Premenstrual Tension

Abstract

THE bleeding phase of the menstrual cycle rarely appears unannounced. Signs and symptoms that herald its approach are experienced by many women. Anxiety states, depression, lower-abdominal pain, lumbar pain, thirst, breast fullness and personality changes of a mildly antisocial nature announce the approaching condition. Menorrhalgia was suggested by Hamblen¹ as a descriptive term for this complex. These symptoms are accepted philosophically by most women, but there is a minority group, perhaps 25 per cent, who require medication. The syndrome has long been recognized. Hippocrates ascribed the symptoms to "agitated blood" seeking its channel of escape at the uterus. Police records . . .