It is important for a woman to know what normal periods should be like: how many days they can last, how much blood the body loses in one cycle. And if blood clots suddenly appear during menstruation, similar to liver, is this normal? Many reasons lead to increased bleeding during menstruation. This can be a harmless pathology that is not life-threatening, or serious cancer, as well as an incipient miscarriage or systemic diseases. Blood clots can appear in a woman of any age, but where is the line between normal and pathological?
How does menstruation work?
Menstruation that comes with clots is often accompanied by pain, nausea and general weakness. Reddish liver-like parts of the endometrium usually appear towards the end of your period. Periodic bleeding with such inclusions in women is, for the most part, profuse and prolonged.
This phenomenon is pathological; it indicates various types of disturbances in the functioning of the woman’s reproductive system.
Reasons for the development of pathology
Clots during the period of menstrual flow, similar to particles of internal organs, can occur for various reasons. A sharp change in body position, when blood manages to accumulate in a certain amount in the uterine cavity, and insufficient release of enzymes responsible for the process of blood clotting are considered natural and do not cause the development of pathology.
The following reasons should be considered as provoking negative changes in a woman’s health; they pose a danger and require immediate medical response :
- intrauterine device (IUD) - this method of preventing unwanted pregnancy is very popular due to its high efficiency and ease of installation, but in some cases the device can cause excessive bleeding. This is explained by the specifics of the body, which perceives the IUD as a foreign body and tries to remove it from the uterine cavity with the help of copious secretions, some of which look like clots;
- Uterine fibroids are a benign neoplasm accompanied by significant bleeding with endometrial particles. In case of heavy discharge, you should contact your treating gynecologist, who will prescribe hemostatic drugs and provide the necessary effect with the help of medications or surgical intervention;
- hyperplasia of the endometrial mucosa of the uterine cavity - this disease most often causes heavy bleeding and the formation of blood clots that look like liver. Endometrial hyperplasia can be caused by diseases of the woman’s body such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension;
- hormonal imbalance, as a result of which the color of the discharge may be darker or even brown;
- problems with the process of blood clotting, as a result of which a large amount of blood accumulates in the uterine cavity and with an insufficient amount of enzymes with an anticoagulant effect, the formation of clots that look like liver particles occurs;
- the use of medications that cause the onset of menstruation when they are delayed - when starting self-medication using drugs such as Norcolun or Duphaston, can significantly affect the amount of discharge;
- ectopic pregnancy, which is accompanied by pain and a significant amount of bleeding.
After childbirth and curettage, also within a month or two, there is likely to be a significant amount of discharge during menstruation, which may be accompanied by pain, discomfort, and deterioration in general condition.
After this type of intervention, there is a risk of releasing particles of tissue from the mucous membrane of the uterus and endometrium, which come out of the woman’s genital tract in the form of clots resembling the liver.
What are the physiological causes of clots?
The main factors that cause liver-like clots to come out during menstruation include:
- Hormonal disorders. The quality of endometrial tissue inside the uterine organ depends on the level of progesterone, which is produced in the second stage of the menstrual cycle. If this process is disrupted and this hormone is not produced enough, this can lead to infertility, miscarriages and other disorders. This happens because the endometrium is not tightly attached to the wall of the uterus and can peel off in pieces.
- Presence of organopathology of the reproductive organs. Clots during menstruation can also appear due to congenital or acquired pathologies of the reproductive organs. These include, for example, underdevelopment of the uterus or ovaries, bending of the uterus, etc.
The reason may be due to recent surgery
- Presence of a uterine device. This method of contraception is aimed at making it difficult for a fertilized egg to enter the uterine cavity. The presence of a foreign body inside this reproductive organ contributes to the occurrence of inflammation and various abnormalities in its functioning. The endometrium is formed incorrectly and during menstruation it often comes off in pieces of mucous tissue.
- Surgery and trauma. During pregnancy with pathologies and after surgery, the functioning of the reproductive organs changes somewhat. A woman may feel some discomfort, bleeding is profuse with inclusions of clots.
- Oncological processes. Often the presence of clots during menstruation indicates a tendency to various types of neoplasms on the mucous membrane of the intrauterine cavity. They can acquire a malignant form, turning into cancer.
- Chronic disorders. These include endometriosis, chronic endometritis, candidiasis, etc. These diseases cause abnormalities in the functioning of the uterine organ and can manifest themselves by the appearance of clots similar to the liver during menstruation.
- Nervous tension, stress. Nerves are the source of many diseases. Often the female body, which has been exposed to stress for a long time, cannot stand it. He signals his fatigue with some disorder, for example, an endocrine disruption, which manifests itself in reddish particles of the endometrium.
Sometimes nervous overstrain leads to menstrual irregularities.
A girl’s body is a complex system; the physiological causes of clots can overlap one another.
What is menstrual flow?
During menstruation, there is discharge - bloody clots. Before we tell you what it is, we suggest you understand how a woman’s periods go and how blood is formed during menstruation.
Every month, the endometrium grows in the uterine cavity, which is exfoliated and released from the body on the first day of menstruation. The upper tissue of the organ sometimes separates in lumps - this is normal. This process is associated with the maturation of the egg, which prepares the body for possible fertilization.
When the reproductive organs prepare for pregnancy, the body produces large amounts of female hormones, causing the endometrium to become thicker. If the egg is not fertilized during ovulation, hormone production stops. This leads to a slower flow of blood to the uterus, as a result of which its upper layer, the endometrium, begins to gradually be rejected. Discharge appears.
Normal periods should be liquid in consistency. On the 3-4th day, the amount of fluid released decreases. At the end of menstruation there is a so-called spotting - blood spots. They can be seen on panty liners.
Blood clots during menstruation are small. Usually their size does not exceed 0.3 cm. If a woman moves a lot during menstruation, then the pieces increase during menstruation. They also often stand out when there is a sudden change in body position.
Menstrual discharge, which comes in liver-like chunks, is associated with stagnation of blood in the uterine area. When immobilized in the reproductive organs, it stagnates and gradually coagulates, resulting in it coming out in pieces. This is a normal physiological phenomenon, so there is no reason to panic.
But if clots come out along with heavy periods, and the woman complains of severe discomfort in the ovarian area, this is an alarming symptom. In this case, it becomes necessary to undergo a medical examination.
You can read more about where blood comes from during menstruation in a separate article on our website.
When clots during menstruation are a pathology
They signal deviations in the presence of symptoms such as:
- The bloody discharge does not stop. This is a dangerous manifestation, you need to see a doctor immediately. Uterine bleeding manifests itself as scarlet blood, and clots may be present. This disorder may contribute to the development of anemia or coma.
- Unstable cycle. This disorder indicates endocrine disruption. The presence of endometrial particles in menstrual blood may indicate pathologies in its functioning or in the functioning of the ovaries.
- Repulsive odor from discharge. This phenomenon indicates an inflammatory process. It can be caused by various factors, ranging from endometritis to sexually transmitted diseases.
- Severe pain in the lower abdominal region. If there are mucous particles of the endometrium in the discharge, this may indicate a threat of miscarriage, oncological processes, or exacerbation of a chronic disease. Pain is always a clear signal of serious problems in the functioning of the body.
If the pressure drops. It may be dangerous
- Presence of discharge between periods. If at the same time the main periods come with clots similar to the liver, then this often indicates the development of a tumor process in the uterus, erosion, and hormonal imbalances.
- Weakness, lethargy, decreased blood pressure. This happens with severe inflammatory processes inside the body, as well as significant bleeding during menstruation. The presence of parts of the endometrium in the discharge confirms the development of pathology.
- Temperature too low or too high. An elevated body temperature always indicates the active functioning of the immune system in the fight against the pathogen. The size of the clots can determine its nature. If they are small or medium in size, then this indicates a hormonal imbalance; if they are large, then this indicates chronic inflammation of the uterine mucosa and infertility. A low temperature may indicate a loss of strength.
Uterine bleeding
Changes in the body during menstruation, an increase in the volume of discharge, menstruation without the formation of blood clots are dangerous symptoms that require consultation with a gynecologist.
This course of the disease reduces the amount of circulating fluid in the bloodstream and shock may develop. Any woman should be alert to the following signs that cause discomfort:
- Intense bleeding appeared in the middle of the cycle.
- Blood has been leaking for more than a week.
- During menstruation, large amounts of blood are released.
- Hygiene products fill with blood in an hour to an hour and a half.
- The condition is accompanied by weakness and loss of strength.
- Menstruation is accompanied by pain in the lower back, lower abdomen
- A blood test reveals anemia (lack of iron).
Important. Detecting signs of uterine bleeding is a signal from the body that you need to see a doctor immediately
Menstruation occurring without the formation of clots is a symptom characteristic of bleeding, which is life-threatening to ignore.
What treatment
To prescribe a treatment regimen for liver-like clots, it is necessary for the woman to undergo a comprehensive examination of the reproductive organs. Based on this, the doctor makes a diagnosis and selects treatment options. The main ones include:
- vitamin therapy, dietary supplements, physiotherapy;
- treatment with medications;
- healing with hormonal therapy;
- surgical intervention.
Methods for treating bloody clots with periodic discharge are indicated in the table.
| Frequency of use for women, % | Treatment options | |||
| Vitamin therapy | Treatment with medications | Treatment with hormonal drugs | Surgery | |
| 61 | 54 | 42 | 23 | |
Why can heavy periods with clots occur?
Heavy and very long periods with blood clots are a causative factor in the anemia of a woman’s body. Since significant systematic blood losses lead to a decrease in hypohemoglobinemia, and therefore to a disruption in the processes of filling the organ systems of the body with oxygen. This affects the normal production of hormones in the hematopoietic organs, which leads to a disruption in the overall uniformity of menstruation and the formation of clots.
Pathological excessively heavy periods with clots can give rise to suspicion of the development of very complex diseases, including oncological processes of the female reproductive system.
The general symptom complex includes the following indicators: pain localized in the abdominal area, dizziness and migraine-like pain, collapsed states, general malaise and loss of strength, significant pallor of the outer skin and pallor of the mucous membranes, hypotension.
Depending on the provoking factor, symptoms may vary and are as follows:
- After a long absence of menstruation, abortion or oral contraceptives. Characterized by severe cutting uterine pain with irradiation to the rectal intestine, nausea, vomiting, hypersalivation. This condition requires constant monitoring and hospitalization of the patient.
- An atypical phenomenon of menstruation during pregnancy. Characters of nagging pain spreading to the anal area, if they occur in the second trimester, can have a cramping nature (often indicating a spontaneous abortion). At the very latest stages, they can be a harbinger of placenta previa; bleeding is absolutely painless. Emergency hospitalization is necessary to decide on further medical tactics!
- Immediately after labor, lochia is very abundant, and the appearance of clots is due to placental debris. The discharge is bright, scarlet in color with a fetid odor, pain tends to shift to the lumbar and sacral region. It is necessary to seek help as soon as possible to prevent further infection and the development of endometritis.
— After a “caesarean section” operation, which is associated with the formation of scar tissue on the surface of the organ, contractility decreases, which complicates the outflow of blood in the postpartum period.
— After curettage surgery, clots may occur due to incomplete removal of the endometrium and fertilized egg or the formation of a placental polyp, which is accompanied by severe aching pain and scarlet bleeding. Hyperthermia, nausea, and vomiting may occur.
— After hysteroscopy, changes indicate the addition of an infection: foul odor, profuse menstruation with an admixture of infected mucus, severe pain.
— With myomatous changes in the uterus, the first symptom is heavy menstruation with clots, cramping pain, general weakness, low blood pressure and fainting.
— Age-related changes, especially after crossing the 45-year mark, that is, in premenopause, hyperestrogenism appears and affects the normal course of cyclic processes. The pain is nagging, without radiating. It is treated by surgical curettage of the uterine cavity and cervical region.
— In the menopausal period, the appearance of bleeding is a sign of a malignant neoplasm in the pelvic organ complex.
— When senile colpitis occurs due to hypoestrogenemia, which leads to thinning of the vaginal membranes and increases the risk of injury with minimal physical activity, sports, and coitus.
The most serious consequence of heavy periods with clots and anemization is profuse bleeding, turning into a state of hemorrhagic shock (requiring emergency blood replacement therapy in the intensive care unit).
Recommendations
If a woman’s menstrual cycle is disrupted, severe delay, stagnation, large blood clots, then the most correct decision would be to seek qualified medical help. Diagnostic measures must be complete and comprehensive, so one visit to a gynecologist alone will not be enough.
It often happens that a doctor of this specialization will issue a referral for a consultation with an endocrinologist and oncologist. If unusual bright red discharge occurs, if it is very abundant and there are large clots, you should immediately call an ambulance. It is possible that this condition will not be menstruation, but uterine bleeding, which can often be stopped only after complete removal of the endometrium.
It is strictly forbidden to self-medicate, or try to stop bleeding using medications, home remedies and traditional medicine recipes. This condition is very dangerous for the health and life of a woman.
