Hey, it's Nicholas! 👋

Have you heard of inverted menstruation (倒经 dào jīng).

This is nosebleed that occurs before, around, or instead of the normal period.

What causes it? How is it treated?

Well you can watch the new youtube video, or read on below:

This is something that popped up on my instagram feed a while ago. This person wrote:

Well it turns out that, yes, this is a real thing. It even has a name in Chinese medicine: 倒经 dào jīng - inverted menstruation, or 逆经 nì jīng - counterflow menstruation.

So what causes this?

The Causes of Bleeding in TCM 🩸

So this is obviously a bleeding condition. And remember that in TCM, we have several causes of bleeding:

• Blood stasis
• Heat in the blood
• Deficiency

(This is further discussed in the video about Herbs that Stop Bleeding.)

Well, when it comes to nosebleed prior to menstruation, this is usually bleeding due to heat in the blood.

When heat gets into the blood, it causes the blood to speed up (that's why we feel a rapid pulse). Well, the blood can speed up so much that it begins to move recklessly outside of the vessels, causing bleeding.

Bensky also calls this "frenetic movement of hot blood."

So where does this heat come from?

Five-Phase Relationships 🪵🪓

Typically, this heat is the result of Liver constraint, or Liver depression.

Which makes sense. The Liver stores blood and has a lot to do with regulating menstruation. In the time just before the period, there's an abundance of blood, and it's very easy for qi and blood stagnation to occur (e.g. PMS symptoms).

This stagnation (or constraint) can easily turn into heat.

But how does that cause nosebleed?

Well, remember that the Liver and the Lung have a relationship along the Ke cycle (controlling cycle). Normally, Metal controls Wood (think about a metal axe chopping a tree).

But if Wood become to excessive, it can easily rebel against Metal or insult metal. So heat from the Liver can go into the Lung backwards along the Ke cycle.

And because the Lung opens to the nose, this heat entering the Lung can cause coughing up blood or nosebleed.

Treatment

So how is this treated?

Well, we need to cool the blood and stop bleeding, and then also address the underlying Liver constraint.

One herb we learned to do this is Yu Jin (curcuma radix) from the invigorate blood category.

We might also use points like SP-1 or LU-3 to stop bleeding.

Watch the Video to Learn More

I don't want this email to go on too long, so if you're interested in learning more, be sure to check out the video on YouTube. You can click the picture below:

​

​

Artificial Intelligence is coming to Chinese medicine. What does this mean for the future of our profession?

Is this just a fad, or is this a tool you can use to enhance your practice?

I did a podcast with Zac Lui, who has been using AI technologies in his practice. Check it out here:

​

​

Or, if you want to listen with your ears instead of watching a video, go here: https://podcast.tcmstudy.net/podcast/artificial-intelligence-in-tcm​

Or search for the "Drunken Acupuncture Podcast" on your favorite podcast app.

​

This week I'm working on a short video about the 18 Incompatible Herbs and 19 Antagonisms. If you're studying for year-ends or boards, it's likely that you'll get a question about this.

After that, I'm going to start on a video for the Large Intestine channel. There's a video currently up on the channel, but it's one of the first videos I ever made, so I think it needs an update.

These channel videos tend to take a long time to make, so I might be working on it for a while. I'm also thinking about making some point location flashcards to go along with it.

But that's all for now. Good luck on your semester!

Nicholas

​

This is a weekly newsletter to let you know about the weekly updates like livestreams, office hours, and Q&A's. It's also a way to share whatever little TCM tidbit is on my mind. If you prefer not to receive this each week, you can unsubscribe from just the newsletter. You'll still receive major updates when new videos are added, you just won't get this newsletter.