How the COVID pandemic is messing with menstrual cycles
Ramya a 34 year mother consulted me online concerned about her periods. She was experiencing irregular cycles for last 12 months. She believed herself to be too young to be heading towards an early menopause. Searching the social media she realised that it’s not just her. There are many women today who are sharing their experience of their periods gone awry. The stress and loss of normalcy in their life during this pandemic appears to have altered menstrual cycles. A London-based survey by Dr Anita Mitra found 65% of respondents had noticed a change in their menstrual cycle. With the change in social scenario, Ramya feels extreme societal pressure. Today she takes additional responsibility of home schooling her five year old daughter and taking care of elderly parents who are more vulnerable to corona virus infection. This she juggles with her online teaching classes for the school she works for.
The constant challenge to keep things clean and safe for family itself can take a toll. It is a known fact that mental stress can alter the hormonal status of women which is then reflected on their menstrual cycle. The lack of physical exercise and weight gain adds to this problem. Stress and altered hormones disrupts ovulation. This is hard on her as she was planning a second baby since last one year. She has gone months without a cycle and when she bleeds it is heavy and goes on for a while. Irregularity in a few cycles is a normal response to stress especially with the given situation with COVID. However, if there is very heavy bleeding or irregularity lasting for more than a few months this could suggest an underlying pathology and some blood and hormone workup is critical.
A 26 year software employee, Sandhya suffers from premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms, irritability, mood swings and in general fatigue. She is suffering from crippling PMS symptoms for the last one year and this is disrupting her relationship with her husband. Sandhya at times feels withdrawn to being totally unreachable and experiencing intense anxiety. The isolation of work from home is adversely affecting this girl who had an active social life before 2020. The society and especially women are increasing suffering from Anxiety and Depression. These women may have regular cycles but need attention and help with severe mood swings and mental health.
These stories that we know of are just the tip of the iceberg. There are even more women with these issues than those presenting to their physicians as the COVID pandemic has compromised access to care. Not wanting to visit to hospitals for their problems lest they carry the infection back home to their family, they continue to ignore warning signs. Today with the availability of telemedicine I see no reason why women cannot seek help.
Experiencing irregular periods? Consult Dr. Rooma Sinha online to get personalized tips to cure your health condition!
