Is Your Aunt Flow Normal?

Do you remember the “Birds and Bees” talk about becoming a woman and getting your first period? Most of us remember the talk about how to deal with sanitary napkins, and hygiene. What was said about the actual flow?

Until I studied Oriental Medicine I did not know that a “normal” period did not include clots, cramps, headaches and bloating. Premenstrual symptoms are well publicized with ads on television for over the counter medications, though, these symptoms are treated in Chinese Medicine. Did you know that the actual menstruation flows, viscosity of the blood, color, mucous and whether or not it had clots are significant clues to a woman’s health? Using details like these along with appearance of the tongue and pulse helps determines the Chinese Medicine diagnosis and therefore the different treatments.

What’s a normal menstruation flow? Imagine that the week before your period, you notice that your appetite improves and you are sleeping better. Then right on schedule, around 28 days after the last period, the menses start to flow. There is no cramping and the flow is medium red that soaks into the pad without clots though there might be skin like tissues which is the uterine lining shedding. The total amount of blood loss is about 2-8 tablespoons or several fluid ounces. It lasts for 3-5 days and tapers off until the next month.

Premenstrual symptom such as breast tenderness and bloating indicates there might be problems with the digestion and transformation of the food to blood and energy. Cravings for sweets, fats and chocolates are attempts to fill the gaps. The Spleen is the organ system responsible for energy transformation and transporting. When the Spleen is stressed then the menses maybe thin with more mucous than red pigment blood.

The Liver is responsible for detoxification and regulating the blood flow. When the Liver is stressed, the flow becomes sluggish. Slow blood flow means the menses may be delayed, have symptoms such as irritability, headaches, waking up in the middle of the night, cramps, dark or bright red blood and clots. Acne, constipation and poor vision may be additional signs of poor liver blood flow.

Scanty periods with irregular or missed periods may indicate Kidney deficiency. The Kidneys are responsible for producing the fire for blood formation in the bone marrow. Lacking that fire leads to poor blood production and short menses or missed periods altogether. Many young women may only have a flow of 1-3 days and only have to change twice a day without saturating the pads. Anemia, irregular periods and thin uterine lining may lead to poor fertility.

Break thorough spotting, flooding and frequent periods all indicates hormonal imbalances in organ systems that regulate menstrual blood. Young women may have irregular periods up to a year after the start of menstruation. As women enter peri-menopause, the periods began to respond to the changes in hormonal levels. Spotting between periods indicates the Spleen failing to hold blood in the vessels. Heavy flooding periods; having to change a pad more than once every two hours, or bleeding more than 5-6 ounces, or more than 7 days, usually occurs in peri-menopausal women. Frequent and heavy bleeding may indicate fibroids or cysts.

Aunt Flow is the euphemism for the menses and also a source of valuable information for women’s health. Chinese Medicine uses that information to help determine which organ system is out of balance and restores it with foods, herbs and acupuncture. A normal flow is one of the signs of health and vitality. Is your Aunt Flow normal?

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