Volume 3, Number 4 | Winter 2008

Clinical Report 3

Pulse condition: Deep/sunken, weak and slightly

One Case of Dizziness that was Benefited byHochuekkito
Mitsuyuki Takamura
Mie University Occupational Health Research Project

Hiromichi Yasui
Japan Institute of TCM Research

Current medical history: In early May of year X, thepatient had a sudden attack of dizziness when hewas continuously being engaged in a delicate job andwas admitted to a city-run hospital. The diagnosis
neuronitis.”

The

acutedizziness was resolved by medical treatment, butlightheadedness remained unchanged. AlthoughKampo

medicines(ryokeijutukantoandsaikokaryukotsuboreito) were prescribed by a clinic
two months before his initial visit to us or in October,the symptom did not improve. When he made thefirst visit, there was no cure for the lightheadedness.
When he was walking with a heavy object held in one
hand, the body did not move straight forward but
involuntarilyadvancedrightwardor

leftward

depending on the hand that held the heavy object.
When riding a bicycle, he could not keep the body
position and almost fell off to either right or left handside. He felt dizzy when turning around suddenly.

inthechestandhypochondrium (+). Abdominal palpitation (-).
Diagnosis: Failure to rise of the clear Yang due todescent of spleen Qi

Astragali Radix 8g
Ginseng Radix 4g
Atractylodis Rhizoma 4g
Angelicae Acutilobae Radix 3g
Citri Unshiu Pericarpium 2g
Ziziphi Fructus 2g
Poria 4g
Glycyrrhizae Radix 2g
Bupleuri Radix 2g
Zingiberis Rhizoma 1g
Cimicifugae Rhizoma 1g
Puerariae Radix 8g
Course: With the administration for two weeks,almost no obvious changes appeared in effect. Rather,
the patient felt the back of the head heavy, so withan addition of Uncaria rhynchophylla 10g, themedication was maintained. In the 4th week ofadministration, the condition improved substantially.
However, walking a long distance made the patient

Appetite: Ordinary, became sleepy after eating.

still feel his head light. He strongly claimed of stiff

Dry mouth (+)

shoulders, for which the Extract of kakkonto wasSleep: Dreamed a lot.
Defecation:

Twice/day,started in parallel (on January 5 of year X). As thisordinarystools,andhemorrhoid.
Predisposition: Fatigable and caught a cold easily.
The patient had painful shoulders, stiff shoulders
with stiffness of the back, lowback pain, and afeeling of listless lower part of the body.
Present condition: 180cm 85kg, blood pressure:
164/96mmHg

28Fullness

Formula:Chief complaint: Light headedness“vestibularAbdomen:

the Yang

Initial visit: December 9 of year X

viralTongue: Pale, small amount of white furs

Treatment strategy: Tonifying the Qi and elevating

Case: Male of 61 years oldwasslippery

Extract had effects on stiff shoulders from a threeday

administration,administered.
lightheadednessInthemostlyitwasmiddle

continuouslyofdisappeared

February,
andthemedication was discontinued. However, as he stillslightly felt the head light, a two weeks supply of the
medication was resumed, and then the patient’s

The Journal of Kampo, Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine (KAIM)

Volume 3, Number 4 | Winter 2008

condition recovered to normal completely. The
treatment was completed.
Consideration:

Traditional

Chinesemedicineclassifies the clinical conditions of dizziness into fourtypes. This patient complained of always feelinglanguid and became sleepy after eating – these are
typical conditions of deficiency of the spleen. He also
exhibited other conditions caused by deficiency of Qi:
When he walked with holding a heavy object in one
hand, his forward movement was involuntarily
lopsided either rightward or leftward depending on
the hand that carried the object; when riding abicycle, he could not maintain the body balance andalmost failed off to either right or left hand side; anda long distance walk made the symptom worse. Thismeans that dizziness occurred by “deficiency of thespleen Qi” caused by “failure to rise of the clear Yang.”

Hochuekkito used in the case is the formula thatappears in “Nei-wai-shang Bian-huo-lun(Clarufying
Doubts about Injury froom Internal and External
Causes)” written by Dong-Yuen Li, an excellent
physician in the 13th century. He devised thisformula originally for serious epidemic treatment. In
present days, however, this hochuekkito is used as
one of representative formulae for deficiency of thespleen Qi and descent of spleen Qi. Japanesephysicians use this formula for many chronic
disorders with successful results.

The Journal of Kampo, Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine (KAIM)

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