Key Takeaways Period pain is common, but it should not regularly stop you from going to school, work or doing normal day-to-day activities. Severe pain on the first day of your period can happen with primary dysmenorrhoea, but new pain that is worsening or different to what you’re normally used to should be checked. Severe pain dysmenorrhea can be primary or secondary. Secondary dysmenorrhoea means there may be another condition causing the pain. Possible causes include endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts and pelvic inflammatory disease. Seek urgent help if pelvic pain or period pain is severe or worse than usual, and painkillers have not helped. If you could be pregnant and have one-sided lower tummy pain, unusual bleeding, shoulder tip pain, dizziness or fainting, seek medical advice urgently. Period pain is common, but severe pain on period days should not be dismissed as just cramps if it stops you from doing normal activities, gets worse over time, or comes with other symptoms. Dysmenorrhoea is the medical term for painful periods. Primary dysmenorrhoea usually starts from the first few periods and is not caused by another condition. Secondary dysmenorrhoea is period pain linked to an underlying issue, such as endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts or pelvic inflammatory disease. As discussed in our Period Pain Tablets Guide, primary dysmenorrhoea is period pain without a known cause, while secondary dysmenorrhoea can be linked to reproductive disorders. In this guide, we’ll explain what severe period pain can mean, when severe menstrual cramps may need medical advice, what symptoms to track, and which Healthwords treatments are available for period pain relief. What Is Dysmenorrhoea? Dysmenorrhoea means painful periods. The pain is usually felt as cramps or an aching pain in the lower tummy, but it can also spread to the lower back or the tops of the legs. Some people also feel tired, bloated, sick, headachy or have diarrhoea during their period. NHS Inform explains that primary dysmenorrhoea is period pain that is not caused by another health condition, and the pain usually starts when your period comes or slightly before. Primary dysmenorrhoea is often linked to prostaglandins. These are natural chemicals involved in inflammation and womb contractions. When levels are high, the womb may contract more strongly, causing cramping pain. Secondary dysmenorrhoea is different. It is period pain caused by another health condition. NHS dysmenorrhoea guidance explains that some women start to experience more painful periods after years of normal period pain, and symptoms can include a change in pain pattern, pain lasting longer, heaviness in the tummy, back pain, pain outside the period, heavy periods, irregular periods, bleeding between periods, unusual discharge, painful sex or bleeding after sex.  Severe Pain On Period: When Is It More Than Normal Cramps? Severe pain on period days should be taken seriously if it affects your ability to function. Period pain should not be severe. We advise speaking to a doctor if pain affects your day-to-day life, such as not being able to go to work or carry out low-physical-demand activities. You should also seek advice if your periods become more painful, heavier or irregular, or if your period pain stops you from doing your usual daily activities. The NHS advises seeing a GP if you have pain during sex, pain when peeing or pooing, bleeding between periods, changes in how much you pee or poo, a swollen tummy, loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss. A useful rule is this: if your period pain feels different for you, is getting worse, is not helped by usual pain relief, or is disrupting your life month after month, it is worth getting checked, as there is likely a treatment you were unaware of that you can be prescribed to make your periods more manageable.

Irregular periods describe as when you can’t predict when your period will come and the length of time between periods changes every month. Most women have their own "normal" - for most this is a period every 28 days, but some women bleed every 21 days, others every 35 days - this is the range of "normal". The number of days of bleeding may vary - most women bleed for 5 days, but between 3 and 8 days is considered normal. An app can help you keep track of your rhythm, so you can get to know what's normal for you. Oligomenorrhoea is the medical term for infrequent periods, and can cause a great deal of anxiety and disruption. It also has consequences if you’re planning to get pregnant. Irregular periods may coincide with heavy bleeding or painful bleeding.

Pelvic pain occurs in the lower abdomen and pelvis. The pain can originate from organs close by, such as any of the reproductive organs, the digestive or urinary systems, or from the surrounding muscles and ligaments. It predominantly affects women, and may be acute, lasting a short time such as in period cramps or a urinary tract infection, or persisting as a chronic condition. Chronic pelvic pain is defined as intermittent or continuous pelvic pain that lasts for longer than 6 months and affects around 1 in 6 women.

For those going through menopause, the change usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55, but can occur earlier or later too. It's a natural process that can lead to several physical and emotional changes, including hot flushes, anxiety, irregular periods and mood swings. But, one thing that is less commonly talked about is the effects that menopause can have on the joints - specifically, the feet and ankles. If you are wondering whether menopause can cause painful feet and ankles, you certainly aren't alone. It's actually something that some women going through menopause experience. Menopause occurs due to a reduction in key hormone levels like oestrogen. While foot and ankle pain may not be caused entirely by reduced hormone levels, it can definitely play a part. Let's take a closer look at the link between joint pain and menopause.

Some women may experience a missed period, and this can happen for many reasons, including a medical condition, medication or stress and lifestyle factors. With a one-off period that's missed, we may not find out the cause and hopefully your cycle returns to normal. Persistent missed periods will need investigating with your doctor.

Heavy menstrual bleeding is either when you lose a lot of blood or you bleed for a longer period of time. This can be associated with the passage of blood clots and pain, and if it occurs every month it is known medically as menorrhagia. All in all, it can cause a considerable disruption to everyday life and a toll on your mental wellbeing. It’s hard to know what a “normal” period is and it is often difficult to know if your period is lighter, heavier or the same as other women. Signs that you are bleeding more heavily than others may include that you soak through a sanitary towel or tampon at least every hour, that you need double protection (towel and pad) that you need to change in the middle of the night and flooding through to clothes or bedding. It may also include bleeding for more than 7 days, passing large blood clots, and generally a disturbance to your daily activities, work, studies or relationship from bleeding.

Hair is a huge part of a woman’s identity and we are constantly bombarded with images of long sleek locks with plenty of volume. Understandably loss of hair can cause women a great deal of anxiety. There can be telling signs that this is an inevitable part of an ageing process, so let’s talk through what to look for, and consider any reversible causes.

Breast pain is very common and there can be many causes, but most cases are not a cause for concern. Cyclical breast pain can be a normal part of many women’s cycles, especially in the weeks before a period starts. Other causes of breast pain are the contraceptive pill, pregnancy, menopause, an infection in the breast such as mastitis, a muscle strain in the chest wall and injury to the area. Pain is not a common presentation of breast cancer; other signs that are more indicative of breast cancer such as changes in your breast shape, nipple or skin changes, or a breast lump that doesn't go away with your next period.

A breast lump is a growth or swelling that occurs on or around your breast tissue, and can have a number of different causes. Most people worry about cancer when they find a breast lump, but most breast lumps are not cancerous. Nevertheless, it is always important to seek further advice from your doctor, so that they can rule out anything concerning. Breast tissue is affected by hormones, and women are more likely to be affected by changes in their breast tissue than men. For this reason, it can be common to have breast changes during your monthly period cycle or when you are breastfeeding.

Blood in the urine is also known as haematuria. Blood that can be seen by the naked eye is called macroscopic haematuria, whereas blood that can’t be seen but is only found through a urine test is called microscopic haematuria. Although there are many harmless causes for it, both of these can indicate a cause for concern and require discussion with a doctor and possibly more investigations. Blood in the urine can occur alone with no other symptoms, but it can also occur with pain on peeing or the passage of clots. You may get other urine symptoms such as passing urine very frequently, needing to rush to the loo or the urine having a bad smell. The colour can vary from rose-coloured to Coca-Cola coloured.

Periods are classified as occurring every 28 days on average but in reality, it can be shorter or longer than this - anything from 21 days to 40 days. For most women, they can predict which day they expect to have a period using fertility tracking, where most use an app or diary to do this. Periods are termed irregular when the expected date of bleeding becomes difficult to predict – earlier or later than expected. If this continues for three months or more, you should see your doctor to consider any necessary tests. If it’s late once, then the first thing we would suggest is to take a pregnancy test.