Irregular Periods, Types, Symptoms, Causes

Do you want to know why your periods are so irregular? Do you want to know the causes of irregular periods? So you are on the right page. I will tell you about what are irregular periods.

Overview:

Menstruation is a process of normal vaginal bleeding. This bleeding is a part of a monthly cycle in which the lining of the uterus (endometrium) is shed.

A woman’s body is prepared every month for pregnancy. The uterus prepares for the implantation of the fertilized egg. When fertilization doesn’t occur, the uterus lining is shed in the blood discharged from the vagina.

This process repeats every month if pregnancy does not occur. The cycle usually starts after 28 days, and the normal cycle duration is 4 to 7 days.

Irregular periods can cause many reasons. In this blog, you will learn about all these reasons.

Types of Irregular Periods:

There are three types of irregular periods. These are the following:

• Amenorrhea
• Oligomenorrhea
• Dysmenorrhea

Amenorrhea:

It is a condition in which the woman’s periods completely stopped. The absence of periods is considered abnormal if the missing duration is more than 90 days.

The girl at the early age (15-16) when their breast begins to increase in size and they don’t have menstruation considered as amenorrhea.

Oligomenorrhea:

This type of irregular period occurs due to the change in hormones.

Dysmenorrhea:

When periods occur with severe pain and menstrual cramps, this condition is known as dysmenorrhea.

Symptoms of Irregular Periods:

The symptoms of irregular periods are the following:

• Periods occur less than 21 days, and sometimes the duration increase more than 35 days
• Missing periods in a row
• Heavy bleeding occurs then the normal
• Heavy bleeding occurs with severe pain, menstrual cramps, nausea, and vomiting
• The duration of periods lasts for more than 7 days

Causes of Irregular Periods:

Many factors increase the risk of irregular periods. The causes of irregular periods are the following:

• Stress and lifestyle factors
• Birth control pills
• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Pelvic inflammation disease
• Premature ovarian insufficiency
• Endometriosis
• Uterine fibroids

Causes of Irregular Periods

Stress and Lifestyle:

Stress is the main cause of irregular periods. During stress, many hormonal changes occur that affect your eating habit and sleeping patterns, etc. Other lifestyle factors also affect your menstruation cycle.

Birth Control Pills:

These pills contain a combination of estrogen and progesterone hormone. These pills help to prevent pregnancy by stopping the process of ovulation. The intake of these pills causes irregular menstruation.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome:

In PCOS, the androgen hormone is released in large amounts in the female body. The secretion of the androgen hormone affects the maturation of the egg, and the process of ovulation cannot take place.

This condition causes irregular periods, or sometimes it completely stops menstruation. This condition also causes other health issues like obesity, infertility, and the growth of hairs on the face.

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease:

It is a bacterial infection that affects the female reproductive tract. The bacteria may enter the vagina through sexual contacts, genealogical procedures, childbirth, miscarriage, and abortion.

The infection enters the vagina and then spreads to the uterus and upper genital tract.

The symptoms of pelvic inflammatory disease are heavy vaginal discharge with an unpleasant odor, pain in the lower abdominal, irregular periods, fever, vomiting, and nausea.

Premature Ovary Insufficiency:

It is a condition in which the ovaries do not function properly under 40. This condition is similar to menopause.

It is occurring in the patients treated for cancer with chemotherapy and radiation. Sometimes it occurs due to some chromosomal abnormalities. If you have this condition must see your doctor.

Endometriosis:

Endometriosis is a process in which the endometrial tissues grow outside the uterus. These are cancerous growths of tissues.

Sometimes they grow on the intestine and other digestive tracts. It also grows between the area of your rectum and uterus.

It attaches itself to the ovaries and fallopian tubes. Symptoms of endometriosis are heavy bleeding, severe pain, and cramps in the lower abdominal part.

Uterine Fibroids:

These are non-cancerous growth of tissues in the lining of the uterus. These tumors attach to the wall of the uterus.

These tumors are benign, but they cause heavy bleeding during periods, pain, and cramps in the lower abdomen.

If they are large, they might put pressure on the bladder and rectum, causing discomfort in these areas.

Final

If you have all these symptoms, then you must visit your doctor.