With Reflexologist Nuria Weaver
Home Remedies for Heavy Periods
Heavy periods or Menorrhagia affects many women sometime during their lives. In some cases it may be a temporary problem and some individuals may experience heavy periods every month for many years. But you can try some home remedies for heavy periods to reduce your menstrual flow
It is considered heavy if you have the following symptoms:
- Need to use double protection
- Changing one or more sanitary pads every hour
- Need to change sanitary protection in the night
- Menstrual periods lasing longer than 7 days
- Large blood clots in menstrual flow
- Bleed so heavily that it interferes with usual daily activities
- Severe pelvic pain
- Occurrence after gone through menopause
Causes of heavy periods are as follows:
Estrogen dominance or excessive estrogen is a common type of hormone imbalance that causes heavy periods especially if your periods have lots of large clots. The function of estrogen is to manage the build-up of endometrial tissue in the uterus every month. Excess estrogen can lead to extreme amounts of endometrial tissue to be created. This results in heavy bleeding during menstruation as the tissue is excluded.
The causes of Menorrhagia are unsuccessfully understood. Heavy periods can be a sign of life threatening conditions such as certain types of cancer and uterine fibroids. Some other causes are:
- Missing or skipping periods: Most women experiences heavy periods for the first few months. This happens generally after beginning menstruation following breastfeeding or pregnancy. This is normal until it continues for more than a few months. If you get irregular periods due to health conditions or if you skip periods purposely with the use of birth control pills, you may find that your periods are abnormally heavy or painful in nature.
- Blood thinning medicines: These types of medicines can cause long lasting and heavy periods. Consult a doctor if the problem is serious.
- Problem in sanitary pads: Some women experiences that fibres and chemicals found in commercial pads irritate them and lead to heavy and long-Lasting periods. Switch to menstrual cups or cloth pads to help such cases.
Home remedies for heavy periods are as follows:
- Fat cells produce estrogen so women who are overweight suffer from estrogen dominance. However an excessive estrogen level makes it tougher to loose weight. So it is especially vital for with estrogen dominance women to loose weight.
- Exercising regularly is one of the most important home remedies for heavy periods. In helps to loose weight and also maintain a healthy weight. Exercise also increases general, mental and physical health and improves blood circulation. You can learn the specific exercises for menstrual health.
- Good diet is one of the best home remedies for heavy periods. Have a diet rich in fiber. High fiber diets compose weight loss and maintenance program. They also help to maintain a healthy hormonal balance by excreting waste estrogen in the digestive tract and eliminating it from the body before it can be reabsorbed.
- Keep yourself hydrated. Plain water also plays a significant role in maintaining healthy hormonal balance. Water helps to maintain healthy kidney and liver function. These organs also play a key role in eradicating waste estrogen from the body. This is also one of the successful home remedies for heavy periods.
- Reduce your exposure to Xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogens are man-made, foreign substances that imitate the behavior of estrogen in the body. They contribute to estrogen dominance. Xenoestrogens are found in many personal hygiene products, cosmetics, in many plastics including plastic wrap and plastic bottles, in pesticide and hormone residues in some foods. This is one of the best preventive home remedies for heavy periods.
- Be careful of phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are plant estrogens occurring naturally, like xenoestrogens, which imitate the behavior of estrogen in the body. However phytoestrogens are "weak" estrogens and some women get relief from their symptoms of estrogen dominance when they increase consumption of plant estrogens. In some cases women find that their symptoms have worsened.
- Vitamin K forms excellent home remedies for heavy periods. If your periods are long lasting, heavy but not clotty you might be having a vitamin K deficiency. Vitamin K plays a significant role in maintaining healthy blood clotting function. Long lasting or heavy periods can be caused by poor blood clotting. Other common symptoms of vitamin K deficiency include
- Staining easily
- Bleeding heavily
- Small scrapes and cuts
Take medical advice before increasing intake of vitamin K if you have family or personal history of stroke, blood clots, pulmonary embolism or similar conditions or if you are undergoing blood thinning medications. Take vitamin K supplements only in cases of severe deficiency.
Foods that are rich in vitamin K are romaine lettuce and spinach. They are safe and less likely to cause a dangerous overdose. Include these foods in your diet as healthy home remedies for heavy periods.
Try the home remedies for heavy periods if you are experiencing one. Have a balanced diet with lot of fiber intake to reduce vitamin K deficiency. Develop the habit of exercising regularly so that you loose weight and face the problem less.
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