Making a few tweaks to your diet may ease your symptoms and get your menstrual cycle back on track. Certain over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers may also offer relief. In some cases, you may need prescription medication.

If your period is so heavy that you quickly soak through pads or tampons — or have to double up on different types of protection — there are things you can do to find relief.

Consider making an appointment with a healthcare professional if you don’t notice a change within one or two cycles. They may be able to prescribe medication to help control the bleeding and manage related symptoms.

Seek emergency medical attention if you:

  • have difficulty breathing
  • pass clots the size of a quarter or larger
  • feel faint or unexpectedly lose consciousness

Increasing your intake of certain nutrients can help replenish what you lose during menstruation. Check with a healthcare professional before taking a new vitamin, mineral, or supplement.

They can determine whether it’s medically necessary or otherwise beneficial, recommend the appropriate dose, and warn you about any side effects or interactions.

1. Drink plenty of water

Drinking 4 to 6 extra cups of water when you bleed heavily can help maintain your blood volume.

You can also add a sprinkle of salt to your meals or drink more electrolytes to balance the extra fluid you’re drinking.

2. Prioritize iron-rich foods

When you bleed, you lose iron. Your body needs iron to produce hemoglobin, which helps red blood cells carry oxygen. Very heavy periods can deplete your body of iron and lead to iron deficiency anemia.

Examples of iron-rich food include:

  • shellfish, particularly clams, oysters, and mussels
  • spinach
  • liver and other organ meats
  • legumes, such as lentils, chickpeas, peas, and soybeans
  • ground beef and other red meats
  • pumpkin seeds
  • quinoa
  • turkey
  • broccoli
  • tofu

3. Cook in a cast-iron pot or pan

Another possible way to increase your iron intake is to cook in a cast-iron skillet. Foods with a lot of moisture — like sauce — absorb the most iron.

Stirring the pot often will pull even more iron into your food. Just be careful not to overdo it. Cooking everything in an iron pot could give you more iron than you need.

4. Increase your vitamin C intake

Vitamin C may help reduce bleeding. It might also help your body absorb iron, which can help prevent anemia.

Examples of vitamin C-rich foods include:

5. Swap brown sugar for blackstrap molasses

This thick, syrupy cane sugar byproduct is more than a recipe additive. It’s a good source of iron and nutrients like calcium, magnesium, and selenium.

Certain pain relievers can help manage blood loss, while hormonal therapies can help regulate your overall menstrual cycle.

6. Some OTC pain relievers can worsen symptoms, so be sure to review the ingredients

Acetaminophen (Tylenol) can help relieve menstrual aches and pains. However, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen (Advil) and naproxen (Aleve) can also reduce inflammation and blood loss.

Avoid taking the OTC pain reliever aspirin — or medications that contain aspirin — because it can increase bleeding.

7. Hormonal birth control may help reduce bleeding and cramping

Hormonal birth control thins the uterine lining, typically resulting in less menstrual bleeding. It may also relieve other period symptoms, such as painful cramps.

While all hormonal methods have some effect on menstrual bleeding, medical professionals consider intrauterine devices (IUDs) and progestin-dominant oral contraceptives to be the most effective.

An IUD is a small, T-shaped device that must be placed in the uterus by a healthcare professional. Hormonal IUDs release a continuous level of levonorgestrel, which is a type of progestin or synthetic progesterone.

Depending on the brand, a hormonal IUD can be used to reduce bleeding and prevent pregnancy for 3 to 8 years.

Combination pills, which contain synthetic estrogen alongside progestin, may help regulate or reduce heavy bleeding.

Most combination pills are taken for 21 or 24 days, followed by up to 7 days of inactive or placebo pills to allow for period-like withdrawal bleeding.

Although they can be used “off-label” to skip menstruation by forgoing the placebo pills in favor of starting a new pack, combination pills with an extended cycle or continuous dosing regimen are available.

All progestin-only pills utilize a continuous dosing regimen. Some research suggests that high dose progestin-only pills are more effective than low dose or “mini” pills at reducing heavy bleeding.

8. Progestin tablets can be used as a stand-alone treatment for heavy bleeding

Progestin tablets can help thin the uterine lining, which may reduce menstrual bleeding.

However, it’s important to understand that progestin tablets aren’t the same thing as progestin-only oral contraceptives. You can’t use them to prevent pregnancy.

You may use progestin tablets as a stand-alone treatment or alongside hormonal or nonhormonal birth control. Your healthcare professional will consider your overall medication regimen when prescribing progestin tablets.

The dose or frequency may depend on whether you use other hormonal therapies, such as hormonal birth control or gender-affirming hormone therapy.

9. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) therapies may provide short-term relief

People use GnRH therapies to reduce heavy menstrual bleeding in a number of circumstances, including preparation for a planned surgical intervention.

They work by reducing estrogen levels. This prevents the uterine lining from thickening and, ultimately, shedding. Decreased estrogen may also alleviate endometriosis-related pelvic pain and shrink uterine fibroids.

You can have GnRH agonists administered as a nasal spray, subcutaneous injection, or intramuscular injection, while GnRH antagonists are available as oral pills or tablets.

Medical professionals usually prescribe both therapies alongside hormone therapy to reduce the risk of side effects and long-term complications.

10. If you don’t want to take hormones, antifibrinolytic drugs may be an option

Antifibrinolytic drugs can help reduce menstrual bleeding by preventing blood clots from breaking down too fast.

Although healthcare professionals usually prescribe tranexamic acid (TXA) tablets to treat heavy periods, they may consider other antifibrinolytic drugs.

Your healthcare professional may recommend:

  • aminocaproic acid, which is available as a tablet or syrup
  • nafamostat mesilate, which a doctor administers through intravenous (IV) infusion
  • aprotinin, which a medical professional administers through an IV infusion

In some cases, a minimally invasive procedure may provide lasting relief. For severe symptoms that don’t respond to other therapies, a healthcare professional may treat them with surgery.

Your options ultimately depend on whether your symptoms stem from an underlying condition and whether you want to become pregnant in the future.

11. High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)

This minimally invasive procedure helps with bleeding caused by uterine fibroids. It uses targeted sound waves to modify or destroy the designated area of tissue with heat.

12. Uterine artery embolization (UAE)

This minimally invasive procedure can also treat bleeding caused by uterine fibroids. Small particles are injected into the blood vessels that lead to the uterus, cutting off the blood supply to the fibroids and causing them to shrink.

13. Myomectomy

This minimally invasive surgery removes uterine fibroids but leaves your uterus intact. The exact approach depends on the fibroids’ size, number, and location.

A medical professional can do it by making several small incisions in the abdomen (laparoscopic or robotic), making one large abdominal incision (laparotomy), or entering the uterus through the cervix and vagina (hysteroscopic).

14. Endometrial ablation

This minimally invasive procedure can destroy the uterine lining. The exact approach depends on the size and condition of the uterus.

A doctor can carry this out by entering the uterus through the cervix and vagina and using extreme cold, heated fluids, microwave energy, or high energy radio frequencies to destroy the endometrium.

Pregnancy is highly unlikely, but not impossible, after ablation.

15. Endometrial resection

This minimally invasive procedure is used to remove the uterine lining. It’s done by entering the uterus through the cervix and vagina and using an electrically heated wire loop to scrape the endometrium.

Pregnancy is highly unlikely, but not impossible, after resection.

16. Hysterectomy

This is a major surgery where a doctor will remove the entire uterus. The exact approach depends on whether any organs or tissues around the uterus will also be removed.

Your doctor will start by making an incision at the top of the vaginal canal, making several small incisions in the abdomen (laparoscopic or robotic), or by making one large abdominal incision (laparotomy).

Pregnancy is not possible after hysterectomy.

Some menstrual periods are heavier than others. Infrequently, heavy menstruation usually isn’t cause for concern, but if your symptoms persist, they could be a sign of a more serious underlying condition.

If you’re unsure about your symptoms or find they disrupt your day-to-day life, consider making an appointment with a healthcare professional.

They can help determine the reason for bleeding and create a care plan suited to your lifestyle and preferences.

Tess Catlett is a sex and relationships editor at Healthline, covering all things sticky, scary, and sweet. Find her unpacking her inherited trauma and crying over Harry Styles on Twitter.