In Chinese Medicine one of the fundamental parts for the assessment of women’s health is to explore details about their menstruation.
There is no medicine out there that considers valuable data the menstrual cycle because it’s normalized and not significant medically speaking. However everything that comes out of our body gives us information about how we are, and it is impressive (even for the patients) to realize how much information we can squeeze from it.
The characteristics of a menstrual blood: quantity, colour and texture among other data help us to know your current state and what it might happen in the future.
What is the ideal menstruation?
Under the right conditions, menstruation blood should be bright red from beginning to end; full flow with a range between 30 and 80 ml and be of a fluid texture without being liquid or having clots (small clots the day 1 is normal too).
What can menstrual blood tell us?
If your blood loss is very abundant it may indicate that there is Heat in the Blood (your body tries to release heat) or Deficiency of Qi (usually long periods). If your periods are scarce, it can reveal that there is Blood Deficiency, Blood Stagnation or Cold (dark colour).
It is necessary to know the colour and the rest of the signs that appear before, during and after the cycle. Pain before, during or after have different meanings.
If your blood is dark or bright red there may be Heat in Blood. If it is pale it will indicate that there is Blood Deficiency. If it is purplish or blackish, then there is stagnation or Cold and if there is fresh red colour it will indicate Yin Deficiency with Heat.
When we talk about the quality of the blood we refer to its texture: clots in the blood can indicate stagnation or Cold. If blood is mucous –sometimes there is even the feeling that it is difficult to expel it– it is due to the presence of dampness. On the other hand, it is very watery, it can indicate Yin or Blood Deficiency. If it is cloudy, like sandy, it can indicate that there is Heat in the Blood or stagnation due to Internal Cold.
As a conclusion:
As you can see there are a great variety of characteristics of menstrual blood, and although some of them have accompanied you all your life that does not mean that it is the most appropriate, you may have some imbalances that will also be reflected in other aspects of your health.
I invite you from now on to pay more attention to your menstrual blood, and if you see any possible mismatch, at AcuRodos Clinic we will be happy to help you regulate it.
Thanks for reading me!
Photo by Jason Dent
