by Jahnavi Daru, Ewelina Rogozinska and Varsha Jain, The Conversation
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain
Period symptoms are frustrating no matter the time of year. But those who menstruate might feel like certain symptoms are worse during the winter months, when the weather is gloomy, the days are short and cold and flu seem to always be lurking. This phenomenon has even been dubbed “winter period fatigue syndrome”.
Unfortunately, there’s no evidence that such a thing as winter period fatigue syndrome exists. There’s also no good evidence to suggest changes in the seasons can worsen period symptoms. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a scientific explanation for why you might feel some of your period symptoms are worse during the colder months.
Symptoms such as fatigue, irritability, poor concentration and a weaker immune system, may in fact be pointing to the more obvious cause of iron deficiency.
The body needs iron in order to function. Iron helps produce red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body. But many people don’t get enough iron in their diet. In fact, iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world.
Alongside the symptoms that iron deficiency can cause, low iron can also lead to anemia—a fall in red blood cell count. While the symptoms of anemia can be very similar to those caused by iron deficiency (including fatigue, tiredness, and cold hands and feet), symptoms can be more severe, too—leading to heart palpitations, shortness of breath and even loss of consciousness.
Menstruation is a leading cause of both iron deficiency and anemia. People with heavy or prolonged periods are particularly at risk as they regularly lose more blood each month than their body can replace. Some studies even estimate that in women who experience heavy periods, 90% are iron deficient and 60% are anemic.
Those who normally have heavy periods might not realize that this could actually be the cause of their fatigue, irritability and difficulty concentrating. This is because so many who have heavy periods just assume their blood loss is normal. But left unchecked, heavy periods can leave women and people who menstruate trapped in a vicious cycle of progressive blood loss and iron loss, leading to anemia, which can be difficult to break.
And even though many clinical guidelines for managing heavy menstrual bleeding recognize the importance of treating iron deficiency and anemia caused by excessive blood loss, these conditions are still often missed—despite how treatable they are.
Provided by The Conversation
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.The Conversation
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