Heavy Bleeding In Young Girls

A heavy period, a normal occurrence in many, is characterized by a period that lasts for about a week or more and the blood loss is about 70 ml or more during a cycle.

For young girls, heavy bleeding, often accompanied by cramps and abdominal pain, is something that raises concern as it hampers their daily life activities.

It also causes them to become more conscious about themselves owing to worry of staining. It is essential to ease them into understanding that this is a normal bodily process and help them feel proud of their body image.

Read further to know more about the cause of heavy bleeding, precautions that could help and the solutions that you can opt for.

What causes heavy bleeding in young girls?

The major cause of heavy bleeding is the imbalance between the estrogenic and progesterone levels in the body which allows the lining of the uterus to keep building up.

It might delay period and cause heavy bleeding. A heavy period can be identified if – 1) the bleeding lasts for a week or more 2) you can get through a pad in a few hours itself.

What kind of precautions should one take during heavy periods?

For young girls, especially, periods are daunting in the first few months or even years. Girls that experience heavy periods might feel more conscious about themselves which results in low self-esteem. You could take some of the following precautions to make your daughter feel at ease when on periods –

• Switch to Period Panties – This will remove all kinds of worries about stains and, even, maintains hygiene. There are two different varieties that you can opt for –
  • Period Boxers – These are meant for high flow days and provide hip and thigh coverage as well along with a supporting cloth layer to keep the pad from moving on movement, like, running.
  • Period Hipster – This is ideal for low flow days; the material is soft, breathable and leak-proof to provide comfort during periods.
• Make Her Understand Period-Hygiene – The best precaution to avoid any kind of infection (especially prone to heavy periods) is to maintain hygiene. Teach your daughter the importance of period hygiene and encourage her to change sanitary pads every few hours.

Young girls can also consider using Leak-proof Panties as they come close to their period date. It will help put their mind off worries of stains and all.

How to manage heavy bleeding in young girls?

You can follow some of these home remedies to manage heavy periods –

• Cold Compress – You can use a cold compress for 15 – 20 minutes a day on the abdomen to reduce bleeding and pain.
• Cinnamon – Take a teaspoon of cinnamon powder in hot water and sip on it slowly to reduce bleeding and abdominal pain as well.
• Ginger – Take the extract of ginger by boiling in hot water and sip on it to reduce bleeding; you can also use honey to sweeten the drink.
• Iron-rich Foods – Include foods items in your diet that are a rich source of iron to help with heavy periods and to reduce abdominal pain.
• Keep Hydrated – Drinks lots of water throughout the day to maintain the hydration level in the body, this will help with heavy periods.

Understand that a heavy period is not a disease and, in most cases, doesn’t require any kind of treatment. However, if your daughter is experiencing abnormally heavy periods and pain as well or if she has missed periods then you might like to get her tested for PCOS and visit a doctor. The doctor can suggest medicine, remedies and even supplements help the situation.