Acupuncture and herbal medicine can save declining ovarian function

With the acceleration of the pace of life and the change of people's living habits, the incidence of premature ovarian failure (POF) is getting higher and higher. Premature ovarian failure can lead to infertility, premature menopause and premature aging of women, and the accompanying hot flashes, night sweats, irritability and anger make women suffer. As a difficult gynecological disease, premature ovarian failure is very difficult to treat. At present, there is no safe and effective treatment plan recognized by the medical community. Therefore, for the majority of female friends, it is important to understand the risk factors of this disease and try to avoid them in life to prevent the occurrence of this disease .

Although some cases of premature ovarian failure are caused by congenital factors and cannot be avoided, the ovarian function of most mature women is affected by multiple factors .

Among them, the most common risk factor is artificial abortion . Artificial abortion can lead to changes in the body's normal pregnancy hormone levels, which can lead to dysfunction of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis, which in turn leads to a decrease in the number and quality of follicles remaining in the ovaries, reduced sensitivity of gonadotropin receptors, and restricted follicle development, ultimately leading to increased follicle-stimulating hormone. High levels of FSH can further inhibit follicular function, causing oligomenorrhea and amenorrhea. At the same time, multiple artificial abortions can increase women's anxiety and depression, and the negative impact of these negative emotions on the function of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis can accelerate the decline of ovarian function.

Secondly, some viruses and drugs can cause irreversible damage to the ovaries . For example, the mumps virus can not only damage the parotid glands, but also destroy the ovarian and testicular gonadal tissues. The Chinese medicine Tripterygium wilfordii and many chemotherapy drugs can also damage the ovaries , and most of these injuries are irreversible . Once the ovaries are atrophied, it is difficult to recover. Therefore, you must not be careless if you have mumps and you must treat it as soon as possible . Drugs should not be used indiscriminately . You must take them under the guidance of a doctor according to the actual situation.

The next risk factor is smoking . Many women believe that smoking can relieve tension, but it can also reduce ovarian function and lead to infertility. A large number of studies have confirmed that the harmful substances in tobacco can cause varying degrees of damage to the ovarian and pituitary tissues , causing a decline in ovarian reserve function, and impaired hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis function can indirectly accelerate the closure and loss of follicles, accelerate the progressive death of ovarian tissue cells, and ultimately lead to ovarian failure.

Another risk factor is lack of sleep . Staying up late or having poor sleep quality for a long time can lead to a decrease in sex hormone levels, which increases the risk of POF. The occurrence of POF can further lead to a decline in sleep quality and increased anxiety, forming a vicious cycle , which in turn causes the condition to worsen. If you don't sleep well for a few days, your face will be dull and your body will be weak. This shows how important sleep is to human health! When your body is overdrawn, it will be difficult to make up for it.

Next is psychological stress . Strong psychological stress such as high work and life pressure can lead to adverse changes in the autonomic nervous system, endocrine system and neurotransmitters, affecting endocrine function and causing premature ovarian failure. The incidence of premature ovarian failure is higher in urban women, which is related to the intense work and life rhythm in big cities. Some women cannot let go of their busy work while undergoing treatment, which will greatly reduce the treatment effect.

In short, the occurrence of premature ovarian failure is closely related to factors such as lifestyle and psychological state. For the sake of health and beauty, and for the two of you to bear fruit, please avoid the above negative factors in your life. Health and beauty are your own, and you can't buy them back no matter how much money you make!

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the basic pathogenesis of premature ovarian failure is kidney essence deficiency , which can manifest as kidney yin deficiency, kidney yang deficiency, or kidney yin and yang deficiency. The kidney controls reproduction, and amenorrhea is a sign of reproductive dysfunction or loss. Because the course of premature ovarian failure is relatively long, kidney qi cannot promote menstrual blood production and normal flow to Chong and Ren meridians, so most of them also manifest as menstrual blood stasis, such as lower abdominal pain during menstruation, fear of cold, scanty and dark menstruation with many blood clots, etc. This disease is more common in deficiency patients than in excess patients , and kidney deficiency and blood stasis are the root cause of the disease .

Therefore, for the treatment of premature ovarian failure, we must pay attention to strengthening the body, removing blood stasis and dredge the menstruation: first of all, we must treat the root of the disease, and always take nourishing the kidney and replenishing essence as the primary task. If hot flashes, heat intolerance, amenorrhea or early menstruation are the main manifestations, nourishing kidney yin can be the main method. Kidney yin nourishing medicines such as Ligustrum lucidum, Ecliptae, mulberry, Rehmannia glutinosa, Lycium barbarum, Schisandra chinensis, Rubus idaeus can be used as the main method, and drugs such as Morinda officinalis, Cuscuta australis, and Allium truncatum can be used less to warm and nourish kidney yang. If the main symptoms of kidney yang deficiency are fear of cold, cold limbs, sore waist and cold abdomen, kidney yang nourishing medicines such as Morinda officinalis, Epimedium, Curculigo orchioides, Fenugreek, and Cuscuta australis should be used as the main method, and kidney yin nourishing medicines such as Ligustrum lucidum and Ecliptae can be used less to nourish kidney yin, so as to achieve the purpose of seeking yang in yin and restore kidney qi.

In addition to traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion can also be used . Traditional Chinese medicine is mainly used to replenish kidney essence, and acupuncture is more effective in restoring the normal function of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis. Patients can also alternately moxibustion the Shenshu point, Guanyuan point, and Sanyinjiao point every day. Moxibustion can also act more directly on the acupoints and the lower abdomen, stimulate the recovery of ovarian function, and promote the recovery of menstruation, pregnancy function and other body functions.

Patients with premature ovarian failure may try acupuncture and herbal medicine while seeing Western medicine!

(Pictures from the Internet)

Contributor: Hao Yang

Reviewer: Liu Weihong