Pediatrics

Turret’s Syndrome

Okay, just to be clear, in the last post, the child did have turrets on his head.  This is, of course, why it was called Turrets Syndrome.  Along with having Tourette’s syndrome.  (how’s that for trying to weasel out of a mis-spelling!)

At any rate, I hope it was a useful case inspire of the mortifying spelling error!  And below is another installment.  This case shows us that we cannot take a symptom or disease based approach to illness.  This girl was treated for UTI with Ba Zheng San, and for frequent urination with Suo Quan Wan and Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang, all to no avail.  The physician finally noticed some key factors; the extent of external pressure in her life, how keyed up and timid she was, along with the deficiency.  This is what led him to Gan Mai Da Zao Tang.  For those who work in pediatrics, this is actually a common pattern for bed-wetting as well.

The patient was a 10 year-old girl.  She came for an initial visit on June 18, 2006.  She had suffered from frequent and urgent urination for more than 3 years.  This had come on three years previously […]

While on the topic of Gan Mai Da Zao Tang‘s use in pediatrics, here’s another interesting case.

Pediatric Tourette’s syndrome

The patient was an 8-year-old boy who came for a consult on January 5^th, 2005.  He frequently blinked his eyes and moved his mouth.  This had gone on for more than ½ a year.  This began after a common cold.  He blinked and moved his mouth, furrowed his brow and was easily agitated.  He was often angry and had to move about a lot.  When this was extreme he would speak wildly, hit people and destroy objects.  He had undergone western medical treatment but the diagnosis and treatment history is not clear, but the effect was not evident.  At the time of his consultation, he was blinking, furrowing his brow and moving his mouth a lot.  He was clearly agitated.  His speech was full of curses and obscenities.  His appetite and bowels were fine.  His urine was reddish yellow.  His pulses were wiry and thin.  The electroencephalogram was slightly abnormal.  He was given 3 packages of Gan Mai Da Zao Tang with the following herbs:

This was decocted in water, one package for one day.

Second visit:  His disposition had changed […]