's hormones to become imbalanced.

For example, a disruption in the ovaries can cause an egg to not release when the time comes. When the egg is not released, the body cannot produce the hormone progesterone. As a result, the tissue lining the uterus grows excessively so that later menstrual blood will come out excessively.

2. Uterine fibroids

Uterine fibroids are benign (non-cancerous) tumors that often appear in the uterus during a woman's fertile period. This type of tumor tends to be the cause of excessive menstruation in many women. However, uterine fibroids are harmless and almost never develop into cancer.

Not all women who have uterine fibroids experience a variety of unpleasant symptoms. Symptoms are generally influenced by the location, size, and number of the tumor.

In addition to bleeding during menstruation that is heavier and longer, the symptoms that appear as markers of uterine fibroids are:

Pelvic pain or pressure
Urinating frequently
Constipation
Pain in the back or legs

It is not known exactly what causes fibroids. However, genetic changes, hormones, and other substances in the body are thought to be the cause of its appearance.

3. Uterine polyps

Uterine polyps are flesh that grows on the tissue that lines the uterus (endometrium). They vary in shape and size from round, oval, and about the size of a sesame seed, to the size of a golf ball. This condition usually affects women between the ages of 40 and 50 years more.

It is not known exactly what causes this disease. However, the factor of hormonal changes is strongly suspected to be the trigger. In addition, women are also more likely to develop uterine polyps if they are overweight, have hypertension, or are taking medications to treat breast cancer.

Uterine polyps are also characterized by various symptoms such as:

Bleeding or spotting outside the time of menstruation
The appearance of blood spots after menopause
The appearance of spotting blood after sex

Like fibroids, uterine polyps tend to be benign. However, it can cause excessive menstrual problems and other fertility problems. Uterine polyps can make a woman infertile, making it difficult to get pregnant.

4. Using the IUD

One of the side effects of inserting an IUD or what is known as spiral birth control is excessive menstruation. In addition, the IUD can also cause the wearer to experience blood spots between menstrual schedules.

If you experience this, it's a good idea to consult a doctor to ask to change to another birth control device. Don't let the intention of delaying pregnancy turn to harm your health in the future.

5. Adenomyosis

Adenomyosis is a condition in which cells that normally grow outside the uterus develop in the uterine muscle. The trapped cells then cause cramps and excessive menstruation.

In fact, doctors don't know exactly what causes adenomyosis. However, older women are increasingly at risk of experiencing it. There are also several other things that are strongly suspected of triggering problems in this one reproductive organ, namely:

Development since a person is still a fetus
Inflammation, especially as a result of uterine surgery
Injury to the uterus such as during a cesarean delivery or other surgery
Pregnant (especially twins)

Adenomyosis has quite varied symptoms, depending on hormone levels in the body. However, women who have adenomyosis often experience symptoms such as:

Excessive menstruation during menstruation that feels very painful
Pain during sex
Bleeding or spotting outside the menstrual schedule
Cramps in the uterus
An enlarged and tender uterus
Pain in the area around the pelvis
Pressure on the bladder and rectum
Pain during bowel movements

6. Endometriosis

Reporting from the pages of The American College of Obestetricians and Gynecologists, endometriosis is often the cause of excessive menstruation. Endometriosis is a disorder in which the tissue lining the uterus grows on the outside.

When experiencing endometriosis, the endometrial tissue is thickened, damaged, and sheds with every period. This is because networks tend to get trapped and have nowhere to go.

When this tissue breaks down, the bleeding during menstruation will be profuse and longer than usual. Endometriosis can sometimes cause very severe pain along with menstrual bleeding.

In addition, women who have endometriosis usually experience unbearable pelvic pain. Pain in both the pelvis and abdomen often gets worse over time.

In addition to menstrual blood that flows profusely, endometriosis is also characterized by:

Dysmenorrhea, severe menstrual pain from before the days of menstruation. Pain is also sometimes felt in the lower back and abdomen
Pain during sex
Pain when defecating or urinating, including when menstruating
The appearance of spotting blood between menstruation
Fatigue
Diarrhea or constipation
Bloating or nausea

Endometriosis can make people infertile. Therefore, immediately seek medical help when you experience these symptoms.

6. Cervical cancer

This is a type of cancer that occurs when cells in the cervix become abnormal. As a result, cells grow twice out of control and damage healthy parts of the body. Although rare, cervical cancer can be a cause of excessive menstruation.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of about 90% of all cervical cancer cases. Having sex at an early age, having multiple sex partners, and taking birth control pills regularly can increase the risk of HPV exposure.

At the beginning of its appearance, cervical cancer did not cause symptoms. However, when cancer cells begin to spread uncontrollably, the accompanying symptoms are:

Abnormal vaginal bleeding such as after sex, between menstrual schedules, after menopause, or that is heavier and longer
Pain during intercourse
Whitish appears with an unpleasant odor
Pelvic pain

When the cancer has spread to nearby tissues, the symptoms will increase, such as:

Pain when urinating
The appearance of blood in the urine
Back pain
Swollen foot
Diarrhea
The anus feels painful or bleeds during bowel movements
Feel tired and weak
Weight loss and appetite are lost
Stomach swelling, nausea, vomiting, and constipation

Do not delay to see a doctor if these signs and symptoms have appeared.

7. Endometrial cancer

This cancer occurs when abnormal cells in the uterus or endometrium are out of control, and damage the uterus and other organs. Endometrial cancer or also known as uterine cancer can usually be detected at an early stage because it makes the vagina bleed.

This bleeding is not normal because it often appears outside the time of menstruation. Bleeding also usually appears in the vagina after menopause. Another symptom that also often appears is pelvic pain.

Although the cause of endometrial cancer is unknown, women diagnosed with this cancer are more likely to have endometrial hyperplasia or undergo hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

The first treatment for endometrial cancer is usually hysterectomy, which may be followed by chemotherapy and / or radiation.

8. Hereditary bleeding disorders

Although rare, hereditary bleeding disorders can also be the cause of excessive menstruation. One of the most common types of blood disorders in women is Von Willebrand Disease (VWD).

This disease is caused by damage or loss of von Willebrand factor, a type of blood clotting protein. Though this protein really helps form platelet plugs during the blood clotting process.

When a person loses this one protein, he will often have nosebleeds, easy bruising, and severe bleeding after medical treatment. In women, this condition also makes blood flow during menstruation tend to be heavy and longer than normal.

9. Certain drugs

Certain drugs can be the reason why your periods have become excessive lately. Hormone therapy drugs (synthetic estrogen and progestin), anticoagulants or blood retailers, and anti-inflammatory drugs, including those that need to be watched out.

For that, you need to be more sensitive to the various side effects you feel after taking these medicines. Don't hesitate to tell the doctor about this. The reason is, each drug does provide side effects with varying severity for each person.

By consulting it, your doctor can find a similar drug that is safer and has minimal side effects for you.

Factors that increase the risk of excessive menstruation

Excessive menstruation is prone to occur in women at puberty and towards menopause. Why so? At puberty and towards menopause, the hormones estrogen and progesterone are in imbalance levels. Sometimes, one of them is too high or even too low.

Progesterone is a hormone that helps control the growth of uterine tissue. When the levels are too low, uterine tissue can become very thickened. As a result, when it decays, the blood that comes out of the tissue that is too thick becomes very much.

However, you also need to be careful. Menstruation is considered abnormal if: