The normal period is bleeding for approximately 5 to 7 days of every 27 to 30 days with clean bright red blood. The number of days of both the period and the cycle should be consistent from month to month. There are rare exceptions to the timing if timing is the only symptom. The only other symptom of the period, if any, should be a slight full sensation in the breast just before the period comes on. Any other symptoms indicate an imbalance that should be treated by a skilled Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner as soon as possible to prevent more serious problems later in life.

    During the period women should avoid anything that will block the flow of blood, like: eating or drinking cold things, exposing oneself to cold, swimming, taking a bath (warm/hot showers are ok), sex, using tampons, etc. If you go out in the cold without enough clothing, your body will tighten up trying to conserve heat. The inside of your body is the same, cold food, drink, or environment will make it tighten up, then the blood can not flow properly (think of a glacier). Swimming or taking a bath will put all the pressure of the water back up into the uterus, preventing the proper flow of blood (think how heavy a gallon of water or juice is). Sex will obviously push the blood back. Tampons are just like a dam on the river.

    As far as we know, you need water and nutrition to support life. What is blood? … Blood is mostly water with a small nutritional component. Any blood that is not completely discharged during the period will provide a good environment for the flies (see Flies in the Living Room). Where the blood accumulates determines what western disease name women may get. If the blood stays in the ovaries, uterus, or breast, women will receive western diagnosis like cancer, cyst, and fibromyalgia. Blood that reverts to the heart tends to develop into a western diagnosis of lupus. When blood reverts to the spine, the western diagnosis is usually leukemia. Facial hair on women is usually because the blood is reverting up to the face. And so on …

    The blood of the female menses is unused breast milk since the woman did not get pregnant that month. The nutrition accumulates in the breast all month until it is time for the cycle, which is why there may be a slight full sensation in the breast just before the period. When the cycle starts the white nutrition of the breast milk is supposed to descend down past the heart (fire like the sun), where it is cooked the first time, turning it pink. Then as the nutrition passes the small intestine (fire like the hot core of the earth) it is cooked again turning red. The liver (wood like trees) filters the blood and keeps it flowing smoothly. In TCM the spleen (earth) is responsible for the production of the blood. Any serious disease will involve three of the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water), so since a health period requires the proper function of three elements, women with good periods can not have a serious disease.