For many women with normal flows, heavy flow days usually occur in the beginning of a period and are short-lived. Your flow is considered normal if menstrual bleeding lasts 4 to 5 days and produces 2 to 3 tablespoons of blood or less. For women with heavier flows, excessive bleeding and clot formation can be prolonged. One-third of women have flows so heavy they soak through a pad or tampon every hour for several hours. Physical and hormonal factors can impact your menstrual cycle and create a heavy flow.
Heavy flows increase your chances of developing menstrual clots. Conditions that enlarge or engorge the uterus can put extra pressure on the uterine wall. That can increase menstrual bleeding and clots. Fibroids are typically noncancerous, muscular tumors that grow in the uterine wall. Besides heavy menstrual bleeding, they can also produce:.
The cause is unknown, but genetics and the female hormones estrogen and progesterone likely play a role in their development. Endometriosis is a condition in which cells that resemble the uterus lining, called endometrial cells, grow outside the uterus and into the reproductive tract. Around the time of your menstrual period, it can produce:. Adenomyosis occurs when the uterine lining, for unknown reasons, grows into the uterine wall.
That causes the uterus to enlarge and thicken. In addition to prolonged, heavy bleeding, this common condition can cause the uterus to grow two to three times its normal size. In order to grow and thicken properly, the uterine lining relies on a balance of estrogen and progesterone.
The main symptom of a hormonal imbalance is irregular menstruation. For example, your periods may be later or longer than usual or you may miss them entirely. According to the March of Dimes, as many as half of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. A heavy menstrual flow could also be caused by von Willebrand disease VWD. While VWD is rare, between 5 and 24 percent of women with chronic heavy menstrual bleeding are affected by it. VWD might be the cause of your heavy menstrual cycle if it occurs regularly and you bleed easily after a minor cut or your gums bleed too easily.
See your doctor if you suspect this is the cause of your heavy bleeding. They should be able to help get you a diagnosis. See your doctor if you regularly have large clots. One of the major complications of heavy menstrual bleeding is iron deficiency anemia. Symptoms include:. To determine the underlying cause of your menstrual clots, your doctor will likely ask you about things that impact menstruation. Additionally, your doctor may use blood tests to look for hormonal imbalances.
Error Email field is required. Error Include a valid email address. To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information and to understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your e-mail and website usage information with other information we have about you. If we combine this information with your PHI, we will treat all of that information as PHI, and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices.
You may opt-out of e-mail communications at any time by clicking on the Unsubscribe link in the e-mail. Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below.
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization and proceeds from Web advertising help support our mission. Mayo Clinic does not endorse any of the third party products and services advertised. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version.
See more conditions. Request Appointment. Blood clots during menstruation: A concern? Products and services. Clots can be bright in color, or a darker, deeper red. More sizeable clots may look black. Menstrual blood begins to appear darker and more brown toward the end of each period as the blood is older and leaving the body less quickly. Clots happen when the uterine lining sheds increased amounts of blood.
When the blood pools in the uterus or vagina, it begins to coagulate, much like it would on an open skin wound. The consistency of menstrual blood varies both throughout the period and from one period to another. People may experience a heavy flow containing menstrual clots one month, and a lighter flow with no clots the next month. As this happens, the body releases proteins that cause the blood in the uterus to coagulate.
This coagulation prevents the blood vessels in the uterine lining from continuing to bleed. When the flow is most substantial, the coagulation proteins within the blood may start to clump together, resulting in menstrual clots.
This generally occurs when menstrual blood pools in the uterus or vagina before leaving the body. Although it is normal to have clots in the blood during menstruation, this symptom can sometimes signal a medical issue. It is advisable to seek medical advice if the clots:. A blockage in the uterus may stop it from contracting as it should, meaning that it cannot force the blood out as quickly as usual.
The blood will leave the body more slowly so it will have more time to pool and form clumps. Blockages may occur as a result of growths in the uterus. These include uterine polyps and fibroids , which are not cancerous but can cause other health issues without proper management. Uterine polyps and fibroids consist of either endometrial or muscular tissue that grows in the uterine wall. They can cause symptoms such as:. Endometriosis is a condition that causes the tissues of the uterine lining to grow outside of the uterus.
This abnormality can lead to several symptoms, which may be worse around the time of menstruation. This can make the endometrial lining and uterine wall much thicker, which can lead to a much heavier flow during a period. If the levels of specific hormones become unbalanced, many issues can occur, including heavy menstruation or clotting. During a miscarriage, or pregnancy loss, a person will usually pass a number of large clots, depending on the stage of the pregnancy.
Pregnancy loss can sometimes occur before a person knows that they are pregnant, so they may mistake an early miscarriage for a regular menstrual cycle. An enlarged uterus can also be due to structural issues, such as fibroids.
There will be additional space for the blood to pool in, which could lead to further clotting before it exits the body. Some bleeding disorders may be responsible for heavy menstrual flow, as they can affect the coagulation proteins that the uterine lining needs to stop menstrual bleeding.
0コメント