Pain Management Nursing — Kashefi F, et al. | October 01, 2014
The aim of this randomized trial was to compare the effect of ginger, zinc sulfate, and placebo on the severity of primary dysmenorrhea in young women.The result suggested that ginger and zinc sulfate had similar positive effects on the improvement of primary dysmenorrheal pain in young women.
- MethodsOne hundred and fifty high school students were recruited.
- The participants were divided into three groups.
- The first group received ginger capsules, the second group received zinc sulfate capsules, and the third group received placebo capsules.
- All participants took the medications for four days, from the day before the commencement of menstruation to the third day of their menstrual bleeding.
- The severity of dysmenorrhea was assessed every 24 hours by the pain visual analog scale.
Results
The severity of pain was significantly different between, before, and after the intervention in both the ginger and the zinc sulfate groups (p < .001).
Compared with the placebo receiving group, participants receiving ginger and zinc sulfate reported more alleviation of pain during the intervention (p < .05).