Q: Good
evening Doc. Please, I have a question: heavy flow in menstruation – is it
normal?.

A: Heavy menstrual
flow, also known as menorrhagia, can be a source of major concern for the sheer
inconvenience and the fact that it can lead to anaemia, as the body is unable
to produce enough red blood cells to replace those being lost in the bleeding.

People who have this condition would usually use more than one
pad/tampon per hour, would need to change their sanitary towel during the
night, layer on about 2 pads at the same time, bleed for more than a week and
with significant quantity of clots, be restricted on their daily activities and
experience symptoms of anaemia like fatigue.

Probable causes of this include fibroids, cancer, bleeding
disorders, use of Intra Uterine Contraceptive Device, hormonal imbalance which
may also result from ovaries that don’t function normally leading…