Chinese Medicine's Treatments for Women


Traditional Chinese Medicine (Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine) is rapidly growing in acceptance in the West because it works. It's strongest feature is the ability to overcome chronic conditions for which conventional medicine has no answers, no treatments and no relief other than harsh chemicals with potentially unpleasant side effects. Traditional Chinese medicine treats woman's problems very differently from conventional Western medicine. Probably the very best thing about Traditional Chinese medicine is in its care of chronic conditions that are untreatable through conventional Western methods. The remainder of this update describes some typical problems that woman have had treated with Chinese medicine.

Menopause

Traditional Chinese Medicine approaches Menopause as a variety of syndromes. All of them have been successfully treated by Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine. The first is the slowing of the flow of "Yin" or the Chinese concept of the hydration and cooling system within the body. Typical symptoms of this deficiency of Yin includes hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, insomnia, and heart palpitations.

Sometimes, instead of the Yin level dropping down, it is the Yang that becomes deficient. The Yang in the body represents the warming function of the cells, their metabolism and other active processes. When the Yang is deficient, symptoms include: water retention, edema, weight gain, indigestion, hypertension, and raised cholesterol level.

Left untreated, yin or yang deficiency can lead to Qi deficiency. Qi is the Chinese word for internal energy. These symptoms include: feeling "run-down," hot flashes, night sweats, fatigue, decreased sex drive, dry vagina, cold extremities, possible aversion to cold, and lower back pain.


Pre-menstrual syndrome

Emotional and physical symptoms occurring before or after periods.

Symptoms may include depression, sadness, irritability, crying, propensity to outbursts of anger, clumsiness, distention of abdomen and breasts, and insomnia. Chinese doctors see emotional strain, overwork, too much sexual activity, and dietary problems to be the causes for PMS. Diet from the Chinese perspective doesn't talk about a lack of nutrients, but rather, excessive amounts of foods that aggravate the body's systems. Foods that are the most likely to lead to PMS include dairy products and greasy or fried foods.

Prognosis: Both acupuncture and herbs give excellent results for PMS. As with all menstrual problems, it will take a minimum of 3 menstrual periods to regulate the cycle completely, although some improvement can often be seen even after the first month.


Dysmenorrhea,

Pain occurring before, during or after menstruation.

This pain often occurs in the lower abdomen or lower back. Associated western conditions include; Endometriosis, Mittelschmerz, Myoma, and Uterine Fibroids.

From the Chinese point of view, this comes from either of lack of blood in the body (this approximates anemia in Western terms, though it has other meanings as well), or stagnant Qi (Pronounced "Chee", it is the Chinese word to describe internal energy). Stagnant Qi or Blood can both effect and be effected by emotion. Stagnation makes you emotional, and emotions make you stagnant. Chinese Medicine seeks to free up the stagnant Qi and blood, tonify the blood, remove the pain and ease the emotions.


Menorrhagia or Metrorrhagia

Excessive menstrual flow or spotting.

The reasons for these condition according to Chinese medical theory are numerous. They include Qi Stagnation due to emotional strain, and Qi deficiency due to a variety of situations including overwork, too much sexual activity, chronic illness, or childbirth. Other Western descriptions of excessive flow or spotting include: Carcinoma of the Cervix, Endometriosis, Carcinoma of the Uterus, Myomas, and Endometrial Polyps.


Moral of the story

Traditional Chinese medicine has been treating women for thousands of years. If you've been suffering for years, you owe it to yourself to research your alternatives.

You've got options. All we really want to do is remind you is that suffering need not be one of them.


Acupuncture.com


e-mail: AcuCom@aol.com