Many women do not pay attention to the features of their menstrual cycle if it occurs on time and passes regularly. It is important to know that not only the nature of the discharge and their frequency, but also their duration plays a special role in the menstrual process. Short periods are a violation of menstrual function, in which only 50 ml of blood is released during the entire cycle. Most often, such discharge is characterized by a smearing or drip character, and is also painted in a brown or light shade.
Causes of ailment
Why do menstruation get shorter? The reason for the appearance of meager periods can be disruptions in the functioning of internal organs and systems that are responsible for regulating the hormonal background - the pituitary gland and ovaries. Problems with the natural process of hormone production lead to circulatory disorders in the uterus and changes in the endometrium ( uterine mucosa ) during the menstrual cycle. As a result of the described process, scanty periods appear.
The main reasons for short periods:
- a sharp change in the woman’s weight - this can include a sharp weight loss due to a strict diet, strong physical exertion, general depletion of the body, and a quick set of extra pounds, as well as obesity;
- metabolic problems;
- lack of useful trace elements and vitamins in food, anemia;
- severe fatigue, emotional depression, depression, problems with the nervous system;
- difficulties with the endocrine system;
- genital injury, genital surgery;
- problems in the development of genital organs, removal of the uterus;
- genital tuberculosis;
- infections transmitted through sexual contact;
- intoxication of the body (prolonged accumulation of toxins, waste, dangerous chemicals in the body);
- feeding a newborn with breast milk;
- taking oral contraceptives.
Main symptoms
With hypomenorrhea, menstrual flow during menstruation takes the form of drops or small traces of blood of light or dark color. The time of menstruation in this case can remain the same, or shorten to two phases.
Lean, short menstruation and delayed menstruation can occur against the background of severe headache, vomiting and nausea, back pain, diarrhea or constipation, as well as problems with digestion of food.
Menstruation itself can take place without pain and a feeling of heaviness in the stomach. In some cases, a woman begins nosebleeds that accompany every menstruation.
Menstruation has become shorter: reasons
Poor discharge during menstruation often appears due to a decrease in the level of estrogen in the body with violations in the reproductive system. Sometimes short periods pass without much pain and go unnoticed, as they do not provoke any symptoms.
Poor menstruation during puberty (the formation of the menstrual cycle) or during perimenopause (extinction of the menstrual function) indicate natural functional changes in the woman’s body, therefore they cannot be attributed to pathological ones, and they also do not require treatment. But in the reproductive phase, meager monthly and other negative symptoms can indicate the presence of serious problems in the reproductive system. To accurately determine the cause of the appearance of bad periods, it is important to conduct a comprehensive diagnosis.
Menstruation
This condition can occur only in two cases: the period of the formation of the menstrual system and the bearing of the child. In the first case, bad periods - a physiological state, they do not provoke any complications and eventually normalize on their own. But you need to remember that hypomenorrhea can provoke the appearance of various symptoms: pain in the abdomen, sacral region of the chest.
During the bearing of a child, problems with the menstrual cycle can occur due to violations in the endocrine system (poor production of hormones). This condition of a woman should be adjusted by the attending physician by taking hormonal drugs. With this process, a pregnant woman can feel pain, regular nausea, weakness.
The first meager monthly
Why are meager and short periods? The first meager periods can appear not only during the normalization of menstrual function, but also during the reproductive period, as well as during the first stage of menopause. In this case, factors that can lead to such a condition (problems with the hormonal background, inflammatory diseases, injuries, severe stress, fatigue, excessive emotional stress) play a special role.
If there is inflammation in the body, a woman will be diagnosed with short periods with light discharge and a large number of leukocytes in the composition; upon receipt of an injury, the discharge will be painted in a dark brown shade. When identifying the causes of the appearance of meager periods, it is important to pay special attention to the nature of the outgoing masses, as this will help establish an accurate diagnosis.
Long menstruation problems
Why have your periods become shorter? If a woman’s meager periods do not pass for a long time, then this may indicate the presence in her body of serious diseases of the genital organs (especially the uterus).
Most often in these cases, doctors diagnose endometriosis (an inflammatory process in the inner layer of the uterus), vitamin deficiency, endocrine pathologies, problems with metabolic function. It is very important to contact the attending specialist in time, since the sooner the cause of the abundant short periods is identified, the higher the chance to prevent the development of the disease and serious complications (for example, infertility).
Postpartum problems
Often short monthly days occur after the birth of the baby. This process is attributed to the physiological one, since during this period the female body did not manage to fully normalize and adapt to changes in the menstrual cycle, and the hormonal background continues to work both on the woman’s body and on the child’s body.
But if the bad periods last for a long time, then this may indicate the presence of any postpartum complications: infectious lesions, inflammation, problems with the secretion of the pituitary gland.
In some cases, meager periods can be the result of a recent stressful situation during the bearing of the baby or during breastfeeding. When treating such a problem, for starters it is important to get rid of the main cause, and then act on the symptoms.
Problems after curettage
Also, scanty periods often appear after curettage. If menstruation has become meager and short, and an unpleasant odor emanates from them, then this is a serious reason to consult a doctor. At the same time, during menstruation, severe pain in the lower abdomen appears and the body temperature rises significantly.
Most often, poor-quality curettage leads to this condition, during which a certain amount of the membranes remains in the uterine cavity. Also, the unpleasant odor of secretions may indicate the presence of infection. With such symptoms, it is important to consult a doctor again for repeated curettage.
Brown discharge
Discharges of brown color with short periods are observed quite often. Such formations indicate problems with the functioning of the reproductive system. In most cases, inflammatory conditions in the endometrium, intrauterine diseases, postpartum or post-abortion complications, and diseases of the infectious breed lead to this condition. In this case, the discharge becomes unpleasant and leads to pain in the abdomen.
Endometrial hyperplasia can also provoke disorders of this nature. Disorders of metabolic processes, malfunctions of hormonal regulation, as well as lesions of the genitals lead to this disease.
Often, taking hormonal contraceptives affects the appearance of brown secretions. In the first few months, such discharges are acceptable, but with their duration it is important to stop taking contraceptives and pick up new ones.
When carrying a child
Many believe that during pregnancy, a woman's menstruation should be completely absent. But this can not be called the norm, since in the first trimester a woman may experience a small amount of blood discharge. This can be explained by the fact that after fertilization, the egg does not have time to reach the uterus and gain a foothold in it in the allotted period of time.
This leads to the fact that the hormonal background of a woman does not have time to rebuild. It is important to remember that menstruation, which comes out of the vagina in the first month of bearing a child, is not a menstruation. Spotting in this case comes out in a small amount.
From the second month, there is a complete restructuring of the hormonal system, the development of pregnancy begins, and menstruation, as well as any discharge, ends.
If blood discharge continues to appear in the second month of pregnancy, this may indicate detachment of the ovum. In this case, you should consult a doctor.
In some cases, blood discharge may indicate a miscarriage. Miscarriage can be detected by heavy bleeding, which is accompanied by severe pain in the lower abdomen.
Diagnostic measures
Any diagnostic procedures will begin with a visit to a treating specialist (gynecologist). To identify the exact cause of short periods and determine the degree of danger of the condition after consultation, the doctor prescribes a comprehensive medical study.
The examination scheme in this case will include a complete gynecological examination, a smear from the genital tract for cytology (cell examination), bacterial culture, PCR diagnostics of the genital tract, assessment of basal temperature, identification of the amount of hormones in the patient’s urine and blood, ultrasound of the uterus and ovaries, as well as a biopsy.
Treatment of bad periods will directly depend on the results of diagnostic measures. If menstruation has become scarce and short, and this is provoked by improper nutrition, problems with the nervous system, poor mobility, then all treatment will be reduced to eliminating unpleasant symptoms and improving the patient's condition. In this case, the doctor prescribes the patient a course intake of vitamin complexes, special antimicrobials and hormonal agents.
Disease treatment
In case of irregularities in the menstrual cycle, the main goal of treatment is a general strengthening effect and elimination of the main disease. In the treatment of hypomenorrhea, a good effect can be achieved if you start taking homeopathic medicines, the effect of which is almost no different from the hormones themselves.
Most often, with a meager period, a woman has the following additional symptoms: emotional depression, depression, fatigue, frigidity, headache. This condition requires physiotherapeutic and psychotherapeutic treatment. During premenopause and feeding the baby, no treatment measures are necessary.
To avoid the appearance of meager periods, it is important to follow some preventive measures. You should spend more time in the fresh air, lead an active lifestyle, not overstrain your body. It is important to try to avoid severe stresses that provoke problems with the hormonal system and adversely affect the menstrual cycle.