Gynecology in Chinese medicine
libre 61
Obstetrics and gynecology in Chinese medicine - is of some interest due to the peculiar treatment of a number of issues.
Treatment of women in China
It is important to note the following circumstance. According to a long-standing tradition influenced by religious views, the treatment of women in China was associated with significant difficulties. After all, for centuries the Chinese woman was an object of shameful buying and selling, a creature of inferiority. Even within her own family she was deprived of basic human rights.
Naturally, too, the woman of old China was at a severe disadvantage with regard to medical care. The physician, if he was a man, was not even allowed into the room where the woman in labor was, but had to examine her
through a thin silk thread stretched from her wrist through the curtain covering the female half of the house.
Yet, in spite of these unfavorable conditions, Chinese physicians have many very valuable insights into obstetrics and gynecology.
Questions of embryology
Questions of embryology are originally developed. As far back as the middle of the last millennium B.C. it was believed that fertilization occurred as a result of penetration of the seed into one of the many "bubbles" contained in the female receptacle, which has the form of a "bud of a sea rose":
- In the first month of gestation, the embryo looks like a water drop,
- in the second month, it looks like a peach bud,
- in the third month, the embryo elongates to resemble a baby's head,
- the fourth month is characterized by the appearance of the main organs in the embryo - heart, liver, lungs,
- the fifth month is characterized by the formation of limbs and the beginning of hair growth,
- in the sixth month, the shape of the head, eyes and mouth are determined,
- seven-month embryo has already skin, it is viable, but it is only a "green fruit, which, breaking off from the branch, often takes away a part of it,
- By the eighth month of pregnancy, all the organs begin to differentiate,
- by the ninth month, the fetus is fully mature.
Doctors of Chinese medicine about childbirth
A few words about childbirth itself, as it was presented to doctors of Chinese medicine. A distinction is made between false and real exertions. The first include those that weaken with every hour. In this case, the pregnant woman is advised to walk around the room to give the baby a chance to
to turn around and prepare for the birth.
It is believed that in false pushing, the baby's head is facing upwards and when efforts are made to expel the fetus, the anterior part may be the legs. To avoid such births, moderate exercise during the last months of pregnancy is recommended, which helps to develop muscles, strengthen the bones of the female body, and increase the nutrition of the fetus.
When there is an increased separation of mucus and water, the patient should be placed in bed so that she takes a semi-bent position. If the umbilical cord is wrapped around the shoulders, midwife brings it to a normal position, and then tied with a paper cord and cut (in older times, the separation of the umbilical cord was made by burning).
In case of prolapse of the arm, it was prescribed to first make a repositioning, and then the head is lowered with two hands or grab the legs and extract the baby. In the case of a leg prolapse, the insertion of the leg followed by extraction by both legs. In case of umbilical cord rupture, the blood was stopped with a special patch.
Care of mother and child
After delivery, the mother was given rice water to drink and only on the third day - liquid broth, keeping her in bed all the time. During the first month neither she nor the child should leave the room. In the room, which 4 times a day fumigated with strong vinegar, should be silence, semi-darkness, inadmissible strong air movement, drafts.
From the fourth day begins to feed the laboring woman broth with breadcrumbs, decoction of black beans and other vegetable substances that stimulate postpartum compartments. Hot drinks, salty food, meat, especially pork, are forbidden. From the fourth day, breastfeeding of the child begins. Before that, he is given only a laxative mixture of rhubarb.
Interesting is the traditional posture in which the child is held, giving him the breast. The infant is supported with the right hand, and with the left the mother takes the foot of his right leg and places it on her left knee with the sole upwards, so that the child is in a semi-sitting position. To promote the production of milk, the mother is prescribed a diet and food regimen, and to stop its secretion she is given sprouted barley.
She can leave the house only on the hundredth day after childbirth.
Hygiene of pregnancy in Chinese medicine
On the postpartum period and hygiene of pregnancy in Chinese medicine there are many curious instructions. So, in the fourth month it is recommended to wear an abdominal belt width of 25-30 cm. Its purpose is to strengthen the muscles of the lower back. Being untied before childbirth, this belt allows the abdomen to expand, and the fetus - to turn over to take before the birth of the normal position.
Throughout pregnancy, it is advised to do moderate and non-tiring movements, eat chicken or pea soup, sliced fruit, cabbage, digestible vegetables and roots.
Everything fatty, bitter, salty, hot, excitatory (citvar seed, pepper, cardamom) should be avoided. The meat of donkey, musk ox, hedgehog, turtle, crayfish are also harmful. Should not eat meat of wild animals, use pig's blood, duck eggs, as well as food fried in oil.
At the same time, dairy products and all kinds of dishes that meet the three requirements are considered healthy: "easy, tasty, sober". It is considered harmful to sleep on the back, and on the stomach - and dangerous, so you should sleep alternately on the right and left side. Sometimes warm baths are recommended, and in good weather - sea bathing.
Treatment of pregnant women
As for the treatment of various diseases during pregnancy, Chinese doctors have their own special views on this matter. Considering pregnancy as a state that significantly changes the nature of the female body, they believe that the treatment of pregnant women should be special. It requires as few medicines as possible, and of those used the most recommended are:
- ginseng (as a general tonic),
- ginger in small doses, rhubarb;
- in case of discomfort from the movement of the fetus - decoction of seaweed,
- orally - red wax,
- root and stem of the plant Pinellia ternata (Pinellia ternata) in combination with hydrochloric acid are widely used for vomiting,
- and sometimes sulphur-arsenic iron preparations are prescribed.
- Acupuncture is quite widely used.
Problems of sexual life
Now as briefly touch on the question of gynecology and some problems of sexual life. Infertility in men can be explained by
- weakness of the semen,
- arsenic ingestion leading to obesity,
- mercury, which contributes to the decline of sexual function.
Infertility is also thought to be caused by:
- various venereal,
- mental and other diseases,
- alcoholism and drug addiction.
Infertility in women is seen as:
- a consequence of significant obesity,
- excessive development of fatty fiber,
- menstrual irregularities,
- anemia,
- abdominal tumors,
- bladder disease.
The most favorable time for fertilization is considered the last day of menstruation and the next two days, because, according to the ideas of Chinese physicians, menstrual blood is the best environment for the formation of the embryo.
Diagnosis of female diseases
In the diagnosis of female diseases, Chinese medicine pays special attention to the duration and nature of menstruation, as well as the color of the released blood. It can be all five colors, recognized in ancient times as the main:
- white blood - a sign of general weakness, "cold" internal organs;
- black - a strong inflammation of them;
- yellow - abundant secretion of bile;
- blue - disease of the lower part of the body, mainly the genitals,
- Normal menses are accompanied by light red blood.
In gynecological diagnosis, in addition to the above symptoms, the results of all other tests used in national medicine, and above all the state of the pulse are taken into account. The most important deviations from the norm are considered premature or delayed menses, prolongation of their period, pain before and after them. Among the medicines used in these cases, there are especially many that are prescribed for scanty or delayed menses, these are:
- saffron,
- charred, powdered, and dissolved in water, tortoise shell,
- wild parsley,
- peony,
- ginger,
- peppermint,
- various kinds of wormwood,
- peach tree flowers,
- peach tree seeds.
If just before the period the patient feels pain in the heart area, she is prescribed a medicine that includes:
- old wine,
- old lemons,
- decoction of the root of the almond.
In case of pain during this period, groundhog meat is also prescribed. In case of discharge of blue blood it is recommended:
- decoction of peony skin with sweet root,
- saffron,
- green lemon.
In abundant menses:
- decoction of seaweed and thistle.
Obstetrics and gynecology in Chinese medicine were introduced in a special medical code, and are considered to this day as the main provision of practical therapeutic activities of Chinese physicians.
