which will, in time, cause stasis of Blood. Stasis of Blood in the uterus prevents new blood from
taking its place and it therefore leaks out.
Overwork and Excessive Sexual Activity
Overwork and excessive sexual activity weaken Liver and Kidney Yin. Deficiency of Yin over a
long period of time gives rise to Empty-Heat which may affect the Blood. Empty-Heat may also
make the Blood reckless in the same way as Blood-Heat, causing blood to burst out of the
vessels.
Deficiency of Kidney-Yin may also cause excessive menstrual bleeding by itself, without
Empty-Heat, as Kidney-Yin fails to hold Blood.
Physical Overwork, Chronic Illness
Physical overwork and chronic illness weaken the Spleen which fails to control Blood so that
this leaks out. This is another major cause of excessive menstrual bleeding.
Childbirth
Excessive loss of blood at childbirth can weaken the Kidneys and Liver which fail to hold Blood
and therefore cause bleeding.
On the other hand, stasis of Blood often occurs after childbirth in women who have a tendency to
stagnation. Stasis of Blood in the uterus may cause bleeding in the way described above.
As for pathology, there are four major causes of bleeding:
Blood-Heat
Blood Empty-Heat
Qi Deficiency
Blood stasis.Blood-Heat is characterized by profuse bleeding with bright-red or dark-red blood. It may cause
both menorrhagia and metrorrhagia.
Blood Empty-Heat is characterized by lesser bleeding or by prolonged spotting after the end of
the proper period. The colour of the blood is red or scarlet red.
Qi deficiency may cause flooding at the beginning of the period or prolonged spotting after the
period. The blood is pale-red. Qi deficiency should be understood here in a broad sense as