Three years ago I was shopping with my husband in a small town several hours’ drive from my house. Suddenly I had to run back to the car when I realized I was experiencing a menstrual flow. This had never happened before. I was shocked and scared that the bleeding would not stop! I thought there must be a natural method that could help me. After cleaning up in a nearby bathroom, pale and weak but not ready to give up, I asked my husband to take me to the natural health store in town.
‘No,’ the woman who worked there assured me with an amused smile, ‘there is nothing that stops menstrual bleeding or slows it down.’ The bleeding eventually stopped on its own, but that comment from a well meaning but ignorant employee left me upset and inspired to look for herbs that she knew must exist and could do what she said was impossible.
I found them.
Red raspberry leaf, lady’s mantle, shepherd’s purse, and yarrow delay or reduce menstrual bleeding. With a bit of research and experimentation, I found many other solutions to prevent the problem.
Use one or a combination of herbs to make an infusion, also known as herbal tea, or buy an herbal tincture at a health food store. I chose to drink an infusion made from a mixture of 1-2 teaspoons each: dried red raspberry leaves and lady’s mantle leaves, I covered the pot and steeped the herbs for 10 minutes in freshly boiled water. This treatment works best if you drink one cup a day for about a week before your period and 1-2 cups during your period. If you like it sweeter, add several pieces of licorice root or a few lemon balm leaves to soak with the red raspberry and lady’s mantle leaves, or ¼ teaspoon of honey after the tea is ready.
An effective aromatherapy treatment is to rub the abdomen several times a day with 1 teaspoon of olive oil or sweet almond oil mixed with 2-3 drops of clary sage or vitex essential oil.
I also found an unusual suggestion for reducing heavy menstruation in an old herbarium by Dian Dincin Buchman in my personal library. Grate and dry carrots and eat one piece at a time several times a day, as a powerful aid to regulate menstruation. Grate about a pound of the heaviest part of the carrot. Dry it on paper in the sun for a week or two until it crumples into small pieces.” She also suggests adding a few cayenne peppercorns to the herbal tea of your choice, drinking diluted lemon juice during your period, eating lentils, and drinking half a cup of strong thyme tea, morning and night. She suggests making shepherd’s purse tea by steeping a handful of the herb in a pint of boiling water. Drink the tea lukewarm if possible. Use 2 cups three times a day. day.
A long-term solution to address the underlying cause of hormonal imbalance is the wonderful feminine herb Vitex, also known as Chasteberry, which helps balance hormones. A scientific study from the 1930s using a tincture of dried vitex berries found that a month or two of using this herb normalized menstrual cycles and reduced flow.
Since excessive menstrual bleeding (or menorrhagia) can indicate a number of serious problems, be sure to see your doctor for a diagnosis before beginning self-treatment.
An excess of estrogen and prolactin or an excess of a hormone-like substance called prostaglandin 2 are two possible causes of heavy periods. A sluggish thyroid also increases menstruation. The same goes for endometriosis, uterine fibroids, an IUD birth control device, and blood-thinning medications.
Menstruation usually causes a drop in physical energy, and if you bleed a lot, your blood pressure may drop, causing a feeling of exhaustion and an irresistible desire to nap during the day. Excessive menstruation can lead to anemia and that can also lead to extreme fatigue. Some medical researchers believe that iron deficiency stimulates bleeding, leading to even greater iron deficiency.
To correct anemia, drink herbal teas made from herbs that have high levels of iron, such as nettle, oat straw, red clover, red raspberry, goji berries, and rooibos. Your health food store will have Floridix in pill or liquid form that is highly absorbable, unlike the iron pills that are dispensed at conventional pharmacies.
If you experience cramping along with heavy bleeding, use the same herbs suggested for menstrual cramp relief (wild yam root, false unicorn root, cramp bark, and tuberose) to reduce the severity of both problems.
Herbs to reduce excessive menstruation
Vitex (also known as Chasteberry)- regulates and normalizes hormones related to the reproductive system. It is especially beneficial and the herb of choice for many women to alleviate menopausal changes. It has a profound action in reducing “hot flashes”. Studies verify that vitex increases the production of luteinizing hormones, enhancing the progesterone cycle. At the same time, it inhibits the release of follicle-stimulating hormone, FSH, and normalizes the estrogen cycle. Vitex can be used for acute situations, but is most effective if taken over a long period of time. Side effects have never been reported from extensive and prolonged use of this plant.
red raspberry: Due to the drying effect of the tannins it contains, red raspberry is used to treat profuse and painful menstruation. It relaxes uterine and intestinal spasms and strengthens the uterine walls. Red raspberry leaves are also nutritious, containing vitamins A, B, C and E, they are also rich in calcium, phosphorous, niacin and iron. They are an excellent source of manganese, a trace mineral used by the body to build healthy connective tissue, such as bone matrix and cartilage, and an important factor in energy metabolism. Red raspberry promotes healthy nails, bones, teeth, and skin. Drinking 1-2 cups of red raspberry leaf every day is a nutritious tonic tea.
the lady’s tableclothThe astringent and astringent properties of :Lady’s Mantle help reduce menstrual cramps and heavy menstrual bleeding. Helps a woman’s body adjust to changing hormone levels during menopause. It is an antiestrogenic herb that helps regulate irregular cycles, relieves cramps.
Yarrow:A catalyst for the female reproductive system, has a positive effect on ovarian problems, menstrual irregularity, menstrual cramps and menopausal symptoms, insomnia, nervous tension, stress-related conditions. It is used to reduce excessive menstrual bleeding, to relieve menstrual cramps, and to stimulate delayed or absent menstrual cycles. The famous German herbalist Maria Treban writes: “Yarrow is a medicinal herb that it would be difficult to do without; it is of great value for many illnesses, but first and foremost it is an herb for women. I cannot recommend yarrow enough for women.” women. .A woman during menopause should take advantage of yarrow tea and save herself a lot of inner worries and other troubles.” She drinks a cup of arrow tea every day;
shepherd’s purse:Shepherd’s purse is used to stop heavy bleeding and hemorrhaging, particularly from the uterus when ingested. It has also been used to treat postpartum hemorrhage. It is considered most effective for the treatment of chronic uterine bleeding disorders, including uterine bleeding due to the presence of uterine fibroids. Shepherd’s purse has been used internally to treat cases of blood in the urine and bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract, such as bleeding ulcers. An astringent agent, shepherd’s purse constricts blood vessels and reduces blood flow. Shepherd’s purse is also believed to cause the uterine muscle to contract, which also helps reduce bleeding. It is a remedy for blood pressure problems, nosebleeds, irregular heartbeat, wounds and burns.
Precautions: Pregnant or lactating women, people with kidney stones or kidney disease should avoid shepherd’s purse. Check with your doctor before taking shepherd’s purse if you have blood pressure, thyroid, or heart problems.