What prescriptions does traditional Chinese medicine use to treat menopause?

A widely used method for menopausal syndrome is hormone replacement therapy, but because it can cause a slight increase in the risk of breast cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer and stroke, there has been controversy in the scientific community about the existence of this therapy. So, what prescriptions does Chinese medicine use to treat menopause?

Licorice is a widely used Chinese medicine in traditional Chinese medicine. Recently, this ancient Chinese medicine has a new use. According to a new study by Israeli scientists, consuming licorice is very useful for menopause and can treat problems such as hot flashes and night sweats in menopausal women. Scientists suggest that doctors add licorice extract when prescribing medicine to menopausal women. Through this study, scientists said that licorice can become a natural alternative to hormone replacement therapy.

According to Chinese medicine, female menopause is caused by the increasing age and kidney deficiency, which leads to the deficiency of Qi in the Ren and Chong meridians in the body that are responsible for menstruation and reproduction, resulting in the lack of substances that produce menstruation. This is clearly described and recorded in the ancient Chinese medicine classic "Huangdi Neijing": "At the age of 47, the Ren meridian is weak, the Taichong meridian is weak, the sky is exhausted, and the earth is blocked, so the body is damaged and there is no child." This means that women aged 42-49 will have a series of problems such as menstrual disorders, decreased reproductive ability, haggard face, more wrinkles, gray hair and easy hair loss, etc. Chinese medicine believes that kidney deficiency is the root cause of menopause.

The Compendium of Materia Medica states that licorice is a good medicine for invigorating the spleen and stomach, strengthening the deficiency of qi, coordinating yin and yang, and harmonizing the imbalanced Ying and Wei. Therefore, it can treat internal injuries caused by overwork, spleen deficiency, insufficient yang, and weak lung qi. Its sweet, warm and mild tonic effect is comparable to that of ginseng and astragalus. This means that licorice is a good medicine for invigorating deficiency and detoxification, which can invigorate the spleen and stomach, and coordinate yin and yang.

Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation and treatment takes into account the menstrual cycle, which can achieve the dual effects of tumor elimination and menstruation regulation. For patients with excessive menstrual flow and prolonged menstrual period, the menstrual period can be regulated and excessive blood loss can be controlled, so as to facilitate the recovery of the body of patients with excessive blood loss after menstruation.