Many women experience menstrual cramps just before and during their menstrual periods. Sometimes headache, nausea, palpitation, or diarrhea are associated.

Menstrual Cramp Management：

• Try taking a hot bath, drink warm beverages, light abdominal massage, or placing a heat pad or a warm water bottle over the lower abdominal area to ease menstrual cramps.
• Rest and relax.
• Avoid alcohol, tobacco, spicy or cold food. Chocolate or bean soup may help relieve menstrual cramps.
• Your doctor may suggest taking over-the-counter pain relievers, such as ibuprofen or naproxen sodium, at regular doses starting the day before you expect your period to begin. Prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as mefenamic acid, also are available. If you can’t take NSAIDs, acetaminophen may lessen your pain.
• Your doctor may suggest taking over-the-counter drugs such as ibuprofen or naproxen just before you expect your period to begin or prescribe other medications to treat or prevent your pain.
• See a gynecologist if menstrual cramps cause serious disruptions every cycle or if your symptoms have grown worse, or if you’re older than 25 and have only just started having severe menstrual cramps.

• Patients will be asked to fast. A nasogastric tube will be inserted through your nose and into your stomach to relieve abdominal distension from air, liquid and food. Do not try to remove the nasogastric tube.
• Try peppermint oil and massage it onto the abdomen clockwise or take light walks to help promote digestion.
• Once condition has improved and the doctor has agreed to oral intake, try drinking water.  If no further discomfort after half an hour, start with many small meals throughout the day. Space out your meals and wait about the same amount of time between each one. Choose a light diet.  Avoid gas producing foods such as sweet potato, potato, corn, taro, or beans.
• Take medicine as prescribed, and follow up as scheduled.
• Please inform the medical staff or return to the hospital as soon as possible if the following conditions are noted :
  1. Pain that does not go away or is getting worse
  2. Vomiting or anorexia
  3. Fever or chills
  4. A rigid or stiff abdomen
  5. No gas passage for over a day

• Try peppermint oil and massage it onto the abdomen clockwise or take light walks to help promote digestion.
• Eat many small meals throughout the day. Space out your meals and wait about the same amount of time between each one.
• Choose a light diet.  Avoid gas producing foods such as sweet potato, potato, corn, taro, or beans. Eat more fruits and vegetables to prevent constipation.
• Avoid breathing with mouth open.
• Please call or return to the hospital as soon as possible if the following conditions are noted：
  1. Pain that does not go away or is getting worse
  2. Vomiting or nausea
  3. Fever or chills
  4. A swollen or tender belly

• Temporarily fast according to doctor’s instructions. When symptoms improve, start with liquid diet such as, water, juice, or diluted sports drink. Begin with soft diet once there is no more diarrhea.  Try rice, toast, congee, noodles, or bland steamed buns with minimal flavoring.
• Avoid coffee, alcohol, spicy food, oily food, or dairy products which may cause further bowel irritation.
• Wash hands thoroughly after going to the bathroom.
• Please call or return to the hospital as soon as possible if there are following symptoms：
  1. Abdominal pain shifting to the right lower abdomen
  2. Fever
  3. Bloody stools
  4. Profuse diarrhea or dehydration

• Patients with gallstones may have the following symptoms：
  1. Epigastric cramping pain after eating fried or fatty foods
  2. Pain usually localized over right upper abdomen but may sometimes radiate to the right shoulder and scapula
  3. Nausea, Vomiting, Heart-Burn
• Patients with the following symptoms should seek medical help as soon as possible：
  1. Fever or chills
  2. Pain with cold sweating
  3. Jaundice or yellowish skin
  4. Tea-colored urine or clay-colored stool
  5. Frequent non-specific skin itch or pruritis
  6. Abdominal distention and poor appetite
  7. Steatorrhea or oily stool

Watch your diet. Minimize fatty or high cholesterol food. Avoid the following foods：

• Vegetables：vegetables that cause gas such as sweet potato, potato, corn, taro
• Oils and fats：Avoid butter, salad dressing, fried food or fried snacks.
• Grains：Avoid instant noodles, cakes, fritters, fried noodles, fried snacks. Choose rice, noodles, or steamed buns instead, preferably whole grain.
• Meat, dairy, legumes：Avoid fatty meat, pork knuckles, pig or chicken skin, fat drippings, oiled tofu, walnuts, chestnuts, cashews, fava beans, peanuts, whole milk, cream, ice cream, and cheese.