Alternative Medicine for Womens Health
Alternative Medicine for Womens Health
Since women's health is such a huge topic, I have chosen to
concentrate on one aspect of women's health which continues to be an issue.
There are over a hundred symptoms associated with PMS.
Unfortunately, because each woman is different, there is no agreed upon cause or treatment
for the effects of PMS within the medical community.
What they do all agree on is that a regular menstrual cycle is a
sign of good health. Isn't that special? Doesn't help to know you're healthy if you are in
pain or having mood swings that cause you to have to make the decision to stay home for a day
rather than risk the chance of having to call your best friend for bail money.
Well, conventional medicine can offer pain pills, water pills, and
hormonal therapy, but alternatives to these forms of comfort can be more relaxing and have
fewer side effects.
And while I for one am not going to "run with the wolves", I would
like to achieve some sort of balance between seeing cramps as a medical "problem" and a "gift
of mother earth."
Give me a break, I just want to not cry or punch out people at the
drop of a hat for a week out of each month. Let's explore those options:
Alternative Medicine for Womens
Health
Acupuncture relieves pain and stress, and can
leave you feeling so relaxed that you're feeling too good to punch anyone out.
Same goes for massage, and your massage therapist can show you
self massage to do on your lower abdomen any time you need to relax cramps. No medicine is
involved, and both of these alternative therapies are non-invasive.
Chinese medicinal herbs are used in concocting
teas and poultices for the relief of PMS symptoms. These include Kava Chai and ginseng
teas.
The top recommended teas are made from Viburnum and help with
cramping, irritability, and swelling. Dandelion helps with swollen breasts, muscle spasms,
and acne.
Your herbalist can recommend the appropriate combination of herbs
for your individual symptoms, as well as bath soaks and foot rubs.
Osteopathy is an alternative medicine that can
help with internal organ ailments and fight osteoporosis. The women's health center at
Oklahoma State University (founded by the Osteopath society) sponsors the "Take Charge"
program, which sponsors health education and alternative therapy forums for women across the
country.
Chakra and crystal healing energy is used in a
wide variety of ways to increase blood flow which (ironically, if you think about it) lessens
headache and tension symptoms of PMS.
This appears to work, but is a little touchy feely crystal dolphin
wacko for me; I prefer yoga and herbal teas, pragmatic and to the point.
Although not considered alternative therapy, per se, exercise is a
great way to relieve symptoms and lessen fatigue.
One form of exercise which could be considered alternative is
yoga. The slow stretching movements and low impact cardio of yoga is very good for menstrual
symptoms.
Hypnosis is fast becoming the alternative
medicine of choice for PMS sufferers. Hypnosis is geared toward finding out the causes and
conditions of symptoms, therefore relieving the pain holistically, that is to say, removing
the root cause of irritability and stress.
While it is obviously hormonal in nature, the mood swings of PMS
can be brought under control with light hypnosis which focuses on teaching the patient that
the moodiness is temporary, and not to be taken to heart.
Now I don't know about you, but I am much more likely to believe a
hypnotist when she says "It will be okay, you will get through this, it is temporary," than I
am to believe my husband, who says" Are you on your period? That explains it…"
Now you see why it's important to save up bail money if you're not
using Alternative Medicine for Womens Health.
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