Menstruation Disorders - Dysmenorrhea - Herbs Used to Treat Dampness in a TCM Perspective

All women experience an irregular period once in awhile during their child bearing years. While Western medication has never viewed irregular menstruation as a problem of a women's reproductive system, traditional Chinese medicine looks at this problem seriously and that if left untreated, it will disharmonize the women's ecosystem, leading to nervous tension and other health problems, including infertility. Dampness is defined as a condition of fluids accumulating in the body due to a deficiency of kidney yang and the inability of the spleen to absorb energy over a prolonged period of time.

Herbs used to treat dampness include:

1. Fu ling(matsuhodo)
Fu ling is one of the most frequently used herbs in promoting the kidney in urinary secretion and improving the spleen in food absorption. Thereby it releases the water retention in the body and promotes strong kidney and spleen qi in assisting the liver functions in blood formation and transportation of blood to the circulatory system, resulting in lessening the risk of heart abnormalities.

2. Zhu ling (polyporus sclerotium)
This herb promotes kidney urinary secretion. It also helps to expel the dampness (fluid retention) from the body tissues.

3. Ze Xie (water plantain root)
Ze xie has been used frequently in TCM to clean phlegm caused by lung congestion as a result of
excessive dampness accumulating in the lung. It also improves the kidney's function in secreting urine, thereby reducing the risk of fluid retention in the body tissues.

4. Tong Cao (ricepaper plant pith)
Tong cao promotes the lung and stomach channel. Deficiency of yang as a result of dampness (fluid retention) in the body interferes with the lung's function in moving and circulating structural body substances, leading to fluids accumulating in the underlayer of the skin. On the other hand, it also helps to improve the spleen's function in food absorption and waste secretion, thereby reducing the dampness through urinary secretion.

5. Bei Xie (dioscorea root )
The main function of bei xie is to improve the stomach's function in separating the pure from the turbid after the foods enter the stomach, thereby reducing the extra dampness by expelling them through kidney urinary secretion.

6. Han Fang Ji (stephania root)
Han fang ji is one of the Chinese herbs that has been used to treat fluid retention in the underlayer of the skin of the lower part of the body, including the abdomen.

There are many Chinese herbs that can be used to treat dampness, depending on your diagnosis. Normally people with dampness patterns may also experience some kind of side effect such as heat, sweating, etc. It is for your benefit to work closely with your Chinese herbalist, so your problem can be solved effectively.