Five Case Reports of TCM Treatment for Allergic Rhinitis
Five Case Reports of TCM Treatment for Allergic Rhinitis
Allergic rhinitis is persistent and hard to treat. Patients often have a constant runny nose and frequent sneezing; any slight change in the environment makes them uncomfortable, and in severe cases their eyes also water continuously. TCM treats allergic rhinitis effectively, but it requires combining the four diagnostic methods: based on the patient's pulse, tongue, and medical history, one must carefully differentiate the pattern, then select and use the appropriate formula. When the formula is right, the efficacy is reliable.
In recent years I have treated many rhinitis patients. Below I list several typical cases to illustrate the approach of pattern differentiation and treatment for allergic rhinitis.
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Case 1: Lung-Heat Pattern
A young woman from Inner Mongolia had suffered from allergic rhinitis since childhood, with a runny nose day and night such that she could only breathe through her mouth. She joked that toilet paper was far more important to her than a boyfriend; whether traveling or sleeping at night, she could not do without toilet paper. Although she had no fever, signs of lung heat were very severe. Her mother was a Western doctor who had repeatedly treated her with various Chinese and Western medicines over the years without effect. I treated her with a modified Maxing Gancao Shigao Decoction (Ephedra, Apricot Kernel, Licorice and Gypsum Decoction):
Zhi Mahuang (honey-fried Ephedra) 6 g, Xingren (Apricot Kernel) 10 g, Zhi Gancao (honey-fried Licorice) 6 g, Sheng Shigao (raw Gypsum) 30 g (decocted first), Suye (Perilla Leaf) 6 g (added later), Sugeng (Perilla Stem) 6 g
3 doses
After taking three doses, the effect was very obvious: the runny nose basically stopped, with only mild symptoms remaining. I advised her to continue for another three to five doses, and she recovered. When she returned for follow-up, considering that her many years of illness had left her weak, I advised her to take Yupingfeng granules for a while to secure the exterior and strengthen the defensive qi.
Case 2: Lung-Heat Pattern
A man surnamed Li, in his forties, had an allergic rhinitis attack lasting several months, with incessant runny nose and tearing, such that he could no longer work normally. At the visit his eyes were red and his nose kept running; the pulse was floating, rapid, and forceful, with a slightly wiry quality, and the tongue coating was slightly yellow. I again treated him with a modified Maxing Shigao Gancao Decoction:
Zhi Mahuang 6 g, Xingren 10 g, Zhi Gancao 6 g, Sheng Shigao 30 g, Suye 6 g, Sugeng 6 g
7 doses
After about five doses the nasal discharge stopped, but the patient developed uncomfortable dizziness, so I then used Zexie Decoction (Alisma Decoction) to consolidate the recovery:
Zexie (Alisma) 12 g, Chao Baizhu (stir-fried Atractylodes) 12 g
After taking two doses of Zexie Decoction, the dizziness stopped and the nasal discharge also ceased. The patient then stopped the medicine on his own; follow-up over several months showed no recurrence.
Case 3: Nutritive-Defensive Disharmony with Weak and Unsecured Exterior Pattern
Lin, a 28-year-old woman. After going to study in Switzerland, she developed allergic rhinitis because of the cold local climate and inability to adapt to the environment. Since then various treatments had failed, and long-term moxibustion had also had little effect. She was averse to cold, with a moderate pulse, pale tongue, dry mouth, and a tense, constrained back. On comprehensive judgment, I considered her a Taiyang-channel exterior pattern of nutritive-defensive disharmony with a weak, unsecured exterior, and decided to give Guizhi Jia Gegen Decoction (Cinnamon Twig plus Pueraria Decoction):
Guizhi (Cinnamon Twig) 9 g, Baishao (White Peony) 9 g, Zhi Gancao 6 g, Gegen (Pueraria) 18 g, Shengjiang (Fresh Ginger) 5 slices, Dazao (Jujube) 7 pieces
7 doses
After taking 7 doses, the nasal discharge stopped.
Case 4: Yang-Deficiency Pattern
A 30-year-old female teacher. Her mother and father-in-law were both cancer patients treated by me. One day when I made a house call to her home, she mentioned that her rhinitis had troubled her for many years: every night before bed her nose would run incessantly, and she also had lower back pain and aversion to cold. On examination her pulse was deep, slow, and weak, with a pale tongue and white coating—a typical yang-deficiency yin pattern. Thinking that Yanghe Decoction (Yang-Healing Decoction) is the foremost formula for treating yin patterns, I decided to try it:
Shudi (processed Rehmannia) 40 g, Lujiaojiao (Deer-horn Gelatin) 12 g (melted), Baijiezi (White Mustard Seed) 8 g, Paojiang (blast-fried Ginger) 2 g, Sheng Mahuang (raw Ephedra) 2 g, Sheng Gancao (raw Licorice) 4 g, Rougui (Cinnamon Bark) 4 g (ground powder, taken infused)
7 doses
After taking the medicine, her rhinitis improved greatly, and her other symptoms also improved markedly.
Case 5: Early Stage of Lung Abscess
Zhang, a man, had long been exposed to dust; after catching wind-cold he was left with a root cause, and his allergic rhinitis had persisted for over 20 years without healing. He also coughed up sputum continuously—thick, foul-smelling sputum—and his pulse was rapid. This was the picture of what TCM calls lung abscess (feiyong). I decided to treat him with Qianjin Weijing Decoction (Qianjin Reed Rhizome Decoction):
Lugen (Phragmites Rhizome) 30 g, Dongguazi (Winter Melon Seed) 30 g, Taoren (Peach Kernel) 15 g, Yiyiren (Coix Seed) 30 g
7 doses.
After 7 doses his symptoms were greatly reduced: the nasal discharge stopped, and the cough and sputum basically ceased. I advised him to take another 5 doses to eradicate the root; after a further 5 doses, all symptoms resolved.
Allergic rhinitis mostly arises from past factors that have damaged the patient's respiratory system. The key to TCM treatment is to identify the patient's root cause and, based on that cause, find the appropriate formula.
TCM has strong advantages in treating this kind of functional disease, but the physician must carefully distinguish cold and heat from the patient's pulse and tongue, trace the medical history, and think carefully about the cause. If one merely looks at a Western-disease name and mechanically applies a fixed formula, it will inevitably be hard to obtain results.