🌿 Folk Prescriptions

An article published in the Journal of Henan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Issue 2, 2005, reported that Li Ping from the Secondary School Department of Huanghe Science and Technology College in Henan Province and Ding Shujun from Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine achieved satisfactory results in treating female menopausal hot flashes using an integrated approach. They treated 45 patients, 32 with pure traditional Chinese medicine and 13 with integrated treatment. All 45 patients presented hot flashes as the primary symptom—heat sensation in the upper torso, especially noticeable above the neck, followed by sweating upon subsidence, with skin sensations of irritation or mild coldness. Episodes lasted several seconds to minutes, accompanied by varying degrees of palpitations and dizziness.
Treatment regimen: Erxian Decoction with modifications: Cynomorium 10g, Epimedium 10g, Angelica 15g, Anemarrhena 15g, Salted Phellodendron 15g, Morinda 10g, Purple Root 20g, Glutinous Rice Root 30g. One dose per day, divided into morning and evening doses, with each course lasting 20 days. If accompanied by dizziness and palpitations, add Polygala 10g, Poria 15g, Gastrodia 6g; if menstrual irregularity with intermittent bleeding or excessive flow, add Lycium 15g, Gardenia 6g, Polygonum 3g; if insomnia occurs, add Albizia Bark 30g, Raw Dragon Bone and Oyster Shell 30g each (boiled first); if constipation, add Rhubarb 10g (wine processed), Cistanche 10g. Three times daily orally. Simultaneously, administer norethisterone 2mg monthly until symptoms disappear or improve, then discontinue estrogen.
Results: Among the 13 patients treated with integrated therapy, all were cured within 1–3 months. Among the 32 patients treated with pure traditional Chinese medicine, after five courses of herbal medicine, 20 were cured, 10 showed significant improvement, and 2 were ineffective, yielding a 96% effective rate.
Li Ping et al. pointed out: Western medicine attributes menopausal hot flashes to endocrine imbalance. With gradual decline in ovarian function, reduced levels of estrogen and progesterone lead to systemic changes causing various physiological and psychological discomforts. Traditional Chinese medicine views this condition primarily as deficiency of kidney qi, depletion of essence and blood, insufficiency of Chong and Ren meridians, and depletion of Tian Gui, with the root cause being kidney yin deficiency. Due to insufficient kidney yin, it cannot nourish liver yin, leading to liver yin deficiency. Since Chong and Ren meridians belong to liver and kidney, kidney yin deficiency causes heart fire excess and hyperactivity of heart and liver fire. Treatment should focus on nourishing liver and kidney, supplemented by warming yang and clearing fire. In the formula, Angelica nourishes liver blood and yin; Cynomorium, Epimedium, and Morinda warm and tonify kidney yang; salted Phellodendron and Anemarrhena clear deficient heat, preventing excessive warming. Purple Root inhibits secretion of pituitary gonadotropin; glutinous rice root has astringent properties to stop perspiration. The entire formula warms without drying, supplements without stagnation. When pure herbal treatment proves ineffective, estrogen may be cautiously added, but hormone therapy is not always effective. Proper diagnosis and syndrome differentiation with traditional Chinese medicine as the mainstay is more appropriate.