Customer question:
I often have a problem with painful ovaries during menstruation. Why and what specifically helps? Anonymous customer.
Pharmacist's answer:
There are many reasons why ovarian pain occurs, especially during menstruation. Among the main reasons, we can count the following causes: menstruation, endometriosis, ovarian cyst perforation, adenomyosis, or pelvic inflammatory disease.
Therefore, how you approach the matter mainly depends on your problem, which is why high-quality diagnostics are essential. For example, pain in painful ovaries can be on both sides of the pelvis, and the transferred pain can appear in the thigh or back areas.
We will list the problems and how to deal with them, but a proper diagnosis of the problem is essential.
Problem and how to help?
Mittelschmerz
Mittelschmerz is another word for chronic pain during monthly ovulation. The pain occurs during ovulation - in the middle of the menstrual cycle. Ovulation is when a female sex cell is released from the ovarian reserve. It is speculated that the pain occurs during the release of the egg from the ovary since the ovary's wall is not perforated, and the release of the egg is connected with a passage through the ovary's wall, which hurts.
The pain subsides within 1 to 2 days. Otherwise, the pain is not unbearable, but some people will still decide to use certain OTC analgesics.
Ovarian cysts
They are bubbles with liquid that form on the surface of the ovary - they often occur during menstruation since the formation of cysts is hormonally conditioned. However, some cysts are not hormonally conditioned - endometriomas, dermoid cysts, and cystadenomas.
Most ovarian cysts are benign, which means they are not cancerous. However, from time to time, these cysts can also cause problems, namely: sudden, sharp pain, fever, nausea and even vomiting, rapid breathing, cold skin, and dizziness.
The pain subsides within 1 to 2 days. Otherwise, the pain is not unbearable, but some people will still decide to use certain OTC analgesics. If such cysts bother you and are too frequent, your doctor may prescribe a hormonal contraceptive.
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a more severe condition that can cause extreme pain in some instances. Endometriosis is the process of growth of the endometrium of the uterus outside of it - including the organs of the abdomen. These periods are excruciating, as the endometrial tissue causes scarring and damage to many abdominal organs, resulting in intense pain. Often, the following symptoms also appear simultaneously with the pain:
- dysmenorrhea, menstrual cramps
- chronic pelvic pain
- pain during sexual activity
- digestive problems
- painful urination
- pain of digestion
Unfortunately, there is no cure for endometriosis problems, but there are methods that alleviate the problem somewhat, namely:
- hormonal treatment
- gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists
- OTC analgesic drugs
- operative intervention.
Pelvic inflammatory disease
It is a female disease associated with infection of the reproductive organs. Commonly affected: cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. Infection is not always related to the transmission through sexual contact.
Symptoms are general: pain during intercourse, pain in the abdomen and pelvis, frequent urination, changes in menstrual flow, and fever with or without chills.
The diagnosis is confirmed with the help of specific diagnostic methods - ultrasound of the pelvis, laparoscopic intervention, and endometrial biopsy.
Treatment is related to taking antibiotics; the prescribed length of taking them must be observed, and antibiotic treatment that is too short usually results in a recurrence of the problem.
The remaining possible but less common problems are the following:
- ovarian torsion
- polycystic ovary syndrome
- pain endured
- ovarian cancer
Interesting reading: Abdominal pain - what helps?
