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June 22, 2018
Gynecology
Alisa Krasnova

Every woman sooner or later experiences regular bleeding, which is called the menstrual cycle. The duration, intensity and frequency of discharge varies depending on the development and functioning of the female body, so there is no single period when a given cycle should be expected. In this article we will cover a more serious topic, which tells why blood accumulates in the uterus, what this pathology can lead to, and which specialist is recommended to contact.

Why may blood appear in the uterus?

Do not confuse blood in the uterus with the menstrual cycle. In this case, clots form inside a hollow organ without the possibility of evacuation, which indicates bleeding. The main reason for the appearance and accumulation of moving tissue in the uterus is an abnormal pregnancy, the threat of miscarriage, or fetal pathology. Also, cystic fibrous formations on the muscular structure of the organ, with chronic inflammatory processes in the appendages and ovaries, can cause bleeding. Often, blood in the uterus may appear after an abortion or cleansing.

If blood collects in the female reproductive organ, which is not excreted from the body naturally, then this phenomenon is classified as an abnormal disease and is called hematometra.

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What to do during periods with clots

If there are obvious signs of pathology, then you need to contact a gynecologist. You may need to consult an endocrinologist or oncologist. If the blood loss is too great, there are large clots, and the discharge is bright red, you must call an ambulance. Uterine bleeding can sometimes be stopped only by completely removing the endometrium. It is unacceptable to self-medicate or use home remedies to stop bleeding.

A frightened woman consults with her friends, asking the question: “Why do pieces of meat come out during menstruation?” The friends' answers are not encouraging. Some explain this by luck, that it is supposedly a polyp or some kind of tumor that has exfoliated. Others say that this happens if there is a pregnancy failure. Such information upsets a woman even more - chronic abortion, especially when using contraceptives, most likely indicates health problems.

How can official medicine explain why pieces of meat come out during menstruation?

A hematometra in the uterus is...

Hematometra in the uterus is primarily a pathology, which is accompanied by the accumulation of blood inside a hollow organ. It occurs in those women whose hollow organ cannot independently evacuate accumulated blood. Pathology is the presence of adhesions, tumors or scars that block the release of blood mass both during menstruation and after surgery.

What is a hematometra in the uterus? This is an accumulation of connective fluid in a hollow organ, which, after injury or dysfunction, contracts, the lumen thus narrows to a minimum size. There are cases when the gap remains and a woman notices regular, scanty brown discharge for a long time. In medicine, it also happens when there is no lumen at all and blood accumulates inside the organ, expanding and injuring its walls from the inside.

In medicine, there are five subtypes of pathology:

Accumulation of blood after childbirth.
Anomalies and dysfunction of the female genital organs.
Development of tumors, polyps, fibrous tissues.
When the cervix is narrowed, if there is no lumen blocking the evacuation of blood.
Accumulation of blood in the postoperative period. For example, after an abortion, caesarean section, miscarriage.

Causes of periods with large blood clots

The main reasons that provoke the release of large blood clots during menstruation are:

endometrial hyperplasia and polyposis (adenomyosis);
uterine fibroids;
hormonal imbalance;
abnormalities of uterine development (unicornuate or double uterus);
anemia;
infections;
stress and bad habits.

Severe growth of the endometrium - hyperplasia - is characterized by poor appetite and weakness against the background of discharge of brown clots during menstruation. The development of this pathology is facilitated by diabetes mellitus, hypertension, high weight and hormonal imbalance. A benign tumor in the uterus - fibroids - is accompanied by disruption of the regularity of the monthly cycle, and menstruation is accompanied by pain. Polyposis is also accompanied by menstruation with lumps of coagulated blood and pain. When using an intrauterine device, blood clots during menstruation are parts of a fertilized egg. If a woman experiences brown discharge, severe abdominal pain and increased body temperature during her period, she should consult a gynecologist. These manifestations may indicate an ectopic pregnancy, which is life-threatening for the patient. A large blood clot may mean an early miscarriage.

The main causes of hematometra

The disease can manifest itself either as a result of congenital anomalies, or after injury to the muscle fibers of an internal organ:

A congenital pathology that was discovered and eliminated immediately after the birth of a girl or during puberty. As a rule, only surgical intervention in adolescence can help the uterus evacuate accumulated blood in a timely manner. The older the woman, the more difficult it will be to eliminate the anomaly without subsequent complications.
Acquired pathology. Often, hematometra appears as a complication or consequence after surgery. For example, after a caesarean section, natural birth or abortion.
Blood also accumulates if the placenta and fetal tissue were removed incorrectly.

Symptoms of pathology

Symptoms and signs of hematometra development may vary. It all depends on the type of pathology, as well as the reasons for its occurrence. Often, a woman may not suspect that blood clots are accumulating inside her reproductive organ, and the whole process is accompanied by menstrual pain and light bleeding, as during the monthly cycle. Let's look at the main symptoms that will help diagnose the disease in time and eliminate the pathology:

Painful sensations in the lower abdomen. As a rule, the pain can be pulling, aching, cramping.
Sensation of a foreign body in the lower abdomen, heaviness. This symptom often occurs in women before the onset of menstruation (3-7 days before).
No discharge after childbirth, cesarean section, miscarriage, or abortion.
Increase in basal temperature to 40 degrees.
Blood pressure may drop sharply, leading to dizziness and fainting.
Weakness in the body, tingling in the tips of the toes and hands.
Sensitivity to sunlight increases, which leads to panic attacks, nausea and vomiting.
Stopping bleeding after abortion, childbirth, caesarean section and miscarriage.

If large clots appear

Whatever questions about her own condition arise, a woman should first of all turn to a gynecologist, and not to her friends. The same symptoms may indicate different diseases or even be a variant of the norm. Sometimes, to answer the question of why pieces of meat come out during menstruation, consultation with both an endocrinologist and a vascular surgeon may be required. If such a phenomenon is not associated with inflammation or the location of the uterus, you need to get ready for an examination, which will take a lot of time.

When menstruation is on time and painless, 1 or 2 clots during menstruation should not cause fear.

The consistency of the discharge is not uniform throughout the cycle, the color changes from dark burgundy to scarlet. The clots themselves are light brown, burgundy, even black. Lost energy is quickly restored by the body.

If the bleeding does not stop for a long time after the clot is released, and it continues constantly, this is a reason to consult a doctor, sometimes even without waiting for the cessation of menstruation. There is a possibility that medical intervention may be required. Just the question of why pieces of meat come out during menstruation should not be asked to the doctor. It is necessary to correctly formulate the complaint as follows: “Menstruations come in large pieces, which cause heavy bleeding.”

Every woman has to endure a menstrual cycle once a month. But sometimes she notices blood clots during her period. The woman gets scared and begins to find out why blood clots are released during menstruation?

Any woman knows that menstruation is a necessary condition for the normal development of a girl and her ability to bear children. However, not all women have a normal menstrual cycle. Some have various pathologies.

Since menstruation occurs every month (that's why they are called that), women constantly monitor the normal signs of their own menstrual cycle. That is, they know what kind of discharge there should be, what its intensity is and what the general sensations of the body may be.

Therefore, if there are any deviations from the norm, the woman immediately notices that the cycle is not going as usual and begins to worry about it. Some symptoms are trivial and natural and do not require any treatment. Others are indicators of diseases of the female genital organs. With such symptoms, a mandatory visit to the doctor is required and a course of treatment prescribed by this doctor is required.

For example, many women ask doctors why blood clots are released during menstruation. They have no reason to worry. The cause of clots can be some kind of disease, or the normal passage of the menstrual cycle. It all depends on what exactly these clots look like and how the woman herself feels.

First of all, you need to know what the menstrual cycle actually is. Every month, the lining of the uterus prepares for the possible arrival of a fertilized egg. That is, its inner layer grows and becomes loose. This layer can increase in thickness by two to ten millimeters. If an egg is fertilized by a sperm, it sinks into the lining of the uterus and a fetus, that is, an unborn child, begins to develop from it. If there has been no fertilization, such a thick lining in the uterus no longer becomes necessary. Therefore, it is rejected along with the secretions of the uterine glands and blood discharge.

When a woman is constantly on the move (for example, she works and her job is not sedentary), the discharge during menstruation has a uniform appearance, because the released liquid immediately comes out through the vagina. If a woman sits or lies, this fluid begins to stagnate in the uterus. This causes the blood to coagulate and form small clots. As soon as the woman gets up and starts moving, these clots will come out along with other discharge. Such clots are quite normal and do not indicate any abnormalities.

They can only frighten a young girl who has had her period for the first year, and she does not yet know about the possible appearance of such clots. If a girl does not silently begin to panic, but at least asks her mother a question about it, she will immediately understand that there is no problem with such clots and there is no point in worrying about them.

It’s a completely different matter when a woman’s blood clots during menstruation are accompanied by very heavy bleeding, pain and general weakness. You should pay attention to such symptoms and solve the problem with the help of a doctor. There may be several reasons for such clots.

One of the reasons is a congenital anomaly of the uterus. That is, in a woman with a congenital anomaly, the uterus has an irregular shape. It can be curved or even have internal partitions. During menstruation, the discharge simply cannot come out immediately, because the shape of the uterus does not allow it. As a result, they stagnate, the blood clots, and by the time the discharge comes out, it will already contain blood clots. Women with congenital abnormalities of the uterus suffer from the fact that their periods are too painful and cause a lot of problems because of this.

Such anomalies appear due to hereditary diseases, harmful work of the mother during pregnancy, smoking and other things. There is no drug treatment for such abnormalities. Correcting the shape of the uterus is only possible through surgery.

Another reason why blood clots occur during menstruation may be a hormonal imbalance. Sometimes hormonal imbalance is caused by the appearance of tumors. Moreover, these tumors can be located not only in a woman’s ovaries, but also in the pituitary gland, thyroid gland and adrenal glands. If the reason for the appearance of clots is unclear, a full examination is required to find out. If a tumor is found, it should be removed surgically. Next, medication restores hormonal balance.

In some cases, the cause of clots may be endometriosis. With this disease, the mucous membrane of the uterus grows not only inside it, but also in other tissues and organs where it should not normally be present. During menstruation, the cells of the mucous membrane, along with the secretions, can enter through the fallopian tubes into the abdominal cavity and into the blood, from where they enter any other place.

Interestingly, having penetrated into other tissues, areas of the mucous membrane behave in exactly the same way as they should have behaved in the uterus. That is, they also change depending on the menstrual cycle. This usually occurs in the muscle layer of the uterus. Because of this, the vessels are damaged, bleeding occurs, followed by blood clotting. This is where the clots appear.

Women with endometriosis experience very heavy menstrual flow with clots. At the same time, women complain of pain. Also, in addition to discharge during menstruation, uterine bleeding periodically occurs. Constant bleeding can lead to iron deficiency anemia. Such women are treated either surgically or with the help of hormonal agents, such as progesterone. This remedy reduces the production of estrogens - female sex hormones. Anemia is treated with iron supplements. It is also recommended to consume foods that have a high iron content.

Sometimes there are other causes of clots in the discharge. For example, women who have an IUD installed may well experience similar clots in their blood discharge. It is better for such women to consult their gynecologist to avoid possible complications.

There is another, rather simple reason for this phenomenon. During menstruation, a woman may get sick with some kind of cold. Accordingly, her temperature will rise. At elevated temperatures, blood clots faster, which is why a large number of clots are observed in the secretions. Women with a high fever should not worry about the cause of these clots at all, as it is already clear.

In some cases, a woman who gave birth no more than four weeks ago suddenly gets her period with blood clots. Such a woman definitely needs the help of a doctor. There could be pieces of the placenta left in her uterus that still cannot come out.

Such a woman needs to undergo curettage to clean the uterus from these pieces. Also, the cause of clots may be weak contractility of the uterus. In this case, the doctor should prescribe drugs that increase contractility. As a rule, such complications appear in women no later than two weeks after childbirth.

It wouldn’t hurt for every woman to know why a blood clot appears along with discharge during menstruation, in order to understand when it is within normal limits and when it would be a good idea to consult a specialist.

Are large blood clots during menstruation normal or not? Find out what causes large chunks of clotted blood to appear during heavy periods. What pathologies can large blood clots during menstruation indicate, according to gynecologists.

The first menstruation begins in girls during puberty, at the age of 11-15 years. If menstruation does not begin or begins at a later age, after adulthood, then it is worth thinking about possible disturbances in the girl’s physical development. Every woman's periods can be different: intense or not, painful or not. The blood may come out in large clots and have a brown tint; this is not always a symptom of a serious pathology. To find out the cause of the formation of blood clots, you need to contact a gynecologist. He will conduct the necessary examination and identify the cause, which will indicate either pathology or the individual characteristics of the female body.

During the menstrual cycle (the period from the first day of one menstruation to the first day of the next), the inner uterine lining thickens, this is associated with the woman’s reproductive function. During menstruation (in the absence of pregnancy), the accumulated endometrium comes out along with blood. On average, blood loss during menstruation is small and is quickly replenished by the female body. The color of the blood released can change throughout menstruation - from bright red at the beginning to a dark and brown shade at the end of the cycle. In general, menstrual blood does not tend to clot much. It has a specific smell. Blood clots during menstruation can appear due to blood clotting in the vagina when blood thinning enzymes cannot cope with the volume of discharge. Heavy periods lead to greater blood loss and the possibility of anemia. In this case, you need to contact a gynecologist and find out the causes of this condition.

Hematometra after abortion or curettage

If blood accumulates in the uterus after an abortion, then this is a complication after a medical intervention. The main reason for the development of pathology is injury to the walls of the hollow organ, which leads to spasms of the lumen of the cervix, which is responsible for the natural evacuation of blood.

The female body has a cervical canal, which is located in the abdominal cavity. It is what connects the genital organs and ensures the regular removal of fluid from the hollow organ. During curettage or abortion, a specialist can injure the delicate walls of the canal, which, when healing, form adhesions and small scars that block the normal outflow of blood. According to statistics, every fourth woman experiences complications after a medical abortion. In some cases, the hematometra is eliminated without consequences, but it happens that infection occurs.

You can detect pathology after an abortion on your own if there are no accompanying symptoms. It is enough to wait until menstruation begins, and if it is absent, but painful sensations appear, then hematometra may develop in the uterus.

What should a woman not do after surgery to remove polyps?

Menopause period. Since one of the symptoms of this condition is menstrual irregularities, it is difficult to detect neoplasms during menopause without special diagnostics. Against the background of hormonal changes during menopause, the frequency of formation of polyps in the uterus increases, and this is facilitated by the lack of regular renewal of the endometrium during menstruation;

Only mechanical damage to the polyp or infection can lead to noticeable symptoms:

Diagnosis of the disease

It is impossible to make a diagnosis at home. You can only provide first aid at the first alarming symptoms and contact a qualified specialist. As a rule, it is recommended to contact a personal gynecologist with a medical record, who will prescribe an ultrasound of the uterus. Thanks to an ultrasound examination, you can detect not only a hematometer in a hollow organ, but also find out the volume of accumulated blood. This diagnosis allows you to prescribe comprehensive treatment.

Carrying out other tests:

Anamnesis collection. If a woman consults a specialist with characteristic symptoms, it is not recommended to hide the fact of miscarriage, abortion or childbirth. It is advisable to provide hospital extracts and a medical record. To confirm the diagnosis, the specialist must exclude intrauterine or ectopic pregnancy.
Carrying out hysteroscopy of the uterus. Another way to examine a hollow organ, which allows you to detect blood clots in the uterus. A hysteroscope is a small instrument that is inserted into a woman's vagina. At the end of the device there is an optical camera that reflects the condition of the walls of the uterus and the integrity of the tissues of the cervical canal.

What to do in each situation?

An explanation has been found for why pieces of meat come out during menstruation. What to do in such a situation?

In all cases, you need to contact a gynecologist. If there are no inflammatory diseases and the additional examination (this is the type of examination that gives the optimal picture of the condition of the internal organs) is normal, you will need to consult a hematologist.

If there is adnexitis, the doctor will probably prescribe medications that will help get rid of it.

Endemetriosis is a disease associated with hormonal levels. It can be cured, but it is quite difficult. The gynecologist will prescribe treatment.

If the fact that a piece came out during menstruation is related to the position of the uterus, then you will have to come to terms with it.

Treatment of hematometra

The specialist first needs to make sure that there is no infection of the uterus, ovaries and appendages. Since the cervical canal connects the internal and external organs, it can easily become infected, which can lead to the appearance of pus or even necrosis of the uterine muscles.

Method of eliminating pathology:

Probe. The instrument is inserted into the cervical canal, and the specialist, having gained access to the uterine cavity, can pump out the accumulated fluid.
Scraping. If the disease begins to appear after an abortion or curettage, the specialist must again perform a similar procedure to clear the tract and allow the uterus to drain fluid.
Medicines. Painkillers and uterotonics are prescribed. If an infection is detected, the patient is prescribed a course of antibiotics.
Vacuum aspiration. Required if after all manipulations there is no outflow. In simple words, the blood in the uterus is pumped out of the hollow organ using a special device, which in some way is similar to a pump.

What to do with blood clots after childbirth and poor uterine contractions

Normally, the uterus is already at the level of the navel a day after birth and drops by 2 cm daily. There are cases when the presence of blood clots also indicates poor contraction of the reproductive organ. Among the factors influencing the rate of contraction, it is customary to highlight the woman’s age, the size of the fetus, whether the birth took place naturally or by cesarean section, and how successfully the breastfeeding process is carried out.

The accumulation of blood clots stretches the membranes of the uterus, tilting it back, thereby preventing the release of secretions. The uterus contracts poorly if there are fibroids in its body, after a multiple pregnancy, if the born child weighs more than 4 kg. There are many ways that can improve uterine contractility:

Previously getting up and moving after childbirth (if they passed without complications);

Performing special postpartum exercises;

Putting the baby to the breast in the first half hour after birth;

Feeding the baby not by the clock, but on demand;

Frequent lying on the stomach;

Applying ice or a cold heating pad to the lower abdomen, which contracts the smooth muscles;

Regular emptying of the bladder;

Eating foods that improve intestinal motility;

Combating constipation to reduce pressure on the uterus;

Administration of oxytocin intramuscularly.

For a healthy woman whose birth took place on time and without pathologies, the measures mentioned are quite enough to ensure that the release of blood clots gradually decreases. But even if after discharge the young mother feels satisfactory, she should find time and attend an ultrasound to make sure that the process of discharge is normal. It is especially important to do this if the ultrasound was not performed in the maternity hospital for some reason. If sluggish contractions of the uterus and a large number of clots are detected, treatment is prescribed, and sometimes curettage of the uterus.

Why does hematometra develop after childbirth?

A pathology such as hematometra develops only in the fair sex. Even the name itself translated from Greek means “blood in the uterus.”

Bleeding after childbirth is a natural process. As a rule, a woman’s heavy discharge continues for 3-5 days, after which its intensity decreases. The average duration of bleeding after childbirth is 5-8 weeks, and the color of the discharge is brown, not scarlet.

The main reason for the appearance of blood in the uterus after childbirth is injury to tissues and blood vessels during the separation of the placenta. Immediately after the placenta is removed, more than 100 vessels begin to bleed. For them to be fully clamped, a long period is required, as well as normal functioning of the uterus. The bleeding stops only due to the contraction of the uterus. If a violation occurs, the muscles of the hollow organ narrow and stop contracting, which leads to the accumulation of blood clots in the uterus after childbirth.

Is it possible to prevent blood clots after childbirth?

Minimal physical activity, as directed by your doctor, reduces the risk of blood clots.
It is normal for some blood clots to pass after childbirth and cannot be prevented.

However, there are measures to prevent complications that may occur due to the formation of blood clots inside the body.

These measures include the following:

getting out of bed and moving around the room throughout the day;
awareness of individual risk factors and informing the doctor or obstetrician about them;
carrying out physical activity after receiving appropriate permission from a doctor;
making postpartum visits to the doctor within the time frame recommended by him;
awareness of the signs of dangerous clots (listed above).

Consequences of pathology for the female body

If the symptoms are ignored, as well as in the absence of proper comprehensive treatment, hematometra can lead to the development of serious infectious diseases such as endometritis.
When an infection enters the uterine cavity, pyometra may develop, which is accompanied by the formation of pus in blood collections. Ultimately, this can be the beginning of the development of sepsis and necrosis, which often leads to surgery and amputation of both the uterus and other organs of the reproductive system.
If the infection spreads throughout the abdominal cavity, there is a risk of developing peritonitis.
Chronic infection can lead to infertility.

How to fix the problem

When a clot is detected immediately after the baby is born, an abdominal massage is performed. It is necessary in order to increase the contractile activity of the uterus and remove mucus and blood from it. The doctor performs pressing movements in the lower abdomen, which leads to the displacement of clots to the cervical canal. This procedure is carried out every 2-3 hours.

Typically, women who have clots are prescribed oxytocin injections within three days after the birth process. With the use of this drug, intense contractions of the muscle cells of the uterus are observed, which leads to the removal of clots from its cavity.

If after childbirth there are signs that part of the placenta remains in the uterine cavity, then cleaning or curettage is performed under local anesthesia or general anesthesia.

Immediately before the manipulation, an examination is carried out on a gynecological chair and the external genitals are treated with antiseptics. After this, the cervical canal is gradually expanded mechanically, then special instruments - curettes - are introduced into the organ cavity. With the help of the latter, clots and remnants of fetal membranes or placental tissue are removed.

Vacuum cleaning of the uterine cavity can also be performed. During this procedure, a device is used that creates negative pressure inside the organ. Under its action, clots and mucous membrane are removed from the uterine cavity.

Cleaning procedures usually last about 15 minutes.

To prevent the development of infectious and inflammatory complications, antibacterial agents are prescribed. You should not use antispasmodic drugs during the postpartum period.