Natural Remedies for Dysmenorrhoea (Cramps)

Symptoms

• Unbearable pain in the abdominal region, which begins before the commencement of the menstrual discharge and subsides as soon as the menstruation is over;
• irregular menstruation – too little or too much discharge

Causes

Women who are adverse to physical labour, and who generally are from rich or upper middle-class families, are found suffering from this disease.

Due to lack of physical labour, or due to physical debility for any reason, the uterus and the ovaries become weak and cannot stand the pressure of blood during the menstrual period.

As soon as the blood starts entering the uterus, both the uterus and the ovaries start reacting adversely and that adverse reaction expresses itself as pain in the abdomen.

Women doing adequate physical labour seldom suffer from this disease. If mental dissatisfaction is added to the lack of physical labour, then the disease is aggravated. When women in upper-class society are compelled to lead dissatisfied sex lives on account of various social restrictions, they also suffer from this disease. This disease is one of the reasons for infertility.

Treatment

Same as for abnormal menstruation.

Diet

Special attention should be paid to see that the food is alkaline. All types of fruits, and vegetable soups, are good in this disease. Fried, parched and non-vegetarian food, too much oil, ghee, garlic and onions, and too-spicy foods are to be avoided. Even after recovering from the disease, a woman should not have intercourse with her husband for at least four months.

Dos and don’ts

During the painful stage of the disease, the patient should apply a hot compress to her abdomen. And during menstruation she should not eat anything except milk and other liquid food.

Remedies

1. 10 to 12 ashoka flowers without stems should be boiled in a mixture of 4 seers of water and 1/2 seer milk, until the mixture boils down to 3/8 seer. This preparation is called “ashokakśiira”, and it should be taken for three continuous days, 1/8 seer per day.
2. Tying the root of a bel sapling around the waist will relieve the pain of this disease.
3. Remove the bark of a ghoŕánim root and boil 3 or 4 tolas of the root in water. Drink that preparation during the menstrual period every morning and it will clear up menstrual troubles.