Question

Write notes on Menorrhagia

Answer 1

Definition

Menorrhagia refers to excessive, abnormal uterine bleeding, which occurs over several consecutive cycles and interferes with a woman's physical, emotional, social, and material quality of life.

Menorrhagia is hard to define clinically. It is best to look at the parameters of normal menstrual bleeding first. Normal menstrual bleeding can be assessed by looking at a number of key parameters including frequency, regularity, volume and duration of menses. 

Frequency: every 21-35 days 

Regularity: consistent cycle frequency

Volume: approximately 5-80 mL of blood

Duration: bleeding for 5 days

Markers of menorrhagia may include increased frequency of blood soaking pads/tampons or blood loss that interferes with daily activities. In the literature, menorrhagia is traditionally quoted as blood loss exceeding 80 mL. Menorrhagia is often used synonymously with heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), which is considered to be a more precise term.