Dysmenorrhea

dysmenorrhea

Pain or cramps before or during menstruation. In primary dysmenorrhea, caused by endocrine imbalances, severity varies widely. Irritability, fatigue, backache, or nausea may also occur. Long assumed to be psychosomatic, it is now known to be due to excess prostaglandins, which contract the uterus, causing cramps. Pain relievers that block prostaglandin formation can decrease its severity, which may also be eased after childbearing. Secondary dysmenorrhea is caused by other disorders, including genital obstructions, pelvic inflammation, infection, polyps, or tumours. Treatment is directed toward the underlying disorder.

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dysmenorrhea [dis‚men·ə′rē·ə]

(medicine)

Difficult or painful menstruation.

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Dysmenorrhea 

disturbances of menstruation, characterized by pains in the lower abdomen, the small of the back, and the sacrum (algomenorrhea), combined with general symptoms (migraine, heart palpitations, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rashes, and sleep disturbance).

Primary dysmenorrhea occurs in women with no previous gynecological disease, most often in young girls and young women who have not given birth. This dysmenorrhea often ceases with a regular sex life and especially after parturition. Secondary dysmenorrhea appears as a result of inflammatory processes, the development of tumors in the woman’s sex organs, version of the uterus, and so on. Dysmenorrhea may develop as a result of psychological shock associated with the onset of the first menstruation in uninformed young girls, when there is a long-unfulfilled desire to become pregnant, and in cases of unsatisfactory sex life. Sometimes dysmenorrhea arises owing to the functional characteristics of a woman’s nervous system (vagotonic form). A special form of dysmenorrhea is membranous dysmenorrhea, which is associated with hormonal disharmony (the preponderance of estrogen over the hormone of the corpus luteum).

Treatment depends on the causes of the dysmenorrhea and its form. General restorative treatment, pain relievers, sedatives, hormone therapy, and physical therapy are prescribed.