In most cases, a dark, light period, especially at the start or finish of your period, is completely natural and does not signal any kind of health risk. The recurrence of such menstruation, however, may be indicative of underlying health issues, such as hormonal shifts, uterine issues, stress, or STIs.
Also, menstruation may get darker, like coffee grounds, when a woman begins taking the birth control pill for the first time, changes pills, or utilises the morning-after pill, but then returns to normal the following cycle.
The idea is that if the colour of menstrual bleeding raises any questions, a visit to the gynaecologist should be scheduled to determine if there is a medical cause that requires more intensive care.
Medicalnewstoday and WebMD list the following as potential causes of dark menstrual blood:
1. Shifts in mood
Excessive stress or the onset of depression are two examples of emotional changes that can have a physical impact on a woman's reproductive system, specifically the uterus, by weakening its muscular walls.
As a result, blood oxidation is facilitated, leading to darker menstruation, and desquamation of the uterine walls is delayed.
2 Hormonal shifts and the onset of menopause
Hormonal shifts brought on by thyroid illness or even menopause frequently result in irregular, light-colored periods.
This adjustment is also frequent when a woman switches birth control pills or when she stops breastfeeding and the breastfeeding pill is no longer effective enough to prevent menstruation.
3. Sexually Transmitted Infections
Chlamydia and gonorrhoea are bacterial STDs that are known to hasten the breakdown of menstrual blood, which in turn makes menstrual blood appear darker.
An unpleasant odour, dark discharge before or after menstruation, pelvic pain, and a temperature exceeding 38 degrees Celsius are common symptoms of this kind of menstruation.
4. Endometriosis
Endometriosis, the abnormal growth of endometrial tissue in places other than the uterus, is associated with both monthly and nonmenstrual periods of excruciating pelvic pain and blood that looks like coffee grounds.
In such circumstances, menstruation is not only more noticeable because of its duration (which may exceed 7 days), but it is also darker.
5. Postpartum
Another instance where black menstruation is typical is during the postpartum period, when it typically takes the uterus 45 days to shrink back to its pre-pregnancy size and regular blood flow is expected.
Many women may be confused by the dark colour of this bleeding, but rest assured that it is typical.
Content created and supplied by: Afodas (via Opera News )
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