Comparing ginger with mefenamic acid and ibubrofen for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea

Primary dysmenorrhea is a frequent entity with known side effects on life quality. Ginger has been shown to inhibit prostaglandins, thus, the present study was designed to compare ginger with mefenamic acid and ibubrofen for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea in a group of students in dormitories affiliated to Isfahan and Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.

For this double-blinded clinical trial, 150 students with primary dysmenorrhea were enrolled. Subjects were matched according to dysmenorrheal severity, then, assigned in 3 equal groups of ginger (250mg), mefenamic acid (250mg), and ibubrofen (400mg) that were all prescribed 4 times a day for 3 days. Groups were matched according to the following criteria: age, age of menarche onset, weight, height, BMI, father’s position, maternal occupation and level of education, regular exercise, and duration, interval and amount of menses’ bleeding. Finally, verbal multidimensional scoring system was used to assess the efficacy of drugs on dysmenorrhea. ANOVA and chi square were used for data analysis.

Dysmenorrheal improvement did not differ significantly among ginger (64%), mefenamic acid (58%) and ibubrofen (66%) groups. Thus, ginger is as effective as mefenamic acid and ibubrofen in alleviating dysmenorrheal symptoms.

Ginger is an effective drug for alleviating primary dysmenorrheal symptoms.