Contraception pills reduce painful periods

Low-dose oral contraceptives (OCs) may relieve painful menstruation in adolescent girls. Oral contraceptives should become an important treatment option for millions of adolescents who experience significant discomfort from painful periods and are currently under treated. Researchers from Columbia University, New York, randomly assigned 76 girls aged 19 years or less to either an oral contraceptive or a placebo for 3 months. All of them had moderate or severe pain during their period. By the third menstrual cycle on treatment, girls in the OC group reported significantly less pain compared with those in the placebo group. The subjects in the OC group reported their worst pain as being less than that in the placebo group. They also reported fewer days of any pain, fewer days of severe pain, and fewer hours of pain on the worst pain day by cycle 3. OC users also used fewer pain medications than placebo users. No severe treatment-related adverse events were observed. Two girls in the OC group stopped taking the medication, one due to nausea, and one due to acne. One subject in the placebo group discontinued due to moodiness. The results of the above study support the use of low-dose OCs for the treatment of painful menstruation.