Top 5 Natural Remedies For Irregular Periods That Work!

A normal menstrual cycle occurs every 28 days which varies between different people. Irregular menstruation happens when the length of the cycle is more than 35 days , or if the duration varies.

What is Menstruation?

Menstruation (having your period) is when the lining of the uterus comes out of your vagina. It happens every month.

During the monthly menstrual cycle, the uterus lining builds up to prepare for pregnancy. If you do not get pregnant, estrogen and progesterone hormone levels begin falling. Very low levels of estrogen and progesterone tell your body to begin menstruation.

What Is The Normal Amount Of Bleeding During Periods?

According to Women’s Health Organization, the average woman loses about 2 to 3 tablespoons of blood during her period. Although, this differs with different individuals. Your periods flow may be lighter or heavier from month to month.

Your periods may also change as you age. Some women have heavy bleeding as they move closer to menopause. Symptoms of heavy bleeding include:

1. Bleeding through one or more pads every 1 or 2 hours
2. Passing blood clots larger than the size of quarters
3. Bleeding that often lasts longer than 8 days

How Long Does a Woman Usually Have Her Period?

On average, women get periods for about 40 years of their life. Menopause happens when you have not had a period for more than 12 months in a row.  For most women, this happens between the ages of 45 and 55.

Periods also stop during pregnancy and may not come back right away if you breastfeed.

But if you don’t have a period for more than 3 months, and you are not pregnant, consult a doctor.

How Does The Menstrual Cycle Affect Other Health Problems?

1. Depression and anxiety disorders: These conditions often overlap with PMS(Premenstrual syndrome). They may get worse during your periods.
2. Asthma: Your asthma symptoms may be worse during some parts of your cycle.
3. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): IBS causes cramping, bloating, and gas. Your IBS may get worse before your period
4. Bladder Pain Symptoms: Women with bladder pain syndrome are more likely to have painful cramps during PMS

Why Irregular Periods happen?

Every woman has a different menstrual clock. Some happen like clockwork. Others are unpredictable. On an average, a woman gets her period every 28 to 34 days and it usually lasts upto a week or 8 days.

What is Irregular?

1. The time between each period starts to change
2. You lose more or less blood during a period than usual

According to WebMD, common causes of Irregular Periods:

1. Changing Birth control pills or using certain medications
2. Too much exercise
3. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
4. Stress
5. Pregnancy or breastfeeding
6. Hyperthyroid or Hypothyroid
7. Uterine Fibroid
8. Thickening of the Uterine lining.
9. Hormonal imbalance
10.  Overweight

Top 5 Effective Home Remedies For Irregular Periods

1. Ginger

Ginger is very effective in regulating menstrual flow and also helps with relieving cramps during periods .

Some of the other benefits of having Ginger includes relief from anxiety, mood swings etc.

There have been studies that claim that Ginger helps to lower excessive blood loss during periods.

Recipe : How to make your own Ginger Concoction

Ingredients:

1. Fresh Ginger (1/2 inch)
2. Water (1 cup)

Directions:

1. Crush the ginger using a mortar and pestle or grate it using a grater
2. Boil the water meanwhile and add this crushed ginger to the boiling water. Let it boil for another 2 minutes.
3. Turn off the stove and strain the concoction using a strainer and drink this water every day after meals.
4. You may add sugar or honey if required.

Drink it 3 times a day after meals everyday.

Warning: According to Ayurveda, it is never a good idea to add Honey to boiling hot water. You can add honey to warm water but never to boiling water as this may be toxic to the human body.

2. Cinnamon / Dalchini

Cinnamon is loaded with antioxidants which are beneficial compounds that help you keep healthy. Cinnamon tea may help make PMS (premenstrual symptoms) more bearable.

 Cinnamon is also high in manganese, which can help to regulate blood sugar levels and decrease inflammation

For people suffering from Polycystic Syndrome (PCOS), Cinnamon can be very effective as studies have found that women who took cinnamon had frequent menstrual cycles than those who didn’t take.

Apart from this, cinnamon alleviates the symptoms of nausea and vomiting during periods. In fact, they are also believed to be an excellent home remedy for primary dysmenorrhea.

Recipe: Make your own Cinnamon Drink

Ingredients:

1. Cinnamon Powder (1/2 to 1 teaspoon)
2. 1 cup milk

Directions :

1. Take a glass of warm milk and mix it with the cinnamon powder
2. Drink it before going to bed
3. Alternatively, you can consume cinnamon tea or chew cinnamon sticks for few weeks.

3. Mint/Pudina

According to a study conducted on the efficacy of mint on dysmenorrhea, it was found that mint can be a very good remedy for irregular periods and menstrual cramps. Mint leaves have blood purification and anti-spasmodic properties that help with soothing the muscles and relieving pain. Since some underlying health issues like Irritable Bowel Syndrome get aggravated during periods, Mint can help relieve those symptoms.

Recipe : Mint with Honey for Irregular Periods

Ingredients :

• Dried Mint  Leaves(1 teaspoon)
• Honey (1 teaspoon)

Directions:

1. Mix both the ingredients together and take it 3 times a day.

4. Licorice/Liquorice

Licorice also called as Adhimadhuram in Tamil or Mulethi in Hindi is an excellent herb for a variety of fertility related problems.

Licorice is known as phytoestrogen because it contains isoflavones.This helps to protect our body from endocrine disruptors, which is known to cause fertility problems.

It is an anti-inflammatory herb which helps with fertility issues like:

1. Endometriosis
2. Ovarian Cysts
3. Uterine Fibroids
4. Dysmennorhea(painful menstruation)
5. Pelvic Inflammatory disease (PID)

For people suffering from PCOS, it may be helpful because it helps with balancing sugar levels especially when taken first thing in the morning.

Recipe: Liquorice Decoction

1. Liquorice dried root powdered (1/2 teaspoon)
2. 1 cup water

Directions:

1. Mix the above ingredients, let is steep for 10-15 minutes and drink 1-2 times a day.

Warning: Avoid use during Pregnancy and Breast Feeding as it may cause premature delivery and miscarriage.

Check out this post on benefits of Licorice to know more!

5. Radish Seeds

Radish seeds are a great detoxifying agent which help in removing all the toxins from the body.

They also contains Vitamin C, Folic acid and anthocyanins which are used to treat many types of cancer like colon cancer, bowel cancer, stomach cancer, kidney cancer and mouth cancer.

The below recipe is from one of the famous Siddha doctors (Sakthi Subrahmani) as shown on Sun TV.

Recipe for Irregular Periods:

Ingredients:

1. Radish Seeds (1 teaspoon)
2. Nigella Seeds (Kalonji or black cumin) – ½ teaspoon
3. Curry Leaves (handful)
4. Jaggery Powder (Naatu Sakkarai) – 1 teaspoon
5. 1 cup water

Directions:

1. Add all the above ingredients and mix it with a cup of water
2. Boil it till a decoction is formed
3. Have it 10 days before your periods on an empty stomach in the mornings.

Take it for 1 Mandalam (48 days) for any significant effect to be shown.

Disclaimer:

The above remedies are completely home remedies. In case, if you experience any sort of side effect with these remedies then it is recommended to stop practicing the remedy you have opted for. Opt for any other remedy which suits you. An irregular menstrual cycle is harmful to your health. It is better to consult a doctor if the above-mentioned remedies don’t work.