Insight into the cold/heat in greater yang disease period and the definition of yang/yin pattern / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

I discuss the question of cold/heat in greater yang disease period and the definition of yang/yin pattern as written in the Nyumon Kampo Igaku, which was the first textbook on Kampo medicine published by the Japan Society for Oriental Medicine. The first question is ; “Is the indication for Kampo medicine in greater yang disease period not the heat, but the exterior cold of a patient?” It is considered that a chilly feeling shows not cold illness, but a process trend toward body fever and sweating as a recovery strategy. The second question is ; “Should we adopt Okuda's definition of yang/yin pattern when my definition is obscure?” Okuda's definition was written for acute illnesses based on the treatise Shanghanlun (On Cold Damage). Nevertheless, we can not adopt this definition because our textbook has to be applied for treating patients with chronic illness, and the use of Goseiho and traditional Chinese medicine. The discrimination of quantitative analyses in the21st century, and qualitative approaches to discussing Kampo medicine diagnostic standards are considered important in the21st Century.