Many women complain about irregular periods or oligomenorrhea. Periods are considered regular if they occur within a 28-day period each month. Every woman’s menstrual cycle will be different. Hormones and other factors can affect the timing of periods. It is best to count the days between each period to determine if a woman has regular periods.
What to do?
Keep a record of the days to see if the interval between periods matches. A woman’s period should last approximately 7 days, and preferably 3 days. Period irregularities can be described as a delayed period, an early period, bleeding between periods or missed periods, continuous periods, scanty bleeding or menorrhagia, periods occurring twice in one cycle, or scanty bleeding.
Other symptoms of oligomenorrhea include headache, dizziness and severe cramping in the lower abdomen. Ovulation and menstruation are caused by female hormones such as estrogen and progesterone. These hormones are stored in the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, as well as the ovaries. These hormones are activated when they transmit signals between each other, causing ovulation or menstruation. If the hormonal signals are not in sync or are skipped, irregular periods can occur.
Factors
There are many factors that can cause hormonal signals to lose their sync.
- Due to huge hormonal changes, pregnant women may miss periods until delivery.
- Anxiety and stress can cause irregular periods, as well as disrupting hormones.
- Malnutrition and lack of vitamins can cause hormonal imbalances that can lead to irregular periods.
- Hormonal imbalance can cause irregular periods and weight loss.
- Exercising too hard can lead to irregular periods.
- Periods can be irregular due to disorders like anorexia and bulimia.
- Periods may remain irregular for as long as 3 years after menarche or puberty. Because the puberty raging hormones take some time for normalcy to return, this is possible.
- Period irregularities can be caused by the use of birth control pills or the new levels of hormones that such pills set.
- Periods may be irregular during menopause. This is because the levels of female hormones start to drop during menopause.
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome can cause irregular periods and disrupt ovulation.
- Oligomenorrhea can also be caused by inflammatory bowel disease.
Treatments
- Bitter gourd juice can regulate hormone cycles, restoring normal periods.
- A concoction made from the bitter gourd root plant can also be used to treat oligomenorrhea.
- The problem of irregular periods can be treated by consuming a mixture of sesame and cumin seeds, along with honey.
- Mix 2 tablespoons of fennel seeds with water to make a glass of water. This is a home remedy for oligomenorrhea.
- To restore regular periods, one can make a decoction from the coriander leaves or seeds.
- For oligomenorrhea, one can mix one teaspoon of ground radish seeds with one cup butter milk. This mixture can be used daily.
- In the event of missed periods, aloe vera juice can be used to initiate menstruation.
- Grape juice is a great treatment for oligomenorrhea.
- Regular cycles can be regularized by carrot juice.
- Green unripe papaya may also be used to normalize irregularities in the periodic cycle.
