How To Distinguish Between Periods And Bleeding?

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

How to distinguish between periods and bleeding?

Content:

• What is the difference between menstruation and bleeding?
• Causes of bleeding
• Classification of bleeding

Menstruation and uterine bleeding are two different physiological phenomena. Menstruation is normal for the female body, while uterine bleeding, or metrorrhagia, signals a problem in the body. How can you tell them apart?

What is the difference between menstruation and bleeding?

There are 5 signs to watch out for:

• First of all, you should establish what the volume of blood lost. Within critical days, this amount should be at least 50 and not more than 80 grams per cycle. If the volume reaches 90 grams or more, then this can provoke iron deficiency anemia;
• You can talk about uterine bleeding when there is a need to change the pads every hour;
• Another significant difference between bleeding and menstruation is that metrorrhagia can occur on any day of the cycle and does not coincide with the expected date of its onset. The shortest menstrual cycle is 21 days, and the longest is 35 days. It is possible to distinguish bleeding of the implantation type by the early onset and increasing volumes of blood discharge;
• It is also important to pay attention to the shade of the blood, because it is possible to distinguish heavy menstruation from uterine bleeding by this sign. So, with the onset of menstruation, the blood is dark, and with metrorrhagia, it is bright red and even scarlet;
• The duration of bleeding should also be taken into account, because in the norm, periods go from three to seven days.

Causes of uterine bleeding

The factors that can provoke the onset of metrorrhagia should be considered:

• Spontaneous or artificial termination of pregnancy;
• Tumor formations in the uterus or ovaries;
• Inflammation in the organs of the female reproductive system;
• Endocrine diseases;
• Blood problems, such as a clotting disorder;
• Strong and prolonged stress;
• Deficiency of vitamins and poor nutrition;
• General infectious processes;
• Intoxication of the body.

Classification of uterine bleeding

Metrorrhagias can be observed not only in adult women. Depending on age, bleeding from the genital tract in newborn girls is primarily isolated. These secretions are scanty and naturally hormonal in nature, last for several days and do not need treatment.

The next type is considered metrorrhagia that occurs during puberty, that is, between the ages of 11 and 16. They are formed due to hormonal changes in the body, as well as due to a violation of psychoemotional balance, but they can also be the result of all kinds of diseases of the genital area.

The main group includes the most common pathologies:

• Uterine bleeding in women of reproductive age;
• Metrorrhagia of the climacteric period, provoked by diseases of the genital organs and hormonal problems.

Dysfunctional (hormonal) uterine bleeding is also very common and can begin at any age. The reason for this is malfunctioning of the endocrine glands: pituitary gland, hypothalamus, adrenal glands or ovaries. With such metrorrhagia, hormonal imbalance should be eliminated.

Specialists distinguish between both ovulatory and dysfunctional anovulatory bleeding. The first are formed in female representatives of reproductive age. The latter are observed with menopause and are characterized by a considerable duration (from one week to several months). They can be moderate or profuse, but it is due to their duration that they provoke anemia.

Some girls experience so-called juvenile bleeding, which is characterized by seasonality and a persistent lack of ovulation. Along with juvenile metrorrhagias, those that form during menopause should be noted. They are characterized by a high frequency, which becomes a sign of not only benign diseases (uterine leiomyoma or uterine polyps), but also of malignant origin.

Those metrorrhagias that can occur in each of the three trimesters of pregnancy are also included in the group of pathological uterine bleeding. They are not the norm and need to be treated as quickly as possible. However, many women do not pay attention to them, believing that this is a natural process.

The most dangerous and difficult to differentiate are metrorrhagias:

• Breakthrough type - formed against the background of the use of hormonal or contraceptives. In 90% of cases, when breakthrough bleeding occurs, the dosage of the drug is changed. Also, the uterus that has been damaged by the intrauterine device can bleed. In such a case, it is necessary to remove the contraceptive;
• Bleeding profuse type is the most severe, moreover, it is similar in character to menstruation. They can take place not only against the background of menstruation, but also during the "dry" period. They cannot be stopped only with the help of drug therapy, so there is a need for curettage.

Thus, it is sometimes very difficult to distinguish uterine bleeding from menstruation. However, understanding what types of bleeding a woman may in principle face is very important. This will allow you to maintain reproductive function as long as possible and seek medical help in time in case of problems with women's health.

The author of the article: Lapikova Valentina Vladimirovna | Gynecologist, reproductologist

Education: Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynecology received at the Russian State Medical University of the Federal Agency for Healthcare and Social Development (2010). In 2013 completed postgraduate studies at N. N. N. I. Pirogova.