Doctors in India have warned the public that women who overuse contraceptive pills may possibly experience excessive blood coagulation, which becomes harmful when it blocks an artery and prevents blood flow. When that happens, a person may have a stroke or suffer a heart attack.
Most women take contraceptive pills in order to prevent pregnancy by controlling the hormones in the uterus and ovaries. When taken correctly, it is 99 percent effective, experts say. However, misuse of contraceptive pills is harmful.
Bandita Sinha, consultant gynecologist and obstetrics, said that the excess use of contraceptive pills has been linked to chronic immune disorders with an inflammatory component. She said that complications include irregular menstrual cycles, pre-menstrual symptoms and heavy or painful periods, skin allergies and breast tenderness spotting.
In the United States, over 9.7 million women use contraceptive pills. It is widely used by white women, young adult women, college graduates, unmarried women, and childless women.
In India, users of contraceptive pills have increased to 8.2 million. Sinha says that women aged 19 years old to 25 years old mostly use the method.
"A lot many times, harm caused by contraceptive pills to be consumed by a woman depends upon the environmental conditions and her physical fitness. A woman's body weight and age factor also determine the dosages of contraceptive pills," said Priyabrat Das from Safdarjang hospital.
Experts say that taking contraceptive pills could also lead to gallbladder disease, liver disease, high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack. If a woman taking these contraceptive pills is experiencing abdominal pain, severe headaches, chest pain, blurred vision, and aching in the legs and thighs, she should go to the doctor immediately.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration have also investigated contraceptive pills which contain drospirenone because reports say that they could cause blood coagulation, although studies show inconsistent results.
Doctors recommend other birth control alternatives. One recommendation is by using barrier methods. Experts say it is effective, especially if a woman has a history of breast cancer because it is unsafe for them to use hormones for birth control.
However, before you put to practice any birth control method, you should be able to communicate with your doctor first. Remember that factors like high blood pressure, smoking habits, and a history of breast cancer could all affect which method you use.
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