Dysmenorrhea
Pain that occurs during menstruation is common in about 60% of menstruating women. Sometimes, it is severe enough to interfere with normal daily activity.

Primary Dysmenorrhea
It occurs in the absence of any kind of pelvic disease. It usually starts 2–3 years after the onset of menstruation, and worsens between the ages of 17–24 years, and then subsides on its own.

Secondary Dysmenorrhea is generally due to a definite cause such as pelvic inflammation, fibroid in the uterus, endometriosis, tumors of the ovary or even presence of an intrauterine device. In all such cases of Dysmenorrhea where definite cause is known, medical intervention to correct the underlying defect will provide relief from pain.

Treatment

• Cold Hip bath daily for 10–15 minutes cures all menstrual disorders.
• Proper, regulated well–balanced diet.
• Regular physical exercises, except during the periods.
• Absolute bed rest with slight elevation of both legs while lying down and a warm water bath during painful episodes of menstruation.
• Hot fomentation to lower abdomen if bleeding is not excessive to relieve crampy abdominal pain.
• Hot and cold hip baths or compresses to help dilate the cervix to facilitate a smooth flow of menstrual blood to relieve pain, only if bleeding is not excessive.
• Constipation, if present, should be relieved by means of an enema.

Leucorrhoea
Leucorrhoea is not a disease but the manifestation of ovulation or a local or systemic disease leading to a discharge of whitish substance, which can occur at any age and affects almost all women sometime or the other.

The discharge often gives off a strong, offensive odor and could be a source of embarrassment to the woman suffering from it. The discharge is usually without discomfort, but may result in an itching sensation in and around the genitalia.

Treatment

• Maintenance of good hygiene of the external genitalia with regular washing with warm water or with neem water is very essential.
• Use of sanitary napkins and tampons reduce soiling of the genitalia, odor and itching.
• Warm water hip baths for 15–20 minutes with either neem water or Epsom salt also provide relief from itching.
• Vaginal douche with neem water prevents infection of the internal organs reversing Leucorrhoea.
• All other measures mentioned in the previous chapters to improve general health could also be implemented in the treatment of Leucorrhoea.
• A wet girdle pack at night for an hour tones up the uterus.