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Menstrual pain relief

Menopause, or "the change of life", occurs when a woman's cycle of ovulation and menses ends. Common symptoms of menopause include hot flashes, excessive sweating, vaginal atrophy, and sleep disturbances. Menopause is a natural consequence of aging caused when a woman's ovaries begin to produce less estrogen. During this period many women suffer from menorrhagia, hypermenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, menstrual migraines and combinations thereof. Menorrhagia is the excessive menstrual bleeding in the absence of organic pathology. Hypermenorrhea is defined as excessive duration of menstruation in the absence of organic pathology. Menorrhagia and hypermenorrhea have no known etiology. Dysmenorrhea refers to excessive and often incapacitating pain at the time of menstruation. The pain may range from minor cramping to intense pain accompanied by diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, with sensations of pelvic heaviness and breast fullness. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) has been defined as a condition characterized by symptoms which recur in the late luteal phase of successive menstrual cycles, but are normally absent during menses and early follicular phase. The symptoms associated with PMS range in severity from cravings for sweet or salty foods to headaches and exhaustion to depression, mood swings and irritability. The most common somatic symptoms of PMS include swelling and tenderness of the breasts, abdominal pain, pelvic pain and cramps, pain in the iliac fossa, feelings of bloatedness and weight gain, diminished activity, efficiency and performance, perspiring, skin lesions, edema, vertigo and diarrhea or constipation. Less common symptoms include sore eyes, joint pain, asthma and epilepsy. The most common psychological symptoms include irritability, agitation, anxiety, confusion, fatigue, mental depression, lethargy, insomnia or hypersomnia, decreased libido, loss of confidence and judgment, suicidal ideation, accident proneness, loss of concentration and attention span and the development of food cravings, especially for sweets, such as chocolate. Numerous treatments have been suggested for alleviating or minimising symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. These include, for example, non-pharmaceutical therapy such as variation in total energy intake and consumption of protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamin B6 and E, as well as e.g. supplements of magnesium or calcium and Evening primrose oil containing gamolenic acid. Other treatments include non-hormonal therapy such as treatment with serotonin re-uptake inhibitors and hormonal therapy such as treatment with progesterone and progestogens, combined oral contraceptives, oestrogen replacement therapy, danazol and gonadotrophin hormone agonists. Natural health care companies supply female consumers with a variety of products that purportedly reduce symptoms of PMS. These products may be in the form of vitamin supplementation or herbal compounds.

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