Published : December 1, 2022 10:04 PM IST
If the menstrual flow lasts for more than 7 days, it might be considered heavy bleeding. It can be called a heavy bleed both in terms of the time for which it might continue or the quantity of blood lost. The condition has a clinical name and is called menorrhagia. Heavy bleeding must not be left unchecked or unattended for long as it can lead to blood loss and can cause significant discomfort to the person affected.
There are a few indicators that can tell you that you might be bleeding heavily. If you have to change pads or tampons after every two hours if you see blood clots the size of a quarter or even larger, if you have constant pain in your lower back or lower part of the stomach or if you are tired and are short of breath. All these might be signs that you might be having heavy bleeding.
On average, a woman loses 30 to 40 millilitres (mL) of blood during their periods. However, women who might have some underlying conditions and heavy bleeding might lose up to 80 millilitres of blood. Sometimes prolonged heavy bleeding can lead to anaemia.
Recurring heavy periods can be caused by many reasons. Some pregnancy-related causes could be ectopic pregnancy in which the fertilized egg might not attach to the uterus or a miscarriage. These conditions might only happen when one is pregnant. Other causes could be the use of blood thinners or using a non-hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) or sometimes it could be an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism).
Some other causes of heavy bleeding might be some bleeding disorders,conditions like PCOS, small Uterine polyps (growths on the lining of the uterus), fibroids (non-cancerous growth of muscle tissues) and conditions like endometriosis. Some cancers are also known to cause heavy bleeding.