Effectiveness of Kampo Medicine for Patients with Relapsing Eye Diseases / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

Patients with relapsing eye diseases can be treated using Kampo medicine to prevent recurrence. In our 30-year experience, only 27 patients have been treated with a Kampo formula aimed at preventing recurrence. Their conditions have included hordeolum, multiple chalazion, subconjunctival hemorrhage, filamentary keratitis, corneal herpes, Posner-Schlossman syndrome, central serous chorioretinopathy and vitreous hemorrhage. Of our patients with these conditions, the number with a successful Kampo treatment outcome for more than 3 years has been 12, when following the principles of Kampo medicine, i.e., “treatment according to a Kampo pattern of identification.”It is considered difficult to prevent recurrence in patients with relapsing eye disease, but our results indicate the effectiveness of Kampo medicine for such patients and, therefore, we believe Kampo medicine should be used continuously for these conditions in the future.In addition, there are no standard guidelines regarding a treatment time required to confirm success in preventing a recurrence in patients with relapsing disease, but we assume that it should to be more than 3 or 4 years.