Important Note:
Although the information in this section was written by
Healthphone.com's Healing Centre Panel of professional Chinese doctors,
licensed acupuncturists, herbalists and other experts, Healthphone.com
accepts no legal responsibility nor liability for any errors or
omissions. The information in this section is presented as is, for
educational purposes only. As with any medical matter, always
consult your healthcare professional before acting on any health-related
information.
The
menstrual cycle usually begins at around the age of 14
for girls. However, if it does not start after 18 years
of age, or stops for about three months, then it is a
case of amenorrhea. Amenorrhea (an absecne of
menstruation) is normal before puberty,during pregnancy,
while breast-feeding and also after menupause.Primary
amenorrhea describes the situation where the menstrual
periods do not begin at puberty.In secondary amenorrhea,
the menstrual periods stop when they would normally be
expected to be present.In Traditional Chinese Medicine
(TCM), the causes of amenorrhea are "insufficiency of
the liver and kidney", "deficiency of both qi and blood"
and "blood stasis insufficiency of the liver and kindey
due to stagnation of qi".
(a) Absence of menses for months.
(b) Menstruation has not started when the girl is 18
years old.
(c) Dull pain in the lower abdomen, sometimes
difficulty in passing urine.
(d) Physical examination might reveal a chromosomal
abnormality or absence of a reproductive organ.
(e) X-ray and ultrasound may confirm physical
examination findings.
1.
Insufficiency of the Liver and Kidney: Girls over 18
have not started their mentrual cycle, or the
mentruation is light, leading gradually to amenorrhea.
The girl may show physical fatigue and sore legs and
loins. There may also be dizziness or tinnitus(ringing
in ears). The tongue would be reddish with little fur,
while the pulse is deep and weak.
2. Deficiency of both Qi and Blood: Mentrual cycle is
delayed gradually, while the quantity becomes lighter,
blood is light in color and thin. There may be
dizziness, blurred vision, palpitation (noticeable or
irregular heartbeat), shortness of breath, lusterless
hair or emaciation (body wasting) with sallow
complexion. The tongue would be pale with very little
fur, while the pulse would be deep and moderate.
3. Blood Stasis due to Stagnation
of Qi: The mentrual cycle stops for months, the
woman gets angry easily, feels fullness in the chest and
hypochondrium region, and there may be lower abdomen
pain. The blood stasis may also cause purplish spots on
the borders of the tongue and a deep and uneven pulse.
This ailment,
according to TCM, has different syndromes. The treatment for
these syndromes using herbal medicine and acupuncture is shown
below.
Syndrome (a) Insufficiency of the
Liver and Kidney
To treat byHerbal
medicine
Therapeutic Principle:
In TCM, the liver stores "blood" and the kidney stores
"essence". The liver depends on the kidney to provide
the nourishment to produce blood and the kidney depends
on the liver to provide blood to produce essence.
Therefore, they both rely on each other. One should
nourish the kidney and the liver to regulate
menstruation.
The recipe of plus or minus Bolus
is to tone the kidney and liver.
Recipe: Modified Bolus
1. dodder seed, Semen Cuscutae 12g (strengthening waist)
2. eucommia bark, Cortex Eucommiae 9g strenthening
knees, muscles, joins)
3. wolfberry fruit, Fructus Lycii 12g (improving vision)
4. glossy privet fruit, Fructus Ligustri Lucidi 12g
(improve vision, white hair, waist,tinnitus.)
5. eclipta, Herba Ecliptae 12g (dizziness,white hair,
tinnitus, lassitude in loins and legs)
6. dogwood fruit, Fructus Corni 9g (to astringe seminal
emission and sweating)
7. Chinese angelica root, Radix Angelicae Sinensis 9g
(nourish blood)
8. prepared rehmannia root, Radix Rehmanniae 9g (nourish
kidney-yin)
9. Chinese yam, Rhizoma Dioscoreae 15g (nourishing and
replenishing spleen and kidney)
10. poria, Poria 9g (nourish and replenish spleen)
Decoct the above drugs in water for oral administration.
To treat by Herbal
medicine Therapeutic principle: Deficiency of qi will
block the blood circulation and affect the flow of the
menstruation. Stimulating the qi and nourishing the
blood will help regulate menstruation.
Decoct the above drugs in water for oral administration.
pilose antler, Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum 6g (if large
uterine bleeding) (ground into fine power to be
swallowed)
To treat by Herbal
medicine Therapeutic Principle: Deficiency of both the qi
and the blood can be cured by removing blood stagnation
and regulating the blood in the meridians. Regulating
the qi will help circulate the blood.
Decoct the above drugs in water for oral administration.
To treat by Acupuncture and
Moxibustion In acupuncture, there are two approaches to curing
deficiency of both qi and blood: a) alleviating blood
stagnation or b) blood depletion.
(a) Symptoms of Blood stagnation:
1. absence of menses for about 3 months
2. pain and hard masses in lower abdomen
3. Tension and fullness in the chest and hypochondrium
region
4. dark purple tongue coating with purplish spots on its
borders, deep string- taut pulse Therapeutic principle: By resolving blood stasis
and regulating the circulation of Qi, the blood should
be activated by selecting the Ren, Fott-Taiyang and Foot
-Jueyin Meridians. Prescription/Formula: Zhongji (Ren 3), Guilai
(S29), Xuehai(Sp10), Taichong(Liv 3), Hegu(L14),
Sanyinjiao(Sp6)
(b) Symptoms of Blood depletion:
1. delayed menstruation
2. decreased menses and gradual Amenorrhea
3. dizziness and vertigo, tinnitus, lassitude, poor
appetite, loose stools, dry skin
4. lower back and knees are sore and weak
5. pale tongue, white coating, slow pulse Therapeutic principle: Regulate the blood and qi
by selecting points of the Ren, Liver, Spleen and Kidney
Meridians. Prescription/Formula: Guanyuan(Ren 4), Ganshu
(B18), Pishu(B20), Shenshu(23), Zusanli (S36),
Sanyinjiao (Sp6) 3. Alternatitive treatment: Auricular
Acupuncture Prescription: kidney, liver, spleen, shenmen
Generally speaking, Qigong is good for healing
effect of this specific ailment, however
individual results may vary. It improves the
flow of the qi and the circulation of the blood,
so you'll experience more energy, but, you won't
see/ feel any immediate effects, as with many
exercises and therapies, it takes a few weeks or
even months of practice before you'll see any
significant improvements.
For the information of different types of Qigong
,just click a link above.
This information is for education purpose only.
We strongly advise you seek a licensed Qigong
master to learn the correct ways to conduct
these exercises before attempting them.
(b) Medicated diet
1) Patients of weak physiques should eat more
chicken, pigeon and mutton. Fat patients should
not take much fatty food and sweet food.
2) Chinese Angelica (Danggui) 15g, Polished
round-grained nonglutinous rice (Jingmi) 50g, 5
Dried Dates (Hongzao).
Soak the Chinese Angelica in water for some
time, put it into a pot with water (200 ml),
boil it until the quantity of water is reduced
to 100 ml. Remove the dregs and keeps the tea.
Add the rice and dates, plus some sugar, and add
more water (300 ml), cook it to make gruel. Take
it on an empty stomach in
the early morning and evening. The course of
treatment is 10 days.
Effects: Enriching the blood and
regulating menstuation, increasing the
circulation of the blood and stops the pain.
Caution: Not to be taken by those who
have poor appetite due to deficiency of the
spleen, or those suffering from diarrhea, or
those with deficiency of yin.
(c) Life style
1) Don't have anxiety, disappointment or fear.
2) Don't work too hard. Have enough sleep.
3) Don't live in damp places, such as basement.
4) Do appropriate exercise, and take part in
normal group activities.
Acknowledgments:
Healthphone.com greatly acknowledges the support
and dedication of our
Healing Centre Panel, without whom this
section would not be possible.
We also greatly acknowedge Ms. Najaf Munir,
MBBS, for her editorial support. Ms. Munir
simplified the highly technical medical
documents into easy-to-read documents, for the
enjoyment and education of our numerous
visitors.
