The U.S. Food and Drug Administration states that caffeine is both a drug and a food additive. It can exacerbate premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, symptoms and cause physiological changes to the body that can worsen menstrual cramps. Caffeine is...
Castor oil has been used for thousands of years to treat a number of health complaints. In the 1940s, Edgar Cayce, commonly known as the "sleeping prophet," educated the public about the health benefits of castor oil, which made it a popular home...
Fibroids are tumors that are non-cancerous that grow in the uterus of women. Alternative names for fibroids include uterine fibroids, myomas or fibromyomas. Symptoms of fibroids may include abdominal fullness, increased frequency of urination,...
The amount of blood loss in a menstrual cycle may be different from woman to woman. Some women have a light to medium flow and others have a heavy flow. It is not uncommon for women to have a heavy flow at some point in their reproductive years....
Some women experience abdominal pain beginning days or even weeks before their periods start. Although the pain can be a normal part of some women's menstrual cycles, it can also indicate problems with hormones or the reproductive system.
Polycystic ovary syndrome, commonly called PCOS, is an imbalance of female hormones that results in menstrual cycle changes, cysts in the ovaries, difficulty getting pregnant and changes in the body, such as acne, a deepening of the voice and...
Swollen ankles are common during pregnancy or immediately following an injury, but if your ankles are swelling mainly at night, you may have an underlying medical condition. The swollen ankles may be accompanied by other symptoms that make it...
Certain reproductive conditions and disorders such as ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, cervical cancer or STDs can cause abdominal pain accompanied with spotting. Some of these conditions are benign and may go away without treatment and others...
It is not uncommon for a woman to see blood clots in her menstrual blood at some point in her reproductive years. According to Mayo Clinic Internist Dr. Sandhya Pruthi, passing blood clots during menstruation can be perfectly normal, and the...
One in five women of childbearing age will experience fibroids or pelvic tumors, according to the National Institute of Health. Fibroids vary in size and location within the uterus and also in number. While some women with fibroids have no...
Women commonly experience uterine fibroids and cysts, particularly during childbearing years. In general, these conditions don't cause discomfort, although for some women, hormonal fluctuations can cause significant pain and bloating. Uterine...
A bulging abdomen can be caused by many things, including sluggish digestion. If things are moving slowly through your system, you might experience bloating and a distended abdomen, for which fiber supplements may provide a solution. But abdominal...
Uterine fibroids are noncancerous tumor growths in the uterus. Fibroids can vary in size from an apple seed to a baseball, and they can appear as a single fibroid or in a colony of several dozens. Past women’s health research has examined...
Yeast diets, also called candida diets, are used to reduce the negative effects of an overgrowth of candida -- a yeast-like fungus that occurs naturally in the body. Although candida itself is harmless, an overgrowth can cause yeast infections, or...
At some point in a woman's reproductive years, she will experience an irregular menstrual cycle. Irregularities in the menstrual cycle can be caused by hormonal imbalances, stress, pregnancy, perimenopause and reproductive diseases. Most women who...
Uterine fibroids, or myomas, are fairly common among women of child-bearing age. While fibroids are sometimes referred to as tumors, most uterine fibroids never develop into cancer and aren't thought to increase your risk of cancer. Some...
Menstrual bleeding along with cramping, bloating, irritability and breast soreness can be hard to deal with. It can be even harder to deal with if the bleeding is extremely heavy, not to mention the panic that sets in at the sight of loosing so...
Although most women have come to know menstruation as a once-a-month cycle, other women experience it more than once a month or bleeding for a long period of time. Several factors play a part in causing abnormal menstrual bleeding, however,...
Estrogen dominance is a health disorder with an increasing significance in recent years due to the synthetic estrogens found in a variety of products, such as pesticides, plastics and hormone-injected meats and dairy. According to William Wong, a...
There are several organs in the left side of the abdomen, any of which can cause pain. Most abdominal pain is minor, but it can be a symptom of a serious condition. If you have abdominal pain that is accompanied by other symptoms of serious...
Fibroids, also known as uterine fibroids, are non-cancerous tumors comprised of muscle cells and other tissues. According to MedlinePlus, fibroids are the leading cause of benign tumors in women of childbearing age, and they usually grow in or...
Cranberry juice isn't likely to lessen menstrual cramps. The vitamins, minerals and antioxidants found in cranberries --- and its juice, for that matter --- do nothing to combat the source of the pain. Other methods are often necessary to relieve...
Every day, people go on detox diets to rid their bodies of toxins that build up due to unhealthy eating, illnesses, long-time drug use or environmental pollutants. Master Cleanse is a detox program designed to eliminate toxic buildup in the...
The menstrual cycle is between 25 to 36 days, with three to seven days of bleeding, according to Merck. Menstrual bleeding can be light, medium or heavy and should never be heavy enough to soak a pad every hour or contain blood clots larger than a...
Estrogens are hormones found in women and men. Production of this hormone fluctuates naturally, and its effects are most noticeable in women, who have much higher levels of estrogen. Certain foods can also increase or inhibit estrogen levels in...
A big, round stomach may not be the look you are aiming for, but when it occurs, it's important to know why. It's usually preventable and treatable, but it can also be serious on occasion -- it could be a symptom of a condition that needs...
Amenorrhea is when you are not menstruating. Primary amenorrhea occurs when you do not have a menstrual period by the age of 16. Secondary amenorrhea occurs when you have previously had menstrual periods and then you miss three or more periods in...
Many women suffer from benign uterine tumors known as fibroids or myomas. In fact, around one in five women of child-bearing age may have uterine fibroids, according to PubMed Health. While many women do not experience effects from fibroids, some...
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS, affects 5 percent to 10 percent of all women, according to the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center. It is a hormonal disorder whose symptoms may appear in teenage girls and extends into adulthood. The...
