How many days does your period last? Video tutorial
The duration of the menstrual cycle, the duration of critical days, the abundance of discharge – these are problems that often worry even healthy women. It is important to know the limits of the norm in order to notice deviations in time and consult a doctor.
Since all women are individual, there is no exact figure that determines the duration of menstruation. It is considered normal if it lasts from 3 to 7 days with a cycle of 25-36 days. In the first days, as a rule, there is abundant discharge, on the 3rd-7th day – the remnants of a darker color. Sometimes critical days begin with a “daub”, and abundant discharge occurs only on the 3-4th day.
Discharge is considered abundant if one pad or tampon is filled within an hour
The duration and abundance of menstruation can be influenced by various means and medications. For example, the use of an intrauterine device results in more painful and heavy discharge, but the duration remains the same.
Hormone pills work in the opposite way. Menses become scanty, short, less painful. This effect may persist even after the end of the pill. The hormonal background can also change after childbirth: many women note that menstruation becomes shorter and almost painless.
Blood thinners also have an effect on the duration of menstruation: anticoagulants (for example, aspirin), some medicines for the treatment of heart attacks, strokes, atherosclerosis, rheumatic heart disease and other diseases. As the blood becomes thinner, does not clot well, menstruation can last for a long time (but not more than a week).
Prolonged periods can last up to several weeks. This situation is definitely abnormal and requires the attention of a physician. Regular long and heavy periods are called menorrhagia. Hypermenorrhagia is also isolated when the bleeding is so profuse that several tampons or pads are filled per hour. If such profuse bleeding in a woman for the first time, lasts a long time and it is not known how long it will continue, you should definitely consult a doctor – the situation can be very dangerous.
The most common causes of such violations are:
- changes in hormone levels in the blood (thyroid problems)
- bleeding disorder
- thickening of the endometrium
- hyperplasia of the uterus or cervix
- inflammation of the pelvic organs
- ectopic pregnancy
- polyps or uterine fibroids
Causes of too short a period
Violation of the menstrual cycle, in which critical days are only a few hours or a couple of days, is called oligomenorrhea. Often it is accompanied by opsomenorrhea (long cycle) and hypomenorrhea (scarcity of secretions), regular delays.
Girls with overweight and reduced immunity are at risk.
Among the reasons for such a violation are usually distinguished:
- decreased ovarian and pituitary function
- hormonal deficiency
- congenital malformation of the genital organs
- inflammatory process in the genitals
- endometriosis
- mechanical damage to the integrity of the uterine cavity (for example, during abortion, difficult labor)
See also: Lesser periwinkle: medicinal properties of a flower.