Every month, women endure the discomfort
menstruation brings. This includes fatigue, nausea and uterine cramps—side
effects that are perfectly normal for women menstruating.
However,
if a woman menstruates for more than eight days and changes sanitary pads every
two hours, she may be experiencing heavy menstrual bleeding or HMB.
During
the press conference organized by Bayer HealthCare last June 1, medical experts
stressed the need to make women aware of HMB.
“Women
feel extreme fatigue, affecting their day-to-day activities but often do not
associate this with their menstruation. Most women do nothing,” said Dr. Delfin
Tan, head of the Gynecologic Endocrinology and Endoscopy Section of United
Doctors Medical Center and of the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
Section of St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City.
Dr. Tan
cited a case study, wherein a patient considered the heavy flow as normal and
something even good, believing it cleanses her of “impure blood.”
He
identified two kinds of abnormal uterine bleeding: organic and non-organic.
Organic causes are clotting and bleeding disorders, hormone problems, adrenal
disorders, and polycystic ovary syndrome (wherein the ovaries overproduce
hormones). Non-organic causes, meanwhile, are hormonal imbalance and stress.
Heavy
menstrual bleeding is due to non-organic causes.
HMB’s prevalence
“In the
US, 2.5 million women are affected yearly,” said Dr. Ian Milsom, chairman of
the Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of
Gothenburg, Sweden, one of the medical experts who talked about HMB during the
press conference.
On the
other hand, a study conducted by Nielsen Company in four countries in
Asia—Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia—shows that 12 million women have
HMB. A study in the Philippines is still in the works, according to the Bayer
HealthCare executives.
HMB is
prevalent among women aged 35 years old and above. However, some young girls
have HMB as early as 13-15 years of age.
Combatting HMB
Dealing
with menstruation is hard enough, but HMB is a different matter, a serious
condition that upsets the lives of women.
“It
affects their work, causes emotional distress and drains their finances,” said
Dr. Tan. According to him, 57 percent of women resort to having hysterectomy
(surgery to remove the uterus) just to get rid of the hassles and health
disadvantages HMB bring.
Today,
there are options for women to counter HMB, such as hormonal IUDs and an oral
contraceptive such as Qlaira launched that day by Bayer HealthCare.
Here in
the Philippines, it’s relatively easy to buy contraceptives over the counter.
However, Bayer HealthCare’s Medical Director Luis Abola strongly advised, “As
with any drug, women should consult first a doctor before taking anything.”
ALINA
R. CO
KG, GMA
News
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