Tranic contains tranexamic acid 500 mg, a medicine that reduces bleeding by stopping blood clots from breaking down too quickly. It treats heavy periods, nosebleeds, bleeding after dental extraction and bleeding in trauma. It is taken only while bleeding, not continuously.
What is Tranic?
Tranic contains tranexamic acid 500 mg. It is a Schedule 3 medicine, also sold as Cyklokapron and Tranexamic Acid.
It is an antifibrinolytic — and understanding that name explains the whole medicine.
When you bleed, the body forms a clot from fibrin. It then dissolves that clot once it is no longer needed, through a process called fibrinolysis, driven by an enzyme called plasmin. Tranexamic acid blocks the step that activates plasmin, so clots that have formed are not broken down prematurely.
That is a genuinely different approach from most bleeding treatments. It does not help blood clot faster or add clotting factors — it stabilises the clots you have already made, giving them time to do their job.
The practical consequence is that it works while there is bleeding to control. It is taken during a heavy period, or around a dental extraction, or in the hours after major trauma — not as a continuous daily medicine.
It is not a hormone, which is what makes it a useful option for heavy periods in someone who does not want or cannot take hormonal treatment such as Primolut N or the pill.
What is Tranic commonly used for?
- Heavy menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia) — taken only on the heaviest days. This is its commonest use.
- Nosebleeds, particularly recurrent ones.
- Bleeding after dental extraction, especially in people on blood thinners or with a bleeding disorder.
- Bleeding after surgery, or to reduce blood loss during it.
- Major trauma, where given early it reduces deaths from bleeding — one of the better-evidenced uses in emergency medicine.
- Bleeding in haemophilia and von Willebrand disease, alongside other treatment.
- Postpartum haemorrhage.
- Hereditary angioedema, in some cases.
For heavy periods, it is worth knowing how well it performs: tranexamic acid typically reduces menstrual blood loss by around a third to a half, and it is taken only during the period, usually for three to four days. It does not affect your cycle, does not contain hormones, and does not interfere with fertility or contraception.
That makes it a good fit for someone who wants heavy bleeding controlled without altering their hormones — and it can be combined with an anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen, which reduces both bleeding and pain by a separate mechanism.
Heavy bleeding still needs a cause. Fibroids, polyps, adenomyosis, thyroid disease, a bleeding disorder and endometrial changes can all present this way. Controlling the bleeding is not the same as knowing why it is happening.
How Tranic fits into this medicine category
| Group | Examples | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Antifibrinolytics | Tranexamic acid (Tranic) | Stops clots breaking down early |
| Hormonal options for heavy periods | Norethisterone (Primolut N), the pill, hormonal IUD | Alter the cycle and the womb lining |
| Anti-inflammatories | Ibuprofen, diclofenac | Reduce bleeding and period pain |
| Iron supplements | Ferrous sulfate | Treat anaemia caused by blood loss |
| Blood thinners | Warfarin, clopidogrel | The opposite effect — increase bleeding |
See the general medicines hub.
What to check before using Tranic
Take it only while bleeding, following your prescriber’s instruction — typically starting when the heavy bleeding begins and continuing for three to four days, not through the whole month.
Tell your prescriber or pharmacist if you:
- Have had a blood clot — a DVT, pulmonary embolism, stroke or heart attack — or have a clotting disorder. This is the central caution: a medicine that stabilises clots is not appropriate where unwanted clotting is the risk.
- Have kidney disease. Tranexamic acid is cleared by the kidneys and the amount usually needs reducing.
- Have blood in the urine from a kidney or bladder cause — clots can form and obstruct the urinary tract.
- Have a history of seizures. Seizures are a recognised effect at high intravenous doses.
- Have disturbed colour vision or an eye condition.
- Are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Take the combined contraceptive pill, which itself slightly raises clot risk.
- Take tretinoin, or clotting factor treatments.
- Are immobilised or recovering from surgery.
Follow the dispensing label. This page does not set doses.
Possible cautions and when to ask a pharmacist or doctor
Nausea, diarrhoea and stomach upset are the commonest effects and are usually mild. Taking it with food helps.
Clot risk. Because it prevents clots from dissolving, there is a theoretical concern about thrombosis. In practice, at the doses used for heavy periods in people without clotting risk factors, the evidence has not shown an increased rate. But it is why the questions above matter, and why it is avoided in anyone with a clot history.
Report visual changes. Disturbed colour vision is a recognised, though uncommon, effect and should prompt stopping the medicine and seeking advice.
It will not fix the underlying cause. If heavy bleeding continues to disrupt your life, or you are becoming anaemic — tired, breathless, pale — that needs investigating rather than repeated symptom control. Ask for a full blood count; iron deficiency from heavy periods is very common, frequently missed, and easily treated.
It can be combined with an anti-inflammatory for heavy periods, which many people find works better than either alone. Ask a pharmacist.
Seek urgent medical attention for pain, swelling, warmth or redness in one leg; sudden breathlessness or chest pain; coughing up blood; a sudden severe headache, one-sided weakness, slurred speech or visual loss; a seizure; changes in colour vision; or an inability to pass urine. Seek assessment for bleeding that soaks through protection hourly, bleeding with dizziness or fainting, bleeding after the menopause, or bleeding between periods or after sex.
Related medicine guides
Frequently asked questions
What is Tranic 500 mg used for? Reducing bleeding — heavy periods, nosebleeds, bleeding after dental extraction, and bleeding in surgery and trauma. It contains tranexamic acid.
How does it work? It stops blood clots from breaking down too quickly. It does not make blood clot faster; it stabilises the clots already formed.
Do I take it every day? No. For heavy periods it is taken only during the heaviest days, usually three to four days, not throughout the month.
Is it a hormone? No. That is one of its advantages — it controls heavy bleeding without altering hormones, and does not affect contraception or fertility.
How much does it reduce bleeding? Typically by around a third to a half for heavy menstrual bleeding.
Can I take it with ibuprofen? Often yes, and the combination works well for heavy painful periods. Check with a pharmacist first.