Sayyidah Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I used to suffer from istihadah (prolonged irregular bleeding), heavy and long-lasting, so I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to ask him for a ruling and to tell him of my condition. I found him in the house of my sister Zaynab. I said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have a need." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What is it, my dear?" I said: "I suffer from istihadah, heavy and long-lasting, which has kept me from prayer and fasting. What do you instruct me regarding it?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I advise you to use cotton, for it stops the blood." I said: "It is more than that." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then bind yourself with a cloth." I said: "It is more than that." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then use a piece of cloth." She said: "O Messenger of Allah, it is more than that; it flows profusely." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I instruct you in two things; whichever of them you do will suffice you for the other, and if you are able to do both, you know best." And he said: "This is only one of the kicks of Satan." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "According to the knowledge of Allah, you will menstruate for six or seven days; then take a ritual bath (ghusl), and when you are certain that you have become pure, pray for twenty-four nights and their days, or twenty-three nights and their days, and fast; that will suffice you. Do likewise every month, just as women menstruate and become pure at the appointed times of their menstruation and purity. And if you are able to delay the Zuhr prayer and bring the Asr prayer forward and take a single ritual bath for both, then delay the Maghrib prayer and bring the Isha prayer forward and take a ritual bath for both and combine the two prayers, and take a separate ritual bath with the Fajr prayer, then do so; and fast as well, if you are able to." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "And of the two matters, the one I prefer most is that you bind yourself with a cloth," meaning that you wrap a cloth and bind it firmly.
Hadith Referenceالمعجم الكبير للطبراني / مسند النساء / 20921