10 Effective Home Remedies For Irregular Periods

Introduction

Menstruation or periods are the most essential yet neglected part of a woman’s life. Discussing menstruation can make many women uncomfortable, that a significant chunk of girls is not even aware of menstruation.

When the first time menstruation hits teenage girls, it often leads to confusion and anxiety. It may be due to different biological changes in the body.

Periods are a biological process where bleeding occurs through the vagina. It is a shedding process where the lining of the uterus, called the endometrium, sheds itself.

Periods start from the puberty age group and lasts till around 45-50 years of a female’s life. The menstrual cycle for women is 28 days, but this changes for everyone. Periods can be painful for many women with cramps in the abdomen, vomiting, loose motions, leg pains, and weakness.

Friendly Reminder: The information shared here is for educational purposes only and the reader should consult a registered medical practitioner before implementing any changes to their health routine.

What are Irregular Periods?

A regular menstrual cycle occurs after 28 days to 35 days and lasts for 4-6 days approximately. You may count a period to be irregular if it does not start even after 35 days or occurs with a gap of a different number of days each time.  

How to Know if You Have Irregular Periods?

• Duration: Consider whether your period is ending sooner or lasting longer than usual.
• Flow: Monitor the flow of your period, noting if it is heavier or lighter than normal. Keep track of how often you need to change sanitary pads.
• Bleeding: Pay attention to any bleeding that occurs outside of your normal period.
• Pain: Assess whether you are experiencing more or less pain than usual, and if the pain differs from what you typically expect.
• Other factors: Reflect on any other changes in your life, including whether your periods are now accompanied by new mood changes.

What are the Symptoms of Irregular Periods?

• The length of the menstrual cycle gets extended for more than 35 days
• Missing more than 3 consecutive cycles
• Heavy bleeding with clots or spotting 
• Abdominal cramps and backache 

What are the Causes of Irregular Periods?

• Hormonal imbalance 
• Using contraceptive pills 
• Obesity
• Lifestyle changes – sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy food habits
• Stress-induced
• Thyroid disorders such as medication, surgery, and radioactive iodine therapy-induced
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome 

There are various treatments for irregular periods according to the underlying causes. There are some home remedies that you can try at home to get your cycle back on track.

An effective and inexpensive method of lowering stress at home or work is meditation. Reducing stress may result in more regular periods as the two are closely related according to research. According to scientists, meditation may reduce the negative impacts of psychological stress. Find a peaceful area to sit, then sit up straight, relax your arms, and lay your hands on your knees. Concentrate on the sound of your breath while tuning into the sounds around you. Observe your thoughts as they come to you, then let them go. Try meditating for a short period of time at the start, and then every day extend it by one minute.

Dr. Siddharth Gupta, B.A.M.S, M.D (Ayu)

Effective Home Remedies For Irregular Periods

1. Ginger Tea 

Ginger is beneficial for different diseases and symptoms, including irregular periods. Regular consumption of raw ginger can help to regulate your periods. Ginger contains gingerol that helps lower inflammation in the body. It helps in contracting the uterine muscles and facilitates hormonal balance. It standardizes the monthly occurrence of periods. Drinking a glass of hot ginger tea with a bit of lemon juice and a dash of honey, either on an empty stomach in the morning or the evening, promotes metabolism. 

2. Unripe Papaya

Unripe papaya is well-known for its action on irregular periods. It enhances your uterine contraction that helps occur during your periods. Consume unripe papaya juice regularly for a few months but do not drink it during your periods.

3. Jaggery 

Jaggery is sweet and has a lot of medicinal properties. Regular consumption of jaggery may help regulate irregular periods. It also helps in reducing uterine cramps.

4. Turmeric 

Turmeric can do anything. It is a magical home remedy that we can use in any condition. Regular consumption of jaggery may help regulate irregular periods. It also has anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic properties that help in reducing uterine cramps. If you want to prepone your periods naturally, try having turmeric with warm milk and honey. Take it daily till you get your periods. 

5. Aloe Vera 

Aloe Vera juice is an excellent remedy to regulate your menses and reduce excess weight. It also enhances your metabolism and keeps your gut system healthy. Aloe Vera helps to correct your hormonal imbalance and treat your menstrual irregularities. But never use Aloe Vera during periods. It may increase uterine contractions. 

6. Apple Cider Vinegar 

Consuming apple cider vinegar can help you regularize your periods and hormones in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome. You may also lose weight and lower blood sugar and insulin levels. 

Apple cider vinegar is bitter, so you can consume it by mixing it with honey to neutralize the bitter taste.

7. Cinnamon 

Cinnamon is essential in our kitchen as well as in our health. It helps regulate the blood flow to the uterus and may treat irregular periods. It may reduce abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting during periods. 

For best results, add a teaspoon of cinnamon powder to a glass of milk and consume it. 

8. Beetroot 

Consuming beetroot may help deal with irregular period problems and their symptoms. Beetroot contains a high amount of folic acids and iron that help increase haemoglobin level in the blood. It also works as an emmenagogue.

9. Consuming a Healthy Diet 

Unhealthy eating habit is one of the causes of irregular periods. Eating fast food, processed food, and alcohol may cause a hormonal imbalance in the body that may lead to irregular periods. You should make sure that your diet includes green vegetables, fruits, dry fruits, red meat, fish, and foods that give you complete nutrients regularly.

10. Regular Exercise and Yoga 

Regular exercise has many benefits, and regularizing periods is one of them. It helps maintain your weight and keep the balance in your hormones. In polycystic ovarian syndrome, a woman may lead to gain unnecessary weight gain that causes hormonal imbalance. Doing regular workouts may solve this problem. 

Yoga also has been beneficial to balance your mind and body. It keeps your body and minds calm. Research suggests that yoga helps reduce menstrual pain and emotional symptoms associated with menstruation, such as depression and anxiety, and improves the quality of life in women with primary dysmenorrhea.

The menstrual cycle of a person may change as their body weight changes. A woman’s periods might become erratic or even stop abruptly if they are severely underweight. Putting on weight may help stabilize their periods since the body needs some fat to manufacture the hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle. This may be compared to obesity possibly affecting menstruation. The menstrual period may become more regular after losing weight. Reproductive health depends on maintaining a healthy weight. An individual may be able to control their weight by eating a wholesome, calorie-restricted diet and engaging in regular exercise.

Dr. Rajeev Singh, BAMS

When to Call The Doctor

While irregular periods are a cause for concern, the condition can be managed effectively with proper home remedies. However, it is sometimes necessary to reach out to a healthcare professional if the symptoms become too severe to manage. Call your doctor if you face any of the following acute symptoms of irregular periods:

• You have missed three or more of your periods in the year
• Regular periods increase in frequency and you get your periods more often than the regular 21 days
• Period frequency period is reduced and you get your periods less often than the normal 35 days
• If you experience an unnaturally greater amount of bleeding during your periods
• If the period bleeding persists for longer than seven days
• If your period pain is more intense or lasts longer than what you normally experience

It is essential to know when to see your doctor for irregular periods. If the home remedies are not sufficient to treat the conditions you experience, reach out to a doctor immediately.

Read more about: 8 Healthy Foods To Deal With Menopause Symptoms

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Disclaimer: The information provided here is for  educational/awareness purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional and should not be relied upon to diagnose or treat any medical condition. The reader should consult a registered medical practitioner to determine the appropriateness of the information and before consuming any medication. PharmEasy does not provide any guarantee or warranty (express or implied) regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of the information; and disclaims any liability arising thereof.

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