Comparing the Effect of Ginger-Lavender, Ginger and Mefenamic Acid Capsules on the Severity of Primary Dysmenorrhea among University Students: A Triple-Blind Clinical Trial

Primary dysmenorrhea is one of the most common complaints in women. This study compared the effect of ginger-lavender, ginger and mefenamic acid capsules on the severity of primary dysmenorrhea among female university students.

This randomized, triple-blind clinical trial was performed in 2020 on 90 female students with primary dysmenorrhea, who lived in dormitories of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran and randomly assigned to three groups. During the first three days of menstruation, the students received ginger-lavender (250 mg ginger and 50 mg lavender extract), ginger (250 mg), and mefenamic acid (250 mg) in two consecutive cycles, which were prescribed four times daily for three days from the onset of menstruation. A menstrual status questionnaire, verbal multidimensional scoring system, and visual analog scale were used to measure pain duration and intensity before and two cycles after intervention. Data were analyzed using two-way (intragroup) and one-way (intergroup) repeated measures ANOVA.

 Ginger- lavender, ginger and mefenamic acid significantly reduced the severity and duration of primary dysmenorrhea (P 0.05). This decrease was greater in the ginger-lavender group than in the other two groups. Also, the mean score of pain in the ginger-lavender group was 1.04 and 1.53 units lower than the ginger and mefenamic acid groups, respectively. The mean pain score in the ginger group was 0.49 units lower than that the mefenamic acid group.

Ginger-lavender significantly reduced the duration and severity of menstrual pain and was more effective than only ginger and mefenamic acid.