Amenorrhea
Amenorrhea is a disorder of menstrual function in which women of childbearing age /16-45 years old/ do not have a menstrual cycle for half a year or more.
The condition is usually not an independent disease, but is a symptom of genetic, biochemical, physiological and psycho-emotional disorders in the female organism.
In false or false amenorrhea, the normal cyclical and hormonal changes in the uterus and ovaries are preserved, but menstrual discharge from the genital tract is absent due to some anatomical obstruction.
In the true form of the condition ovulation is absent and pregnancy becomes impossible.
The classification is based on two forms of the condition – false or fake and true.
In the false and false form, the anatomical obstacles that prevent the outflow of the characteristic menstrual secretion can be:
• Atresia of the vagina, cervix or hymen;
• Depending on the anatomical defect, menstrual blood can accumulate in the fallopian tubes /hematosalpinx/, the uterine cavity /hematometra/ or in the vagina /hemotocolpos/;
Depending on the cause, the true form of the condition can be physiological or pathological.
The physiological form does not represent a disease state and is due to completely natural conditions such as pregnancy and lactation or a specific age period of a woman’s life such as childhood and menopause.
And the pathological form of the condition serves as an alarming symptom, testifying to functional or organic disorders in the female body.
If menstruation does not initially occur during the teenage years, the condition is referred to as primary amenorrhea.
In cases where menstruation stops due to any reason, then the absence of a monthly cycle is referred to as secondary.
What are the reasons?
The reasons for the primary lack of menstruation can be genetically determined /hereditary/, anatomical and psychoemotional factors.
In many of the patients with the primary form of the condition in the family history, the onset of the first menstrual cycle is noted late /after the age of 17/ in the mother and possibly in the older sisters.
In such cases, the condition is due to predisposing factors.
Primary absence of a monthly cycle is observed in Turner syndrome – a disease characterized by hypoplasia of the gonads as a result of abnormal development of sex chromosomes.
Anatomical factors for the condition include general retardation of physical development, which manifests itself in a variety of physical characteristics such as body weakness, underweight, underdeveloped mammary glands, narrow hips, small hips, etc. .n., and also abnormalities in the development of the genitals, such as adhesions of the vaginal canal or the hymen.
Treatment of amenorrhea
Treatment of primary absence of menstrual cycle is aimed at removing all the causes causing it.
Patients with Turner syndrome are prescribed lifelong hormone replacement therapy /estrogenization/.
When the physical development of the girls is delayed, a special diet is prescribed, aimed at building muscle and fat tissue, and hormonal treatment, stimulating the menstrual function.
Hormonal therapy should be carried out under the strict supervision of a gynecologist and endocrinologist.
Treatment of secondary amenorrhea also aims to eliminate its causes.
When the secondary form of the condition is the result of a sharp decrease in body weight, oral contraceptives containing progestogens, which do not include estrogens in their content, are prescribed to normalize the menstrual function.
Often, the secondary lack of menstruation is resolved by itself without the application of hormone therapy when maintaining reasonable physical activity, observing a rational regime of nutrition and work and rest, and when the psycho-emotional background is normalized.
