I'm a doctor - these are the period symptoms you should NEVER ignore as they could be a sign of a serious condition
A doctor has revealed the period symptoms you should 'never ever ignore' as they could be the sign of a more serious condition.
Dr Raj Arora, who is a GP in the UK, warned that certain symptoms could indicate endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or even, in rare cases, cancer.
In a recent TikTok video, the GP urged women to seek advice from their doctor if they are experiencing heavy periods or spotting and explained that the two symptoms could be indicators of underlying health issues.
In the clip she said: 'Number one, heavy periods. Now, this is really really important.'
Dr Arora said you can tell if you have especially heavy periods through a number of ways.
These include if: 'You are soaking through pads or tampons within two hours; you're having heavy bleeding for more than seven days; needing to change your pad or tampon throughout the night; or you're passing clots that are larger than a coin or a quarter and they're just passing through and feeling uncomfortable.'
The doctor then explained how heavy periods can cause serious knock on side effects.
She said: 'If you're having heavy periods like this that are not just heavy and uncomfortable, but also having knock on effects like dizziness or making you feel like you are going to pass out - you do not want to ignore this symptom.'
Arora continued: 'This could be a result of fibroids, it could be a result of endometriosis, adenomyosis, PCOS. The list goes on.
'You don't want to be ignoring this you need to get help. Go and see your GP.'
The doctor went on to explain the second period symptom that should not go by untreated.
Dr Arora said: 'Number two, spotting in between periods.'
The GP continued: 'If you've got spotting between your periods it is really important to find out why.
'This might be down to having cysts and having pelvic inflammatory disease. It might be down to having endometriosis, again PCOS.
'And more importantly, if it is a result of pelvic inflammatory disease or a long standing infection in the pelvis, you want to get this treated because it can actually sometimes have an impact om your fertility as well.'
Without wanting to worry her viewers, the doctor added: 'Sometimes bleeding in between periods can even be a sign of cancer.
'I don't want to scare or worry you but it is important that if you are having bleeding in between periods you are seeing your doctor to get it checked out.'
Although several women were grateful for the tips many complained that they had gone to their GP about these symptoms and were brushed off.
One viewer said: 'I don't ignore it but my GP does,' another responded to the comment in agreement saying, 'Real, they just throw you on the pill.'
A second person wrote: 'I never get my period. Haven't had one since 2022. So [at the] start of this year I went to local GP, she ended up saying it's cos I'm fat. I said what do you mean, she said you're not getting your period cos your over weight.'
Another person added: 'The gp will still say its in your head and will put you on birth control.'
Several other women told stories of being ignored by their GP, one said: 'I bleed through a super tampons with a night pad in 30 minutes no doctors will listen they just say 'is a normal part of being a woman' even when I've been bleeding constantly for four months.'
Endometriosis affects roughly 11 percent of American women - about 6.5million people, according to the US Office on Women's Health (OASH)
It's a condition where the tissue that normally grows on the inside of the uterus begins growing outside of it - on the ovaries, fallopian tubes or other internal organs.
The tissue inside your uterus is shed each month with your menstrual cycle, but the extra tissue on misplaced parts of your body has nowhere to go when responding to monthly hormonal changes, leading to a wide range of uncomfortable symptoms.
This can include painful sex, bloating, nausea, fatigue, depression and infertility. Between 30 and 50 percent of people diagnosed with the condition may experience infertility, according to Massachusetts General Hospital.
Experts don't know what causes endometriosis, but it's likely an interplay of your genes, hormones and immune system, or could have to do with trauma from surgery, according to OASH.
Because it's so poorly understood, it takes an average of eight years after developing symptoms for someone to be diagnosed with endometriosis.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
24 minutes ago
- BBC News
Several US Jolly rancher sweets unsafe to eat, FSA says
A number of products from a brand of US sweets are "unsafe to eat" and contain ingredients which could increase the risk of cancer and cause damage to DNA, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has businesses and consumers are being urged to stop buying and selling the Jolly Ranchers products, owned by US company FSA says they contain chemical compounds - mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) and mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) - which are "not compliant with UK laws".The products pose a safety risk if consumed regularly over time but there is "no immediate cause for concern, as [the] food safety risk is low", the agency adds. In a food alert published on Wednesday evening, the FSA said: "MOAH can cause damage to DNA and has the potential to increase the risk of cancer, particularly if consumed in high quantities over a prolonged period of time."MOAH is a genotoxic carcinogen, therefore no exposure is without risk to human health."MOAH and MOSH are used in confectionary to prevent stickiness and create a glossy to the agency, The Hershey Company has been working with the UK government body to remove the affected Jolly Rancher products from the UK market since 2024, but some businesses in Britain have continued to import the affected products are: Jolly Rancher Hard Candy, Jolly Rancher 'Misfits' Gummies, Jolly Rancher Hard Candy Fruity 2 in 1, and Jolly Ranchers Berry food agency is advising people who have any of the listed products to not eat them and dispose of them at home. If consumers have any concerns, they are being asked to notify the Trading Standards department or environmental health department in the local authority they made the purchase agency said it was asking enforcement authorities to make "immediate contact" with businesses which had been supplied with or received any of the products, and take action to ensure they were withdrawn from the market.
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
New test for coeliac disease could increase diagnosis rates
A new blood test for gluten -specific T cells can detect coeliac disease even without gluten consumption, according to research published in Gastroenterology. The new blood test could increase diagnosis rates, identify those at risk of severe reactions, and detect silent coeliac disease. The test measures the immune marker interleukin 2 (IL-2), which spikes in the bloodstream of people with coeliac disease after gluten consumption. The study showed the test could detect coeliac disease with up to 90 per cent sensitivity and 97 per cent specificity, even in patients on a gluten -free diet. Researchers are collaborating with Novoviah Pharmaceuticals to confirm the test's accuracy across diverse populations and gather real-world data, potentially leading to faster and safer diagnoses. 'Game-changer' new blood test to detect prevalent autoimmune disease without nightmare side effects
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Britain morphing into ‘National Health State', says think tank
Britain is turning into a 'National Health State', a think tank has said after the Chancellor gave the NHS a major funding boost in her spending review. The health service was the big winner of Wednesday's spending review, receiving an extra £29 billion per year for day-to-day spending and more cash for capital investment. Overnight, the Resolution Foundation said Rachel Reeves's announcements had followed a recent trend that saw increases for the NHS come at the expense of other public services. Ruth Curtice, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: 'Health accounted for 90% of the extra public service spending, continuing a trend that is seeing the British state morph into a National Health State, with half of public service spending set to be on health by the end of the decade.' Defence was another of Wednesday's winners, Ms Curtice said, receiving a significant increase in capital spending while other departments saw an overall £3.6 billion real-terms cut in investment. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) made similar arguments about 'substantial' investment in the NHS and defence coming at the expense of other departments, although the think tank's director Paul Johnson warned the money may not be enough. He said: 'Aiming to get back to meeting the NHS 18-week target for hospital waiting times within this Parliament is enormously ambitious – an NHS funding settlement below the long-run average might not measure up. 'And on defence, it's entirely possible that an increase in the Nato spending target will mean that maintaining defence spending at 2.6% of GDP no longer cuts the mustard.' Ms Curtice added that low and middle-income families had also done well out of the spending review 'after two rounds of painful tax rises and welfare cuts', with the poorest fifth of families benefiting from an average of £1,700 in extra spending on schools, hospitals and the police. She warned that, without economic growth, another round of tax rises was likely to come in the autumn as the Chancellor seeks to balance the books. She said: 'The extra money in this spending review has already been accounted for in the last forecast. 'But a weaker economic outlook and the unfunded changes to winter fuel payments mean the Chancellor will likely need to look again at tax rises in the autumn.' Speaking after delivering her spending review, Ms Reeves insisted she would not have to raise taxes to cover her spending review. She told GB News: 'Every penny of this is funded through the tax increases and the changes to the fiscal rules that we set out last autumn.'
