Menstrual disorders range from uncomfortable symptoms leading up to your period to more serious conditions such as menstruation being too heavy or light, irregular periods or even the complete absence of a cycle.
What are the common Menstrual Disorders?
A woman’s menstrual cycle is as unique as she is; what could be an issue for one could be normal for another. Hence, it is important that you be watchful of your cycle and consult a specialist if you notice any major changes to your cycle.
Listed here are some common menstrual disorders...
Tardy or Suppressed Menstruation.
Causes of Tardy or Suppressed Menstruation.
Most young girls start to menstruate at about the age of thirteen or fourteen years. The menstrual periods during this time may normally be scanty and irregular and may not become well established until the age of fifteen or sixteen.
Occasionally a young woman may not begin menstruating until sixteen or seventeen years of age. If the menstrual cycle has been well established and then ceases, the most common cause is some form of stress or emotional disturbance. When these problems are resolved satisfactorily, the menstrual cycle will return to normal. Occasionally undernourishment, or a lack of fresh air, sunshine, and proper exercise, results in absent or diminished menstruation. Nervousness, caused by tension in the home or at school, may also affect the normal menstrual cycle.
Treatment of Tardy or Suppressed Menstruation.
The following herbs can be taken with confidence that there will be no harmful aftereffects and that they will help to reestablish normal menstrual periods: tansy, black cohosh, wild yam, mugwort, chamomile, and gentian. Take a hot bath before retiring. Hot sitz baths are beneficial. The legs and feet must be covered and kept warm at all times. The same treatment applies to all women troubled with suppressed or scanty menstruation.
Profuse Menstruation OR Heavy Periods
Another common menstrual problem is a heavy period. Also called menorrhagia, heavy periods cause you to bleed more than normal. You may also have your period for longer than the average of five to seven days.
Causes of Profuse Menstruation.
There are many causes, including hormone imbalance, diseases of the womb, metabolic diseases, improper diet resulting in an iron deficiency, and general debility.
Treatment of Profuse Menstruation.
Eat plain, simple food. All stimulating foods, drinks, and narcotics are harmful and should be discontinued. Keep off the feet as much as possible when menstruating. The body, including the legs and feet, must be kept well covered and warm. A warm douche of white oak bark, wild alum root or bayberry bark is very helpful; taken, of course, after the menses have ceased. Use a heaping tablespoon of one of these herbs to a quart of boiling water, steep covered, and use as a douche four or five times a day if needed. Also take bayberry, white oak bark, or wild alum root internally.
If the bleeding is extremely profuse, make or purchase tampons of absorbent material, immerse them in a tea made from equal parts of wild alum root and white oak bark with a little lobelia added. Tie a piece of strong string around the middle, if one is not already present, leaving it long enough so that the end remains outside of the vagina. The tampon should be inserted far enough into the vagina so that it presses snugly against the womb. Remove the tampon every twelve hours and wash the vagina out with an herb douche.
Painful Menstruation
Painful menstruation is quite common in girls around the age of fifteen or sixteen. Perhaps as many as fifty percents of girls in this age group suffer from this problem at one time or another. In most cases, this can be considered a normal phenomenon that needs to be explained and dealt with sympathetically. Painful menstruation that develops later in life frequently has a more serious underlying cause. In a rather large percentage of adolescent girls, college students, and even older single women, one or two days of each month must be spent in bed because of the severe abdominal cramps and pain.
Treatment of Painful Menstruation
The girl should be reassured that she is not abnormal in any way and that the pain can usually be relieved by simple measures. She should also be made aware that this will not interfere with normal sexual function nor have any effect on childbearing.
Keep the body warm at all times, using a hot water bottle or heating pad at night, if necessary. Keep off the feet as much as possible, especially the first day.
A douche made as follows will give relief: one tablespoon of lady’s slipper and one-half teaspoon of lobelia stepped in one quart of water. Use warm. For internal use, make a tea using equal parts of black cohosh, pennyroyal, and bayberry, adding a little lobelia: take one-half cup every three hours. If you do not have all these herbs, use as many as you have. A hot sitz bath or hot fomentation to the lower spine and abdomen often afford great relief. Repeat these as often as necessary.
During the winter, never permit the feet to get cold or wet. It is also best to keep the hands out of cold water when possible. As far as possible, the patient should be urged to carry on all of her normal activities.
If in spite of the above treatment, absent, irregular, or profuse menstruation persists, or if bleeding between menstrual cycles or following the menopause occurs, see your family doctor.