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Period problems
Period problems
Breastfeeding and periods
There are many factors that determine when your period will return when you are breastfeeding. Learn more about breastfeeding and periods here.
Heavy periods
Your periods are heavy if you're using more tampons or pads than usual. Here's what you can do for heavy periods, starting with a doctor's visit.
Irregular periods
The length of your cycle may change month to month, but if there is cause for concern if your period is suddenly very different to your normal cycle.
Painful periods
Painful periods is most common in young women, and the pain often tends to ease as you get older. Learn more about the symptoms and treatments.
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Premenstrual syndrome refers to symptoms that occur around the time of your period. There are ways to help manage your premenstrual symptoms.
Retained object or tampon
Sometimes a tampon or other object can become stuck in the vagina. If this happens to you, it is important to know what to do.
Toxic shock syndrome
Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) occurs when a bacteria releases toxins into the body’s bloodstream. It's very rare but often associated with tampon use.
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Top results
Menstruation (menses, menstrual cycle, periods) information | myVMC
Menstruation, menses or menstrual periods involve hormonal and ovarian changes that cause PMS symptoms, ovulation, period pain and other period symptoms.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Menstrual cycle and period problems | Family Planning NSW
What is menstruation and when does it happen? Get info on managing menstruation, period pain and maintaining hygiene during menstruation.
Read more on Family Planning NSW website
Periods | Jean Hailes
The menstrual cycle is controlled by female hormones that generally cause a regular bleed, often called a period. In these pages you will learn all about the menstrual cycle, periods, heavy bleeding, regular and irregular bleeding, period pain, premenst
Read more on Jean Hailes for Women's Health website
About the menstrual cycle | Jean Hailes
Learn all about the menstrual cycle, what happens, how long a menstrual cycle usually is and when you should seek help.
Read more on Jean Hailes for Women's Health website
Menstrual cycle: normal - myDr.com.au
The menstrual cycle is generally thought of in phases: the menses, the follicular phase, ovulation and the luteal (secretory) phase.
Read more on myDr website
Menstrual Cycle and Sleep
Sleep is important to health and well-being. Sleep health is vital to good health. Important things about the menstral cycle and sleep. A lack of sleep affects mood, concentration, memory, weight, driving skills, and quality of life. Medical sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnoea (apnea), insomnia, snoring, restless legs syndrome and narcolepsy contribute to high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. Poor sleep is a major cause of lost productivity and accidents in the workplace, road and at home. Sleep is one of the pillars of good health.
Read more on Sleep Health Foundation website
Menstruation (period) due date calculator | myVMC
The menstruation calculator is a tool for determining when your next period is due, based on your last menstruation start date and a 28 day menstrual cycle.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Calendar Based Methods of Contraception | myVMC
Calendar based contraceptive methods prevent pregnancy by determining the fertile periods during the menstrual cycle and avoiding sexual intercourse or using alternative contraceptive methods on those days.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Basal Body Temperature Monitoring Contraceptive Method | myVMC
Basal body temperature monitoring is a contraceptive method which relies on the woman monitoring her basal body temperature on a daily basis to determine the periods of her menstrual cycle when she is and is not fertile.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Ovulation calculator (for identifying fertile days) tool | myVMC
This ovulation calculator determines the days of your menstrual cycle on which you are fertile and can conceive a baby, or should use conraception.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Top results
Timing of surgery for premenopausal women with breast cancer | Cochrane
Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of mortality and morbidity and the majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer undergo treatment which includes surgical intervention, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or both. This review attempted to ascertain if the timing of tumour removal in relation to different stages of the menstrual cycle has an impact on overall survival or disease-free survival in premenopausal breast cancer patients. The follicular stage of the menstrual cycle relates to days 0 to 14, prior to ovulation. The luteal phase relates to days 15 to 35, after ovulation. If small changes in the timing of surgery could predictably improve the survival rates, any inconvenience and complexity is a small price to pay for the benefit. There were no completed randomised controlled trials comparing surgery performed during the follicular phase and the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. We identified one ongoing randomised multicentre study and three prospective observational studies.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Cyclical progestogens for heavy menstrual bleeding | Cochrane
Progestagens may offer some help in reducing heavy menstrual bleeding but are not as effective as other therapies such as danazol and tranexamic acid. Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is when a woman looses 80 ml or more of blood per menstrual cycle (period). Most women with HMB do not show any physical cause so getting help without surgery is an attractive alternative. Progestogens are taken by mouth either during days 15 or 16 to day 26 of the menstrual cycle (short course) or from day 5 to day 26 (long course). The review of trials found that progestogens significantly reduced menstrual blood loss but were less effective than danazol, tranexamic acid and the progesterone-releasing intrauterine system (IUS).
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Family planning with methods based on fertility awareness | Cochrane
Methods of family planning that are based on 'fertility awareness' try to identify the fertile days of a woman's menstrual cycle. Names used to describe this approach to birth control include 'rhythm,' 'natural family planning' and 'periodic abstinence.' The goal is to avoid sex on the days when the women might get pregnant. Couples could also use these methods with a condom or they could use withdrawal.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for premenstrual syndrome | Cochrane
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common cause of physical, psychological and social problems in women of reproductive age. PMS is distinguished from 'normal' premenstrual symptoms by the degree of distress and disruption it causes. Symptoms occur during the period leading up to the menstrual period and are relieved by the onset of menstruation. Common symptoms include irritability, depression, anxiety and lethargy. A clinical diagnosis of PMS requires that the symptoms are confirmed by prospective recording (that is recorded as they occur) for at least two menstrual cycles and that they cause substantial distress or impairment to daily life. It is estimated that approximately one in five women of reproductive age are affected. PMS can severely disrupt a woman's daily life and some women seek medical treatment. Researchers in The Cochrane Collaboration reviewed the evidence about the effectiveness and safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for treating PMS. They examined the research up to February 2013.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Beta2-adrenoceptor agonists for primary dysmenorrhoea | Cochrane
As many as 50% of premenopausal women regularly suffer from menstrual pain. Many of these women may be incapacitated for one to three days during each menstrual cycle. Primary dysmenorrhoea (PD) is where women suffer from menstrual pain but lack any pathology in their pelvic anatomy. A wide range of treatments are available and some of these, such as beta2-adrenoceptor agonists, have been used to treat women with primary dysmenorrhoea but their effects are unclear. Five studies involving 187 females with an age range of 15 to 40 years were included in this review. Oral isoxsuprine was examined in two studies; terbutaline oral spray, ritodrine chloride and oral hydroxyphenyl-orciprenalin were compared with placebo in a further three studies. All of the studies were conducted over 30 years ago and none were of high quality. None of these medications, other than isoxsuprine combined with acetaminophen and caffeine, were reported to have any beneficial effect. Side effects with these medications were reported in up to a quarter of the participants and included nausea, vomiting, dizziness, quivering, tremor and palpitations. At present there is insufficient evidence to allow confident decision-making about the use of beta2-adrenoceptor agonists for dysmenorrhoea.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Models of Care
Models of Care
Read more on palliAGED website
Black cohosh (Cimicifuga spp.) for menopausal symptoms | Cochrane
Menopause is the period of time in a woman's life when menstruation ceases. These changes in menstruation are often accompanied by troublesome symptoms, including hot flushes, vaginal dryness and night sweats. Interventions that decrease the severity and frequency of these menopausal symptoms are likely to improve a person's well-being and quality of life. The herb black cohosh was traditionally used by Native Americans to treat menstrual irregularity, with many experimental studies indicating a possible use for black cohosh in menopause. This review set out to evaluate the effectiveness of black cohosh for controlling the symptoms of menopause. The review of 16 studies (involving 2027 women) found insufficient evidence to support the use of black cohosh for menopausal symptoms. Given the uncertain quality of most studies included in the review, further research investigating the effectiveness of black cohosh for menopausal symptoms is warranted. Such trials need to give greater consideration to the use of other important outcomes (such as quality of life, bone health, night sweats and cost-effectiveness), stringent study design and the quality reporting of study methods.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Iron supplements taken one, two or three times a week for preventing anaemia and its consequences in menstruating women | Cochrane
Iron supplements taken one, two or three times a week for preventing anaemia and its consequences in menstruating women
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Vitamin B1 and magnesium may both help reduce the pain of dysmenorrhoea | Cochrane
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Endometrial preparation for egg donor recipients or for frozen embryo transfers | Cochrane
Couples undergo in vitro fertilisation (IVF) after a long period of subfertility, because women have blocked fallopian tubes or severe endometriosis, where the male partner has a reduced semen count, or when pregnancy has not resulted after previous less invasive fertility treatment. Subsequent to an unsuccessful fresh embryo IVF cycle, a frozen-thawed embryo transfer can be performed when frozen embryos are available. Alternatively for women who have:ovarian insufficiency (premature menopause), poor ovarian capacity to respond to stimulation, or or have had several unsuccessful IVF cycles, oocyte donation is a frequent treatment option, particularly for older women. Adequate hormonal preparation of the endometrium is of outmost importance in both egg donor and frozen embryo replacement cycles to provide the optimal chances of pregnancy. Many drugs and various modes of administration have been tried by several investigators in order to optimise implantation rates and consequently improve the success rates of the embryo transfer procedures. A total of 22 randomised controlled trials were included in this review. There is insufficient evidence from these trials to be able to identify one particular intervention for endometrial preparation that clearly improves the treatment outcome for women receiving embryo transfers with either frozen embryos or embryos derived from donated oocytes. Better quality studies are needed to more accurately evaluate each treatment.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
