The effect of fennel on pain quality, symptoms, and menstrual duration in primary dysmenorrhea.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of fennel on primary dysmenorrhea symptoms and menorrheal duration. DESIGN: Clinical trial study. SETTING: Islamic Azad University, Toyserkan. PARTICIPANTS: 80 female students were randomly divided in to two groups of intervention (n = 40) and control (n = 40). INTERVENTIONS: The intervention group was given one soft capsule Fennel (30 mg) every 4 hours, 3 days before menstruation till the 5th day and continued for 3 months. The control group received no medication. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The severity of samples pain was graded using a visual analogue scale. 5 standard questionnaires include of Visual analog scale pain (VAS), McGill pain questionnaire, the range of stress about dysmenorrheal (VASA), Perceived stress scale, Well being scale were filled out in intervals of before, during and after fennel capsule uptake. Data were analyzed by SPSS 17 software. P < .05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean of nausea intensity and weakness decreased to 1.93, and 2.88 after 3 months, whereas they were 2.37, 6.65 in control group which indicated a significant difference. Reduce the duration of menstrual period, a significant difference was found after two and three months of use. Concern in terms of quality and feelings of well-being after 1 and 3 months, was observed significant difference compared with before using. CONCLUSION: Considering the safety of herbal medicines, this drug can use to relieve dysmenorrheal signs and menstrual duration.