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The heavy curse

In the UK 5% of women are so troubled by heavy periods they seek medical help. Jane Bartlett looks at causes and treatments for menorrhagia

Are there times of the month when you wouldn’t dream of wearing white trousers? Heavy periods are a problem for a third of women who consider their menstrual flow excessive. For some, the blood loss is so bad they have to take a day off work with hourly trips to the loo to change sanitary towels or tampons. Getting out of the bath without a messy mishap is a challenge, and even a sanitary towel the size of a mattress doesn’t seem to be adequate overnight.

As well as being disabling, it’s alarming when you spot large clots of blood in the menses, one of the symptoms of menorrhagia – or heavy blood loss. An iron deficiency can also make you anaemic so that you feel tired and run down. It may even cause palpitations and fainting.

How can you tell whether your periods are too heavy?

This is no easy matter. You can’t go to your next door neighbour and say, ‘Let’s compare periods’. Of course, doctors quantify things and define heavy menstrual loss as more than 80 ml per month, but measuring it is another matter entirely. Short of weighing tampons and towels before and after use, you have to decide if your heavy periods are affecting your well-being and lifestyle to such an extent that you need treatment.

These are the warning signs to take into consideration:

• You have to change your sanitary protection several times during the night.
• You need to change your sanitary protection every hour over several consecutive hours.
• You need to use both tampons and towels, or even nappies.
• You pass clots of blood.
• You have become anaemic.
• Your menstrual bleeding is prolonged.

Periods can become heavier as we age

Dr Andrew Prentice, consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge, says anyone can get heavier periods at any age, but it’s usually women in their 40s who seek medical help for the problem.

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