How Much Blood Do You Lose During Your Periods?

If you are a girl, you must have wondered about this at least once in your lifetime – how MUCH blood do you lose during your periods? If the word “heavy” comes after “bleeding”, then remember, there is no FIXED amount that you are supposed to bleed for it to be called heavy. Let us get down to some basic figures, and then it will be clear as to how much blood loss happens during every menstruation cycle.

On an average, a woman loses anywhere between 30 ml to 80 ml or, at the most, 100 ml of blood every month. I’ll put it this way for you to understand better. The blood loss every month ranges from 2 tablespoons to 4 or 6 tablespoons. If you lose more than 80 ml during the cycle, this calls for some medical help. However, it is not necessarily dangerous if you bleed that much.

So, although it feels like a “crime scene in your pants,” there isn’t much to worry about. Your menstrual fluid looks red and bloody because of the rupturing and shedding of the endometrial tissue (a sort of a lining that is formed in the uterus). But we should know that apart from this, it also consists of cervical mucus and other vaginal secretions.

However, when there is an alarming amount of bleeding, technically called menorrhagia, you might want to see the gynec (1). Look below for the symptoms of menorrhagia. Visit the doctor if you see any such symptoms during your menses.

• You experience heavy bleeding that continues even after 7 days.
• You feel the necessity to change your protection, either your sanitary pad or the tampon, before less than 2 hours of using them.
• You stain your clothes even after using sufficient protection.
• You pass big clots frequently during the cycle.
• Your normal functioning is hindered because of increased flow and lower abdomen pain.
• You feel weak, dizzy, and even experience breathlessness. This happens because you tend to become anemic as a result of too much blood loss.

Heavy or not, there is always a fear of staining. It is important for you to figure out whether your bleeding is heavy or not and whether the heavy bleeding is normal or not. Meanwhile, figure out how you can tackle this ordeal of avoiding those stubborn stains. Here’s how.

• Either because of irregularities or just lack of proactivity, most of us don’t keep track of our periods. Making a note of the dates makes you alert and prepared. This is probably the first thing you can do to avoid accidental staining. Take the help of the web and mobile apps that do the tracking for you if you are too lazy or just plain uninterested.

• My mother always asked me to carry sanitary napkins whether I was on my period or not. Thanks to PCOD, I didn’t quite need pads for many years, but my mother insisted that I keep them with me for two reasons. One, I might get my chums suddenly. Two, there will be tons of girls around me who might need it. You can never have too many pads. So, girls – be equipped.

• Choose the kind of protection that suits your needs the best. Every girl is different and her period flow is different. No equation can fit everyone except for trial and error. Try using pads, menstrual cups, or tampons and decide which one adheres to your needs. Also, feel free to be choosy and finicky until you find the brand of your life. After all, it is your body and you gotta deal with it.

• On days of heavy flow, use two pads and see to it there is full coverage. Also, if the flow is so heavy that even two pads don’t suffice, use night pads for obvious reasons – they are more absorbent than the morning ones.

• Sometimes, a day or two prior to your cycle, you might experience a flow of vaginal discharge, which is thick and viscous. This flow not only causes discomfort but also stains the panties, and in rare cases, your clothes. If you want to avoid this, use comfortable panty liners, and you are good to go.

• One last thing that you should probably consider doing is choosing an appropriate panty. Use one that not only provides proper coverage but is also sufficiently thick to keep all the things in place. A lot of times staining happens because the pad is not in the right place. Cotton ones are any day welcome because there is no danger of a rash or irritation. Remember, there is way too much moisture during a period, and this increases the risk of a rash.

Beyond all these measures, I think, we women should relax a bit and gorge on some chocolate cupcakes instead of worrying about heavy flow, no flow, day pad, night pad, stinking tampon – there’s no end to this. Period days are full of intensity, there’s intense blood, intense pain, but there’s one more thing that not many of us realize. Along with the telltale discomforts and pains, there’s intense vigor and heightened sensitivity. Doesn’t that actually make sense? We are pissed off at little things because we are so aware and sensitive to teeny tiny details around us. If the stench and pain are forgotten (not that it is easy) for some time, there’s a lot in store for women on their period. Did you ever feel this vigor? What do you do on the days you bleed? Comment below and tell me how you like to harness this monthly feminine boon.

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Rachana C

Twenty seventeen says Rachana Chandrasekhar is a content writer at IncNut Digital. Of course, twenty twelve thought she'd be a vegetable vendor in an Italian countryside. Don't be too overwhelmed if twenty twenty finds her basking in the raptures of driving the fastest car on some obscure racing course.

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