The pain occurs in either lateral region of the lower abdomen and does not usually last more than
24 hours.

From the Chinese point of view, it is often due to Dampness.

Menorrhagia indicates excessive menstrual flow while metrorrhagia indicates bleeding outside
the normal menstrual period. The average blood loss during a period is about 80 ml and any loss
over this amount is considered as "excessive period". About 78% of the blood loss occurs within
the first two days.

In Chinese medicine, a distinction is made between two slightly different pathological
conditions. "Excessive periods" indicates heavy blood loss during the proper period time (about
five days), with the periods coming at regular intervals. "Flooding" (in Chinese called ben lou,
ben meaning "bursting through" and lou meaning "leaking") indicates a sudden and profuse
bleeding which may or may not occur during the proper period time, while the periods are
irregular. Thus, ben lou may indicate the period coming early with sudden flooding or trickling
for a long time after the proper period time.

In general, the pathology of "excessive periods" and "flooding" is the same and the two
conditions may be discussed together, although "flooding" is a more serious condition.

Aetiology and Pathology

Emotional Strain

Any emotion may lead to stagnation of Qi and this to Fire. Fire usually affects the Liver and, as
this stores Blood, it may cause Blood-Heat. Heat makes the Blood reckless and causes it to burst
out of the blood vessels. This is a major cause of bleeding in gynaecological problems.

Emotional problems may also cause bleeding in a different way, by leading to stagnation of Qi