Treatments For Women
By Dr Mohammed Sarwar Khan.

The strongest feature of Chinese medicine is probably its ability to treat chronic conditions. Especially for those conditions which conventional medicine has no answers, no treatments and no relief other than harsh chemicals with potentially unpleasant side effects.  Chinese medicine treats women's health very differently from conventional Allopathic medicine.

Chinese medicine is based on the law of Yin and Yang.  Health only comes about when both Yin and Yang are balanced and working in harmony. Yin keeps our body cool and Yang is the metabolic heat in the body. If there is any disturbance in the Yin-Yang balance then there is disturbance in the body. This can give rise to many problems. 

Menopause
Chinese Medicine approaches Menopause as a variety of syndromes. Acupuncture and herbal medicine can be used to treat the symptoms associated with the menopause. The most typical cause for the symptoms associated with menopause is the slowing of the flow of Yin. The Yin is the hydrating system of the body. Typical symptoms of Yin deficiency include: hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, insomnia, and heart palpitations.

Sometimes the Yang can become 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 a raised cholesterol level.

Left untreated, Yin or Yang deficiency can lead to Qi deficiency.  Qi pronounced as "Chee," is the internal energy.  Symptoms of a Qi deficiency can include: feeling "run-down," fatigue, decreased sex drive, dry vagina, cold extremities, lower back pain, weakened knees and incontinence.

PMS: Pre-menstrual syndrome
PMS is the emotional and/or physical discomfort that occurs before or after the menstrual cycle.  PMS is a reasonably simple syndrome to treat with Chinese medicine.  Left untreated, this problem can become serious. According to the Chinese medical theory, the same condition that gives rise to PMS is also a precursor to lumps, cysts, lesions, and even cancerous tumours in the breasts and uterus.

In Chinese medicine there are two main organs which regulate menstruation. These are the Liver and the Spleen.  The Liver and Spleen have many different functions than the two organs described in Allopathic medical science.

The Liver initiates the menstrual cycle and the Spleen controls the production of blood in the body.  When there is disharmony in the Liver, symptoms include the emotional swings that are often associated with PMS such as: depression, sadness, irritability, crying, and a tendency to outbursts of anger.  When the problem arises from the Spleen, symptoms would include: distention of the abdomen and breasts and insomnia.

Among the jobs that the Liver is expected to do in the body, according to Chinese medicine it also maintains the free flow of the Qi energy.  When the Qi is moving well, we feel flexible and flowing. When there is a problem in the Liver, its function of circulating the Qi is compromised and the Qi becomes stagnated.  This is what we call PMS.

Disharmonies of the Liver have two effects on the menstrual cycle. One is Liver Qi stagnation.  This causes moodiness and unexpectedly intense emotions. The other problem that comes from Liver disharmony is a painful period. 

There can be various other symptoms along with moodiness and pain in PMS. Sometimes, the Liver gets so angry that it lashes out at the Spleen. This causes the Spleen's functions to be compromised.  Symptoms associated with this portion of PMS include: cravings (especially for sweets), water retention, fatigue, abdominal bloating, breast tenderness with possible lumps, and of course, pain, especially toward the end of the period.

Chinese medical doctors see emotional strain, overwork, too much sexual activity, and dietary problems to be the causes for PMS.  Diet from the Chinese perspective is the excessive amounts of foods that aggravate the body's systems. An excessive intake of dairy products and greasy or fried foods can lead to symptoms of PMS.

Treatments for PMS
Acupuncture and herbs can provide enormous relief from PMS, however the underlying cause of PMS is often due to one's lifestyle, or the way in which one relates with the world. Acupuncture will gently break free the stagnation of the Qi in the body.  This also has the effect of easing the emotions and pain associated with menstruation.  As with many menstrual problems, it may take a few menstrual periods to regulate the cycle completely, although some improvement can often be seen after the first month, or even after the first treatment.

Dysmenorrhea
Dysmenorrhea is the pain that occurs before, during or after menstruation.  This pain often occurs in the lower abdomen or lower back. Associated Allopathic conditions include; mittelschmerz, endometriosis, uterine fibroids and myoma.

From the Chinese point of view, dysmenorrhea arises from either the lack of "Blood" in the body (this approximates anemia in

Allopathic terms, though it has other meanings as well), or stagnant Qi or Blood.  Stagnated Qi or Blood can both be affected by emotion. Stagnation makes you emotional, and emotions make you stagnant.  Chinese Medicine seeks to resolve the stagnant Qi and blood, nourish and increase the amount of Blood, remove the pain and ease the emotions.

Left untreated, stagnated Qi leads to a stagnation of Blood. This causes intermittent sharp pains in the abdomen, or what the West calls mittelschmerz.  If the Blood stagnation slows the circulation of Qi or Blood for a long time, a soft nodule can appear in that area.  This is one way of describing endometriosis.  Again, should the soft nodule be left untreated and the stagnation in the body remains, in time it can become a harder nodule like a uterine fibroid. If that nodule begins to grow more rapidly, it can become what the West calls myoma, or cancer.

Pain tends to come from stagnated Qi or Blood in Chinese medicine.  At that stage it is a simple matter of getting that Qi or Blood moving again to remove the monthly pain. However, left untreated, other complications can appear.  Pain is nature's way of reminding us to be aware of our body's needs.   If not treated it could lead to other serious health problems.

Menorrhagia or Metrorrhagia
Menorrhagia/metrorrhagiz is associated with excessive menstrual flow or spotting.  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 can give rise to menorrhagia/metrorrhagia. 

Another cause could be "heat" in the Blood, which would likely be associated with a feeling of restlessness, fever and constipation.  Symptoms associated with a Spleen deficiency might include an abnormally low appetite, shortness of breath and a pale complexion. For this problem the doctor would seek to regulate the energy in the various organs.

At the CHINESE HOSPITAL we offer all our female patients the best and most comfortable diagnosis and treatment available. Female patients can rest assured that they will be treated by female doctors.