For Patients

Menstrual pain

Menstrual pain is familiar to many women. The recurring pain that needs to be treated affects one in five women. The symptoms range from pain in the lower abdomen to colicky abdominal cramps and can be accompanied by nausea, dizziness or migraine. Basically, there are two types of menstrual pain: primary and secondary dysmenorrhea. The primary form mainly affects younger women due to hormonal factors. This form can often be well controlled by taking the "pill". Likewise, a painkiller can provide relief in acute cases. In secondary dysmenorrhea, the underlying condition should be identified and treated. Secondary dysmenorrhea is the term used to describe the symptoms experienced by women from around the third decade of life who have previously had painless menstrual periods. In the majority of cases, organic causes such as endometriosis are responsible. In order to rule out the presence of endometriosis, medical clarification should be sought if the pain is particularly severe. Premenstrual syndrome, or PMS for short, often occurs independently and has nothing in common with period pain.

AT-WEB-31-10-2021