ABSTRACT
We had an opportunity to treat a patient with chronic cold syndrome attributed to weak constitution who had been treated with Western medicine without any noticeable effect. The patient suffered from such symptoms as severe coughs, difficulty in expectorating sputum, afternoon fevers, loss of appetite, a strong sense of fatigue, and shallow sleep. Based on the “li fa fang xue shu” techniques (acupuncture diagnostic and treatment techniques) used in Chinese traditional medicine, the patient was diagnosed with cases of “fei qi yin liang xiu zhen” and “feng han fan fei zhen”. We applied the treatment of outward symptoms to the patient's major external symptoms and the treatment of source of illness to the primary underlying causes. The acupuncture needles used in the treatment were 0.26 × 40mm Chinese needles, 0.18 × 40mm disposable Japanese needles, and 5 mm pi nei zhen needles. The patient was treated once a week with senshi-chishin (needles left inserted in the surface of the skin for some time), kyuto-shin (needles with moxa on top), pi nei zhen (left inserted in the skin for some time) etc. On pi jing ba mai xue and zhen jing shu xue. This treatment produced favorable effects in the patient; her symptoms disappeared and she regained her stamina. These results seem to indicate that the diagnostic and clinical methodology based on Chinese traditional medicine can offer sound theoretical guidance in current acupuncture therapy.