Jamu as a Therapy for Primary Dysmenorrhea in Adolescents in Lahat, Banyuasin and Muara Enim District, South Sumatera Province in 2024

Primary dysmenorrhea is a common complaint among adolescent girls, affecting daily activities. Herbal medicine has been widely used as an alternative treatment. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of herbal medicine and mefenamic acid in reducing primary dysmenorrhea pain among 460 high school students in South Sumatra. Pain levels were measured using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) at specific time intervals. Results indicate that herbal medicine has comparable effectiveness to mefenamic acid in reducing pain at the 60th minute. While the mefenamic acid group was given 500 mg of mefenamic acid. The degree of pain was measured using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) before treatment, at 14, 30, 45, and 60 minutes after treatment. Results: The significance value of the pain level of both groups at 60 minutes (0.244) > α 0.05 (error level 5%). This shows that there is no significant difference between the differences in the mean pain level given herbal medicine and mefenamic acid at 60 minutes. So it is concluded that herbal medicine is able to reduce the level of pain the same as mefenamic acid at 60 minutes. This also means that herbal medicine can be used as a therapy for primary dysmenorrhea as well as the use of mefenamic acid at 60 minutes. Herbal medicine can be used as a therapy for primary dysmenorrhea in adolescents. This study provides initial evidence that herbs and chemical drugs actually have the same efficacy if given in the appropriate amount.