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<\/p>\nSince her early teens, Emma Cleary suffered light-headedness, extreme tiredness and was cruelly nicknamed \u2018Casper\u2019 by classmates referring to her ghost-like appearance.<\/p>\n
\u2018I kept going back to the doctors but eventually I gave up and just started fending for myself,\u2019 she says. \u2018It felt like they just wanted me to put up and shut up.\u2019<\/p>\n
At 16 she was eventually diagnosed with anaemia \u2013 a blood condition caused by a lack of iron that leads to tiredness and lack of energy. But, she says, no one ever explained that it could be linked to her heavy periods.<\/p>\n
Research suggests that one in three women suffer from heavy menstrual bleeding \u2013 yet many, like Emma, do not even realise they are affected, let alone the dramatic impact it can have on their health.<\/p>\n
\u2018I could easily bleed through dresses and down to my socks, so I became really conscious of what I was wearing,\u2019 she says. \u2018I wore black a lot to try to hide it.<\/p>\n
\u2018But growing up, I just thought that was normal. It wasn\u2019t something I spoke about with friends or even my mum. I assumed this was what everyone was going through, so I just got on with it.\u2019<\/p>\n
Despite repeated visits to her GP, Emma says her heavy periods were never addressed, and the iron supplements she was prescribed did little to ease symptoms.<\/p>\n
By her late 20s, and working as a model, the impact became impossible to ignore when her hair began falling out.<\/p>\n
\u2018All women are conscious of their looks, but this was my livelihood,\u2019 she says. \u2018I would go to shoots and the make-up artists would have to colour in my scalp to make the hair loss less visible.\u2019<\/p>\n
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Now 42 and a mother of two, Emma has finally found relief. She has been given a private prescription for tranexamic acid and also receives annual iron infusions<\/p>\n
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Although she suffered light-headedness and extreme tiredness from her early teens, it wasn’t until years later that Emma got a diagnosis<\/p>\n
Though she paid thousands for a hair transplant, the problem remained.<\/p>\n
\u2018I was queuing in the supermarket one day and felt terrible \u2013 dizzy, exhausted and bleeding heavily \u2013 but I was just trying to get through,\u2019 she recalls.<\/p>\n
\u2018The next thing I knew, I had a face full of flowers. I\u2019d fainted into a display by the till. When I came round, all I could see were flowers, and I genuinely thought I\u2019d died and it was my funeral.<\/p>\n
\u2018Then it hit me how embarrassing it was \u2013 being 35 years old and having your dad come and pick you up from the shop.\u2019<\/p>\n
It’s a fact…\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder affects about one in 20 women, triggering depression and anxiety before a period.<\/p>\n
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Now 42 and a mother of two, Emma has finally found relief. She has been given a private prescription for tranexamic acid, which reduces menstrual bleeding, and she also receives annual iron infusions.<\/p>\n
\u2018Without it, there\u2019s no way I would have been able to start my own business or be a mum to my two boys,\u2019 she says. \u2018The medication I\u2019m on now is supposed to be available on the NHS \u2013 but no one ever asked about my periods when I went to the doctors.\u2019<\/p>\n
Experts say such failures amount to a \u2018silent public health crisis\u2019. Last month, an analysis published in The Lancet by researchers at Anglia Ruskin University found that thousands of women are admitted to hospital every year because of heavy menstrual bleeding.<\/p>\n
Dr Bassel Wattar, associate professor of reproductive medicine at the university, said: \u2018This is a silent crisis in women\u2019s health. \u2018We see thousands of women admitted to hospital for a condition that could often be managed earlier and more effectively in the community. Guidelines and services in the NHS do not provide a clear pathway for managing acute heavy menstrual bleeding efficiently.<\/p>\n
\u2018This mismanagement leads to women being discharged with temporary fixes, often still anaemic, and left to navigate long waiting lists. We need to shift from reactive to proactive care.\u2019<\/p>\n
Periods are considered heavy if blood loss interferes with daily life \u2013 a problem affecting at least one in three women. This includes regularly bleeding through pads, tampons or clothing; needing to change sanitary products every 30 minutes to two hours, or having to plan work and social activities around periods because of the blood loss.<\/p>\n
The condition, known as menorrhagia, can be treated with hormonal contraceptives or tran\u00adexamic acid. But experts warn that prolonged heavy bleeding frequently leads to iron deficiency.<\/p>\n