Study show that around 30 percent of women report heavy menstrual periods during their reproductive years. Around 15 percent of these have a bleeding disorder that has never been diagnosed, leaving hundreds and thousands of women to suffer from a disorder that could be treated.
Hematologists say that women with bleeding disorders usually wait up to 15 years before they get the appropriate testing and treatment. Those who never get diagnosed are at risk of having acute hemorrhages that leads to blood transfusions and then a need for hysterectomy.
Bleeding disorders that affect women include hemophilia and Willebrand disease, both of which are inherited, and they are caused by low levels of proteins that are needed for normal blood clotting.
Women in families with the bleeding disorder do not realize their periods are heavy because they assume it is normal since the other women in their family have the same problems. The social stigma against a discussion about periods is another factor for women to not go for a check-up. There is a lack of accurate information about normal periods and abnormal periods.
The key features of abnormal periods include having iron deficiency anemia, having to change pads or tampons more, soaking your sheets frequently at night and bleeding that lasts for a week. Iron deficiency anemia is a concern because it leads to shortness of breath and fatigue as well as poor job performance and school performance.
Heavy periods and iron deficiency are often ignored but they can be signs of a bleeding disorder. They can be treated easily once the diagnosis is made. Women who have hemophilia are considered to be the only carriers and are capable of passing on the gene to their children. Their bleeding often goes untreated because of this.
The treatments for women with bleeding disorders include oral contraceptive pill and medications such as desmopressin and tranexamic acid. Gynecologic options such as IUD or the levonorgestrel intrauterine device and endometrial ablation are also available.
In some cases, those with bleeding disorders need clotting factor infusions in order to control heavy periods. If they are iron deficient, iron supplementation is the treatment needed as it improves their condition. Dietary iron intake is not enough to correct those with iron deficiency.
If you want to know if you have a bleeding disorder, the self-administered bleeding assessment tool or the Self-Bat is available for free and you can know if your symptoms are normal or not. The tool analyzes information about your symptoms to generate a score. A high score means that you have an increased chance of having a bleeding disorder and you must discuss it with your doctor immediately.
