

The oral contraceptive pill is often used to help with endometriosis symptoms. An estimated 100 million women worldwide suffer from endometriosis. It is a common condition affecting 16% to 61% of women of reproductive age experiencing symptoms. Another problem associated with endometriosis is infertility. Women with endometriosis can describe pain at the the time of ovulation, or pain with sex. Sometimes the pain doesn’t go away when the period ends. The hormones that trigger a period cause bleeding at these sites of implanted endometrial tissue, and this causes pain.Įndometriosis usually causes period pain to start earlier and last longer than what is commonly experienced with menstruation. It can grow on the ovaries, bowel, and in some rare cases has even been found outside of the pelvis such as the lungs. What is endometriosis?Įndometriosis is a condition in which tissue similar to the lining the endometrium (womb), grows outside of the womb. This can be due to several conditions, the most common of which is endometriosis.

Instead of period pain improving over time, it worsens. Secondary dysmenorrhoea generally refers to period pain resulting from a medical disorder in the reproductive system. They work by blocking the action of prostaglandins. The main medications used to treat this pain are non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Nurofen) or naproxen (Naprogesic).

The cause of this pain is not known, but hormonal fluctuations are thought to be implicated. This tends to get better as the teenager gets older. Primary dysmenorrhoea refers to pain with periods, that begins soon after girls start menstruating. Pain during periods is called dysmenorrhoea, and there are two types: primary and secondary. Higher levels of prostaglandins have been associated with more severe menstrual cramps.Ĭramping is usually strongest in the first one to two days of the period, then settles for the remaining four to five days. The contractions are triggered by hormone-like compounds produced by the body called prostaglandins, which are the main source of pelvic pain associated with menstruation. A period is the shedding of the lining of the womb (uterus), called the endometrium.
