For clinical purposes, soaking more than 16 pads or tampons, or losing more than 80 ml of menstrual fluid, is considered menorrhagia. Unfortunately, women become at risk for developing secondary conditions as a result of menorrhagia if they soak between 9 and 12 regular-sized sanitary products during the course of one menstrual cycle.

Women with this condition are often at risk for developing a low blood count, otherwise called anemia, or may suffer from iron deficiency, because the body is unable to create new blood to compensate for the blood that’s lost during menses.

What Can I Do About It?

Luckily, there are several options to manage this condition, which vary widely depending on a woman’s age and childbearing plans. Among the options you can discuss with your doctor:

Ibuprofen

Taking 200 mg of ibuprofen every 4 – 6 hours during heavy flow periods has been shown to decrease bleeding by 25 to 30 percent, and has the added benefit of reducing the severity of menstrual cramps.

Compensate For Blood Loss

Women who experience heavy periods often feel extreme fatigue, dizziness, or accelerated heart rate, especially when standing up from a seated or prone position. This is an indication that your blood volume has gotten too low. To ease those symptoms and compensate for the blood loss, you should increase your fluid intake and increase your salt intake – particularly by consuming salty fluids, which can range from vegetable juices to broth-based soups.

You may need 4 – 6 extra cups of fluid a day to compensate for the blood loss. If you begin to feel faint when standing, you should call your doctor or seek emergency medical treatment to rule out a complication that may be causing your heavy flow, especially if you don’t typically have heavy periods.