Is Stringy Period Blood a Cause for Concern?

You may not know what period is like with other girls like you. You’re not sure if the sticky, clumpy or stringy period that you occasionally have is how normal period blood should look like.

Don’t get scared or confused, as we will help you uncover everything about what’s normal, what’s not, and the things you should be concerned about as regards the blood you see during your period.

What Determines the Consistency of your Period?

Stringy period blood is also known as gel-like period blood. Typically, this isn’t a cause for worry as it is, in most cases, just a blood clot leaving your uterus. Small blood clots are normal.

Period blood is a mixture of the discarded uterine lining, vaginal fluid, and blood. The first days of your menstrual circle are referred to as “period,” when your body discards the lining of your uterus, known as uterine lining.

During the first days of your period, you’ll most likely notice the release of varying consistencies of blood. There`s a tendency that on these first days, you experience the heaviest bleeding.

Clumpy Period Blood

During your period, blood clots pass through your body, breaking up into thick clumps or jelly-like consistency. This is as a result of the passing blood clots, so it’s totally normal.

When your flow slows down on the last days of your period, you`ll more likely see the clots. They may be brown, bright red, or dark red. You should speak to your doctor if you’re constantly passing large blood clots during your period.

Watery Period Blood

Your period blood may appear watery and thin at the end of your cycle it may also grow darker in color as the blood begins to oxidize.

Please note that period blood that’s bright red and watery can be fresh blood coming straight from your uterus, indicating a miscarriage or an injury.

You should seek medical attention if you notice bright red, watery blood coming from your uterus, particularly if you`re pregnant.

Stringy Period Blood

Stringy period blood is typically bright or dark red. The uterine lining that your body is shedding can be highly concentrated with long components of blood with a fluid, sticky steadiness.

Causes of Large Blood Clots in your Period

There are a number of factors that could cause larger and more frequent blood clots. It may, for instance, be a pointer of an underlying medical condition. Heavy periods and multiple blood clots can also be a symptom of:

• Vitamin K deficiency
• Endometrial cancer
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
• Endometriosis
• Thyroid conditions
• Uterine fibroids
• Small polyps
• Adenomyosis
• Bleeding disorders
• Complications from an intrauterine device (IUD)

All females will definitely not have the same period experience. There`ll always be variations among people, and even occasional changes across the periods that each person has. You should discuss with your doctor if you notice any of these symptoms in your menstruation cycle:

• Pain or bleeding during or after sex
• Bright red or grey watery discharge
• Soaking through pads every hour
• Soaking through your outer clothing
• Cots that appear to grow larger as your period progresses
• Fatigue, bruising easily, or shortness of breath
• Heavy period bleeding that increases or continues after seven days
• Increased cramping during your period

Menstrual Health and Complications

The average menstrual cycle lasts 24 to 38 days, with every period lasting four to eight days. Few days before menstruation starts, the breast is tender, due to the surge in estrogen and progesterone, leading to swollen milk glands and enlarged breast ducts. This results in soreness and swelling.

Food cravings are another common symptom of people who menstruate. A study shows that at the start of their period, almost half of American women crave chocolate.

Dysmenorrhea, a type of period pain commonly called cramps is another common period symptom. Research says that about 84 percent of women experience some pain during their period.

The cause of period pain is prostaglandins, which are chemicals that cause muscle contractions in the uterus. These hormones help the body shed the excess uterine lining, thereby leading to pain and cramping in the first days of your period.

Some medical conditions or intense exercise can cause irregular periods. Perimenopausal symptoms, breastfeeding, obesity, and stress are common causes of irregular periods.

Let`s a look at some common period-related health conditions.

5 Period-Related Health Conditions

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)

These are symptoms that occur as a series in the week or two before the start of a period. PMS affects about 3 in every 4 women. Its symptoms are bloating, headache, irritability, and fatigue

Poor Menstrual Hygiene

Healthy menstrual hygiene fights bacterial issues. Poor menstrual hygiene, on the other hand, poses serious threats to one`s health.

Uterine Fibroid

Uterine fibroid refers to noncancerous tumors that are developed between the layers of tissue in the uterus.

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)

PMDD is similar to PMS, however, it is more severe. Only about five percent of women experience PMDD. The common symptoms of PMDD are severe mood shifts, depression, tension, and lasting anger or irritability.

Menorrhagia

Menorrhagia is a condition that causes sufferers to bleed heavily when menstruating. People with menorrhagia can produce more than twice the normal amount of menstrual blood, which is about 2 to 3 tablespoons.

Some Menstruation Facts

• A woman will spend about 3,500 days menstruating.
• The only mammals that experience menopause are elephants, humpback whales, and human females.
• An entire menstrual period usually releases less than half a cup of blood, including clots.
• Women with seasonal affective disorder may also suffer worse PMS symptoms than those without the condition.
• Periods are longer, heavier, and more painful in the colder months.
• Oligomenorrhea is a condition in which a woman has her periods less frequently than normal.
• The human female egg is the largest cell in the human body and the only human cell that is visible to the human eye.
• Menstrual discharge contains more than blood. It also contains some uterine tissue which gives it a thicker and gummier feel.
• Menstrual periods may cause iron deficiency.
• Menstrual symptoms lead to 100 million lost work hours yearly in America.
• People who suffer vicarious menstruation may also bleed from their mouths, ears, lungs, eyes, nose, or skin.
• Amenorrhea is a condition in which a woman doesn’t have her period at all.
• A female can get her first period between ages 10 and 16.
• In the United States, 97.5% of females begin their menstrual cycles at 16.
• A woman can get pregnant if she has vaginal sex during her period because sperm can survive up to a week in the body.
• A woman who has excessive bleeding may suffer from menorrhagia, a condition in which the uterine lining builds up thick.
• Heavy bleeding could indicate a thyroid problem or fibroids.
• There are indications that menstruation might have influenced humanity’s sense of time because early lunar calendars were usually based on the length of a women’s menstrual cycle.
• Until a woman turns 18, irregular periods are common because the body will need some time to adjust to it.
• Smoking can change the hormonal balance and affect menstrual cycles
• Smoking can kill a woman’s eggs and cause menstrual periods to stop prematurely.
• The same chemicals that cause uterine contractions during menstruation may also cause the lower intestine to contract, leading to diarrhea.
• The average age a woman stops her period is 51, though symptoms of menopause can start as early as 32.
• Because women weigh more than they did in the past, they tend to start their periods at younger ages and stop at older ages.
• Women are more likely to go on a shopping spree 10 days before their periods begin, in order to stabilize their fluctuating emotions.
• The body mimics pregnancy symptoms in the days leading to the menstrual period.
• The menstrual period may change a woman’s voice.