What causes heavy periods and how can they be treated?

Heavy periods, or menorrhagia as it's medically known, is suffered by the majority of woman from at some point in time.

Not only is is difficult to cope with the practicalities of this condition but losing so much blood it can also be very worrying.

Fortunately, in most cases menorrhagia wont really do you any harm. The body can survive losing considerably more blood than from a heavy period. Nevertheless, your GP can prescribe medication, usually Cyklokapron, to significantly reduce high levels of menstrual blood loss.

However, although a heavy period itself isn't serious, the reasons behind it can be. Heavy periods can be caused by a whole host of factors such as hormonal imbalance, fibroids (non cancerous growths in the womb), polyps (non cancerous cervix swelling) and arid endometriosis (where the lining tissue of the womb falls onto another organ).

It's therefore always advisable to consult your GP if you experience heavy periods or any other abnormal vaginal bleeding for a significant length of time.

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