Many women complain of irregular periods or oligomenorrhea. Periods are said to be regular if they occur within an interval of 28 days every month. But every woman's menstrual cycle is different, depending upon the nature of hormones, and the interval may vary from woman to woman. The best way to find out whether a woman has regular periods is to count the number of days between one period and the next, and maintain a record to find out whether the number of days matches with the interval between subsequent periods. It is normal for a woman to menstruate roughly for a maximum of 7 days and roughly for a minimum of 3 days.
The symptoms of irregularity in periods include delayed period, early period, bleeding between periods, missed period, continuous periods, scanty bleeding, heavy bleeding or menorrhagia or periods occurring twice in a single cycle. Other symptoms associated with oligomenorrhea may be headache, dizziness, severe cramping in lower abdomen, nausea, vomiting, and fainting, menstruating blood clots etc. Female hormones like estrogen and progesterone cause ovulation and menstruation. These hormones are stored in the hypothalamus, pituitary glands and ovaries. When these parts transmit signals between one another, the hormones get activated bringing about ovulation and menstruation. The hormonal signals, if are crossed or skipped or in other words, are thrown out of sync, irregular periods occur. A number of factors may cause the hormonal signals to lose sync. They may be listed as follows:
1. Pregnancy causing a woman to miss periods till delivery due to tremendous changes in the levels of hormones.
2. Stress and anxiety plays havoc with a woman's hormones, causing irregular periods.
3. Lack of vitamins and malnutrition can cause the hormonal signals to get out of whack, leading to irregular periods.
4. Abnormal weight loss can lead to irregular periods by creating hormonal imbalance.
5. Over straining oneself with intense exercise can cause irregular periods.
6. Disorders like anorexia or bulimia can cause irregular periods.
7. The onset of puberty or menarche may cause periods to remain irregular for up to 3 years after menarche. This occurs because the raging hormones at puberty take some time to return to normalcy.
8. Intake of birth control pills and the new level of hormones set by such pills may cause irregular periods for sometime.
9. Menopause may begin with irregular periods. This is because during that time the female hormone levels start dropping.
10. Polycystic ovarian syndrome may create much disturbance in the process of ovulation, also causing irregular periods.
11. Inflammatory bowel disease can also lead to oligomenorrhea.
Home Remedies
1. Juice of bitter gourd can regulate hormonal cycles bringing the periods to normalcy.
2. A concoction prepared from the roots of bitter gourd plant can also check oligomenorrhea.
3. Intake of a mixture of cumin seeds and sesame seeds along with honey can treat the problem of irregular periods.
4. Intake of a glass of water by mixing 2 tablespoon fennel seeds in to it is an effective home remedy for oligomenorrhea.
5. One may take a decoction prepared from the seeds or leaves of coriander or cilantro to restore the regular cycles of periods.
6. One may blend one teaspoon grinded radish seeds and a cup of butter milk and drink daily for effective results regarding oligomenorrhea.
7. Juice of aloe Vera plant can initiate menstruation in case of skipped periods.
8. Grape juice is highly beneficial in treating the problem of oligomenorrhea.
9. Carrot juice can also regularize periodic cycles.
10. Consumption of green unripe papaya can also normalize the irregularity in periodic cycle.
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