Oligomenorrhea: causes and treatment

Oligomenorrhea - is one embodiment of menstrual function, wherein the menstruation duration is less than 3 days.Representatives of the fair sex, this feature of the menstrual cycle may seem quite normal and even endowed with a number of benefits.In fact, the appearance of oligomenorrhea suggests that serious pathological changes occur in the female body, which must be identified and, if possible, eliminated.

In general, disorders of the menstrual cycle by the type of oligomenorrhea are rarely isolated.Most often, there are immediately three variants of violations: oligomenorrhoea, hypomenorrhea( lean menstrual flow) and opsonenorea( rare menstruation).All of them are a manifestation of of the hypomanstrual syndrome .

Depending on when menstruation become too short( since the first period or longer later - after the cycle has stabilized), oligomenorrhea are two types: primary and secondary .

Contents: reasons oligomenorrhea Clinic and diagnostics Treatment of oligomenorrhea oligomenorrhea

reasons

Primary oligomenorrhea occurs in the following situations:

• case of violation of the reproductive system( this may be anomalies genital infantilism, etc..).
• With dysfunction of the ovaries, which occurs against the background of the malfunctioning of the central glands of the endocrine system - the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.
• At too low body weight.To fully function reproductive organs in the body of a woman must be present in sufficient quantities of fatty tissue( it is deposited female sex hormones).If there is no fatty layer, serious disorders develop, including amenorrhea and infertility.

Secondary oligomenorrhea - it is always the result of acquired pathologies:

• chronic inflammatory processes in the genital organs( including infectious nature).
• Dysfunctions of the ovaries on the background of polycystosis and other similar diseases.
• Hormonal imbalance.
• Tumors of the pituitary gland.
• Trauma of the uterus and appendages.
• Hypovitaminosis.
• Significant fluctuations in body weight in the greater or lesser direction( both dystrophy and obesity is fraught with the development of violations of the menstrual cycle).
• The states after the transferred gynecological operations( abortions, medical curettage endometrium, etc.).

addition, oligomenorrhea can occur at any age against the background of stress, physical fatigue, the negative impact of various professional factors, the use of oral contraceptives and hormone drugs.

It should also be mentioned that oligomenorrhoea( and hypomenstrual syndrome, respectively) may appear in some physiological processes of .For example, after 40 years, when a woman passes into pre-menopausal age, scanty and short-term menstruation is considered a variant of the norm, of course, if the diseases that contribute to it are not identified.In adolescent girls, manifestations of hypomenstrual syndrome may persist for about a year - this is the time it takes to stabilize the menstrual cycle.

Breastfeeding women are also characterized by disorders of menstrual function, such as oligo- and hypomenorrhea( amenorrhea is not present in all mothers until the end of the lactation period).

Clinic and diagnostics

oligomenorrhea itself as a pathological state of the patient does not bring any inconvenience, even the opposite - women see this as a lot of pluses.In fact, the case of menstruation, which lasts 1-2 days and is accompanied by a small blood release, suggests that the uterus is poorly growing endometrium. And if he does not gain the necessary thickness from the cycle, there is a high probability that a fertilized egg will not be able to firmly fixate in the uterus, that is, the desired pregnancy will not occur.

In addition, hypomenstrual syndrome, and oligomenorrhea in particular, is often accompanied by a violation of the ovulatory function of the ovaries ( ovulation occurs extremely rarely or does not occur at all) and a decrease in the synthesis of estrogens in the body.That is, in fact, the patients develop changes that are typical for the pre-menopausal period. For young women, the described reproductive disorders are fraught with serious problems:

• Premature aging.
• The occurrence of cardiovascular diseases.
• The development of osteoporosis, pathologies of the joints and spine.
• Emotional lability.
• Decreased libido.
• Increased body mass.

Thus, oligomenorrhea and hypomenstrual syndrome without qualified medical care can be transformed into hard-to-treat infertility and premature climax - the state is extremely undesirable for women of childbearing age. Therefore, if there are irregularities in the menstrual cycle by the type of oligomenorrhoea, a comprehensive examination should be mandatory, including:

• Consultation of a gynecologist.
• ultrasound of the pelvic organs.
• Investigation of the hormonal profile.
• Assays for sexual infections.
• In the presence of indications - hysteroscopy, diagnostic scraping of the endometrium, a detailed study of the condition of the hypothalamic-pituitary system and other studies.

Treatment of oligomenorrhea

With oligomenorrhoea, it is necessary to treat not the very violation of the menstrual cycle, but the disease that led to it.

Infectious inflammatory pathologies of the reproductive system show antibacterial and anti-inflammatory therapy , drugs that enhance local immunity in the genitals, vitamin complexes, homeopathic remedies, physiotherapy procedures.After such a course of treatment, the menstrual cycle, as a rule, is immediately restored.

For abnormalities and injuries of the genitals, surgical treatment is performed. If the cause of oligomenorrhoea became a problem on the part of the hypothalamic-pituitary system, it is necessary to treat these diseases - with adenoma of the pituitary gland an operative intervention is performed, in case of insufficiency of production of hormones, regulators of the functioning of the gonads, hormone replacement therapy is prescribed.

In addition, patients with oligomenorrhea should follow the recommendations of physicians regarding lifestyle, nutrition and physical activity:

• Get enough sleep.
• A full rest.
• To control weight( if there is an extra, you need to lose weight, if the girl or woman is too thin, you should increase the caloric content of the daily ration).
• Eating foods rich in vitamins.
• Do not smoke or abuse alcohol.
• Be a physically active person.

If the cause of the oligomenorrhea is not identified and eliminated and if the implementation of recommendations for lifestyle changes has also not yielded positive results, women are shown hormone therapy, , aimed at stabilizing the menstrual cycle.Those who do not plan to give birth in the near future, choose a combined oral contraceptive or prescribe a course of progesterone.Well, patients who want to become pregnant, are given a medicamentous stimulation of ovulation and the preparation of the endometrium for the implantation of the fetal egg.If to the issue of pregnancy, a woman suffering from oligomenorrhea, will respond responsibly and will observe all the appointments of a gynecologist, conception by a natural way and the birth of an absolutely healthy child is quite realistic.

Important: try to independently normalize the duration of menstruation with drugs that were once prescribed by a doctor to someone familiar, extremely thoughtless and even dangerous, since such actions can provoke the appearance of copious uterine bleeding and other serious complications.

Zubkova Olga Sergeevna, medical reviewer, epidemiologist