Angela Onwuzoo A Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Solomon Avidime, has kicked against women taking supplements without a doctor’s prescription. Avidime warned that supplements could expose women to the risk of abnormal uterine(vaginal) bleeding. Abnormal vaginal bleeding is a bleeding that occurs between periods also called intermenstrual bleeding, spotting, and metrorrhagia with many possible causes.
The gynaecologist in an interview with PUNCH HealthWise, linked the use of certain supplements to abnormal bleeding in women. Avidime said, “Women who are taking supplements are at risk of abnormal bleeding. Some supplements are associated with abnormal bleeding; women should desist from taking them.
“They should only take medication prescribed by a doctor. Women should avoid supplements without being prescribed by doctors. “Self-medication should not be encouraged at all because once the woman is bleeding, the blood level depletes faster and sometimes she can even go into shock.
She can have anaemia, become weak and can faint. So, every abnormal bleeding should be evaluated.” The don emphasised that women that have abnormal bleeding have to be thoroughly evaluated by a doctor to sort out the exact cause of the bleeding because the causes are diverse ranging from causes around the uterus to causes that are outside the uterus.
Avidime explained that though women who are experiencing abnormal uterine bleeding are usually worried because it has a relationship with their reproductive system and fertility, they should, however, seek treatment from health facilities and qualified medical personnel. He noted that patronising traditional medicine practitioners in the management of abnormal uterine bleeding comes with a lot of health consequences for women. “There are practices that are being carried out to stop abnormal bleeding which are wrong and have led to serious health consequences.
Women who are experiencing abnormal bleeding instead of t seeking help from the health facilities, seek help from traditional homes and alternative medicine practitioners. “What they do there is to give them acoustic substances to insert into their vagina. And once they put that into their vagina, it causes erosion.
Now, because of the corrosive effect, the vagina carnal is affected and they may lose their fertility as a result of that. “We need to raise awareness about this. Women who are experiencing abnormal bleeding should seek help rather than going to unorthodox places because they cause more harm than good”, he said.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, abnormal uterine bleeding is bleeding from the uterus that differs in frequency, regularity, duration, or amount from normal uterine bleeding in the absence of pregnancy. Experts say abnormal uterine bleeding is excessive, erratic, and or prolonged blood loss that interferes with a woman’s physical, social, and mental quality of life. Giving insight into why women and girls experiencing abnormal bleeding should worry, the professor said, “Once the menses come more than once a month, women should see their doctor for evaluation.
Young women should see their doctor to know why they are bleeding abnormally. Older women have to worry because cancer can be an important cause. “Cancer can be in the cervix, it can also be in the womb.
Cancer should be a concern for older women who are experiencing bleeding. Older women who are still bleeding when they should be in their menopause should be thoroughly evaluated for cancers. It should not be taken lightly.
They must see a doctor quickly. A woman who is seeking pregnancy and she is bleeding also needs to go for evaluation. In an article published in BMC Women’s Health titled,” Barriers to seeking consultation for abnormal uterine bleeding: a systematic review of qualitative research”, the authors say abnormal uterine bleeding can have serious medical consequences and significantly impacts daily life, the overall trend is that most women do not seek care for these symptoms.
BMC Women’s Health is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of the health and well-being of adolescent girls and women, with a focus on the physical, mental, and emotional health of women in developed and developing nations. The authors say abnormal uterine bleeding may affect 10–30 percent of women of reproductive age. Most importantly, they say abnormal uterine bleeding can have a significant impact on women’s quality of social, emotional, and mental health.
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