Effect of Mentha Longifolia on 10 Patients with Primary Dysmenorrhea

Background: Dysmenorrhea which means menstrual pain is the most common complaint in women and is one of the problems of health care. Iranian Traditional medicine (ITM) considers dysmenorrhea as Osre-Tams and Mentha Longifolia has been indicated as one of the plants that is effective for its treatment. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of Mentha Longifolia on patients with severe dysmenorrhea. Case Presentation: Ten female students with severe dysmenorrhea and cold and wet uterine temperament participated in the study. In this study, the pain intensity was evaluated in the first menstrual cycle without intervention. Thereafter, patients used Mentha Longifolia herbal tea for two consecutive cycles from two days before until the first three days of menstruation and pain intensity of both cycles was evaluated. Pain intensity of all patients was reduced at the end of the study. Pain intensity was reduced from severe to low in 9 patients and it reduced from severe to moderate in one patient. Moreover, there was no exclusion in this study and only one side effect was reported in the form of constipation and one case in the form of increasing bleeding. Conclusion: In this study, Mentha Longifolia reduced the severity of dysmenorrhea. One of the causes of Osre-Tams in ITM is the blood concentration of phlegm and black-bile. Based on ITM texts, Mentha Longifolia is an emenagouge and moshil of sauda. So, it increases menstrual blood flow and reduces menstrual pain. Results of this study confirm the principles of ITM and demonstrate that ITM can improve public health.