Ten years ago a study was done by Dr. Hong-yen Hsu, PhD in Japan to determine what type of patient was most frequently seen and what formulas were most frequently prescribed in Chinese herbal pharmacies. They found that women with gynecological problems visited doctors most frequently, and the most frequently prescribed formulas were for gynecological conditions.
Chinese Medicine (both acupuncture and herbs) works amazingly well and it has very high success rates for treating a wide variety of women’s health problems, without the use of surgery or prescription drugs. Some of these problems include PMS, endometriosis, leukorrhea, menopause, habitual abortion, infertility, breast and uterine cancer, fibroid tumors, fibrocystic breast disease, dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation) amenorrhea (no menstruation), mastitis, morning sickness, depression, irritability, anemia, PID (pelvic inflammatory disease) and many more.
Many of the above-mentioned disorders have the characteristic Chinese medical diagnosis of what is called “stagnant blood”. Stagnant blood means that the blood contains toxins, but also that the passage of blood is obstructed by some hardness causing poor circulation. Some of the symptoms of this type of disorder include severe stabbing pain, extreme irritability, fatigue, and hard masses caused by tumors or cysts. This diagnosis is confirmed by the Chinese medical pulse and tongue diagnosis. for example, a rapid, choppy, sinking, knotted or intermittent pulse with a purple hue to the tongue, is many times indicative of blood stagnation.
Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture are required to treat these types of symptoms, and they work at a very deep level. However, is extremely important that the herbs be used in a very exact combination, where the herbs work synergistically and also get to the root of the problem.
For example, a person with menopausal complaints or PMS may have primarily liver congestion with some blood stagnation. They would take a formula such as a Bupleurum and peony combination, which contains a few herbs to circulate the blood, but primarily treats the liver ‘chi’ congestion. Whereas a person with fibroid tumors may have much blood stagnation, and a kidney meridian deficiency. This person would need an individual formula made up of combinations such as cinnamon and hoelen with Rheumania 6 combination, which treats both stagnant blood and deficiency of the kidney. In other words, stagnant blood cannot be treated by itself, unless the other diagnostic features are treated along side it.
As many women realize, many of their gynecological distresses are accompanied by severe emotional problems such as depression, irritability, hysteria, insomnia, diminished memory, indecision, anxiety, etc. Many of these problems are caused by what we call liver congestion, stagnant blood, and blood and ‘chi’ deficiency. This type of diagnosis also injures the autonomic nervous system. One of the best parts of treatment with Chinese Medicine is that women feel very emotionally balanced in addition to having their reported physical symptoms disappear. And yet, an additional benefit is that once the root problem is treated, the patient does not need to come back.