How to stop heavy periods

It can be hard to know if you have heavy periods, medically known as menorrhagia. Periods vary so much between women that what’s normal for you may be heavy for someone else. 

However, as a general rule, you have heavy periods if you experience heavy bleeding or bleeding for more than seven days. Signs that you have heavy bleeding include soaking through your sanitary products in an hour or needing to use more than one at the same time eg a tampon and a pad. 

Heavy periods can take an emotional and physical toll on you. It’s therefore important to seek help from your GP. If you experience unusually heavy periods for more than a month or two or feel exhausted during your periods, it’s time to see your GP. 

They can help you decide what steps to take to reduce your bleeding and ease any other symptoms. This may include trying home remedies, making dietary changes, taking medication, or in rare cases when all other treatments have failed, surgery.

When to see a doctor for heavy periods

You should see your GP urgently if you’re nearing menopause and have irregular, heavy periods or are past menopause and have vaginal bleeding. 

If you aren’t near or past menopause and notice that your periods have been significantly heavier than usual for one or two months, see your GP. 

Signs that your periods are heavy include: 

• Bleeding lasting for more than seven days
• Having large clots in your menstrual blood — clots may be about the size of a 10p coin or bigger 
• Needing to use two sanitary products at the same time
• Needing to change your sanitary product in the middle of the night
• Soaking through your sanitary product in an hour 

As heavy periods can also cause anaemia, look out for signs such as extreme tiredness (fatigue), shortness of breath and pale skin. These are all signs that you have lost more blood than your body can cope with and you’ll need treatment.

Your GP will work with you to put together a treatment plan that fits with your lifestyle and reduces your symptoms as much as possible.

Heavy period treatments

Diet and supplements

If you’re wondering what foods make your period lighter, unfortunately, the short answer is none. There is no evidence that changing your diet and taking supplements alone will reduce heavy bleeding during your periods. However, staying hydrated and eating a diet rich in nutrients can help ease or prevent some of the other symptoms of heavy periods, such as fatigue and anaemia. 

Here are three ways you can adapt your diet to help with heavy periods. 

Eat more foods rich in vitamin C

Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron. Heavy bleeding during your period will mean you are losing iron, as it’s carried by your red blood cells. Lose too much blood every month and you may develop iron-deficiency anaemia. Vitamin C can help protect against this. 

Foods rich in vitamin C include: 

• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Fruits — this includes: 
• Citrus fruits eg oranges and grapefruit
• Non-citrus fruits eg kiwi fruit and strawberries
• Red and green peppers
• Tomato juice

Eat more foods rich in iron

As we mentioned earlier, heavy bleeding during your period can cause you to lose too much iron. It’s therefore important to get more iron from your diet. 

Foods rich in iron include: 

• Certain meats, specifically:
• Chicken 
• Lean beef
• Oysters
• Turkey
• Beans
• Spinach 
• Tofu

If you find it challenging to introduce foods rich in vitamin C and iron into your diet, you can take supplements instead. However, you should speak to your GP before taking any supplements. They can advise you on whether they are necessary and if they are, whether you need to take stronger prescription supplements. They will also advise you on side effects and whether supplements will interfere with any other medications you’re taking. 

Stay hydrated

Losing too much blood during your periods can reduce the total amount of blood flowing around your body (blood volume). Staying hydrated can help maintain your blood volume. So make sure you drink four to six extra glasses of water each day of your period. 

Home remedies to stop prolonged periods

There are several natural remedies to treat the symptoms of heavy periods. You can try a few to find out which work best for you and your lifestyle. 

Applying a heat pad

Period pain and cramps can be relieved by applying a heat pad — the warmth helps relax your muscles. 

Cooking in a cast-iron pot

To balance out the iron you’ll be losing during your heavy periods, you can introduce more iron in your diet by cooking in a cast-iron pot. Moist foods (eg sauces) will absorb more iron from the pot than dry foods. However, don’t overdo it and cook every meal in your cast-iron pot as you could end up with more iron in your diet than you need. 

Resting and exercising

Heavy periods can leave you feeling extremely tired so take rest breaks whenever you can. Relaxing exercise (eg yoga) can help you deal with the stress of heavy periods. 

Using a menstrual cup

Menstrual cups are becoming more popular as an eco-friendly way for women to manage their periods. If you have heavy periods, these silicone cups come with the added bonus of being able to hold more blood than tampons or pads. This means fewer trips to the toilet to change your sanitary product.  

To use a menstrual cup, you’ll need to insert it into your vagina where it collects the menstrual blood released from your womb. The cup can then be emptied, cleaned and reused. 

Wearing period pants at night

Period pants look the same as normal pants but have an additional absorbent layer. When worn with a sanitary product at night, they can prevent blood seeping through onto your clothes and bed linen. 

Medication for heavy periods

In addition to dietary changes and home remedies, you can try over-the-counter medication for heavy menstrual bleeding. If these approaches aren’t helping, you can talk to your GP about prescription medication to lighten periods. 

Over-the-counter painkillers

Over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can reduce your period pain and your menstrual bleeding. These drugs include aspirin and ibuprofen. 

Birth control pills, patches and rings

These prescription medications use hormones to lighten your periods by thinning the lining of your womb. Most birth control medication is used for 21 days with a seven-day break when you have your period. However, there are also versions that you can take continuously through the month, which can stop your periods altogether.

Common side effects of birth control medication include:

• Bleeding or spotting between periods
• Bloating
• Mood changes and headaches
• Nausea
• Sore breasts
• Weight gain

Birth control injection

Your doctor or nurse will inject this hormone medication into your arm or buttock once every three months.

Hormonal intrauterine device (IUD)

A hormonal IUD is a birth control device that is inserted into your womb and releases hormones to prevent you from getting pregnant. It reduces your menstrual bleeding and for some women, stops it altogether. It can work for three to five years before it needs replacing. Copper IUDs work differently and will not reduce menstrual bleeding. 

Tranexamic acid and desmopressin 

Both of these prescription medications are antifibrinolytic, which means they prevent your body from breaking down blood clots — this reduces menstrual bleeding. Neither are birth control medications, so you can still get pregnant while taking them. 

Tranexamic acid is usually taken as a tablet for several days each month. You may have side effects such as cramps and headaches. 

Desmopressin is taken as a nasal spray. 

Norethindrone

This prescription medication is an artificial version of a natural hormone called progesterone. Taken as a tablet two times a day for 21 days, it can reduce your menstrual bleeding. Side effects are similar to those produced by the birth control pill. 

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists

If your heavy periods are caused by fibroids in your womb or endometriosis, your doctor may prescribe GnRH agonists either as an injection or nasal spray. This treatment is a temporary fix before you receive treatment for your underlying condition. They can only be taken for three to six months as their side effects get worse over time. Side effects include headaches, hot flashes and weakened bones. 

Surgery for heavy periods

If you’ve tried medication for your heavy periods and it isn’t effective, your doctor may discuss surgical options with you. They will consider how severe your symptoms are, whether you plan on having children and if there is an underlying cause for your heavy periods. If there is an underlying cause, such as fibroids in your womb or endometriosis, treatment for this condition will ease or stop your heavy periods.

Surgery for fibroids in your womb

If your heavy periods are caused by fibroids in your womb, treatment may be non-invasive, using focused ultrasound to shrink your fibroids. However, in cases where this isn’t appropriate, your doctor may recommend one of the following surgical procedures:

• Myomectomy — your surgeon will remove your fibroids either via your vagina or through several small cuts or one large cut made into your abdomen 
• Uterine fibroid embolisation — your surgeon will insert a thin tube called a catheter into an artery in your thigh; they will guide the catheter into the arteries in your womb and inject tiny beads into the blood vessels supplying your fibroids, which will make your fibroids shrink

Other types of surgery

If your heavy periods are not caused by fibroids in your womb, your doctor may recommend one of the following surgical procedures: 

• Endometrial ablation — your surgeon will remove most of the lining of your womb using a laser, heat, or radiofrequency energy; this will lighten or stop your periods and you won’t be able to get pregnant afterwards
• Endometrial resection — your surgeon will use a wire loop to remove all of the lining of your womb; this will stop your periods and you won’t be able to get pregnant afterwards
• Dilation and curettage — your surgeon will remove some of the lining of your womb; you may need to have this procedure repeated; you can still get pregnant afterwards
• Hysterectomy — your surgeon will remove your whole womb; this is a major surgery and will completely stop your periods; you won’t be able to get pregnant afterwards 
• Operative hysteroscopy — your surgeon will pass a thin, telescope-like tube with a camera on the end (hysteroscope) through your vagina and into your womb to remove any growths that may be causing your heavy bleeding