Ailments and Afflictions


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Kampo medicine has treated or improved patient’s health, especially among woman suffering from premenstrual discomfort (which is also often referred to as oketsu or suidoku).  Some clinical signs of oketsu include:  hemorrhoids, skin pigmentation, periumbilical tenderness, and congestion of sublingual veins (Gephshtein et al. 2008, 428).  One case study, conducted at Keio University by Yana Gephshtein, emphasized the approach to using Kampo therapy to menstrual symptoms over a course of month-to-month visits.  Participants of this study were three women that experienced symptoms related to menstrual cycle.  Each participant was treated with three features of Kampo therapy that included: individual-centered diagnosis, herbal therapy, and therapeutic relationships between doctors and patients (Gephshtein et al. 2008, 428).  Furthermore, Yana Gephshtein describes how Kampo is well-suited for treatment of premenstrual symptoms in Japan and deserves the attention of Western clinicians because: (1) Kampo is individualized, its application must not depend on clear etiology (2) Kampo herbal formulas are regulated by the Japanese agencies for quality and purity and (3) Kampo features as a continuity of care and patient-centered care (Gephshtein et al. 2008, 434).  Furthermore, the quality and care of patient-care should be considered or combined among other medical therapies.  More importantly, the clinical structures for outcomes of care in “traditional” medicine should be studied in depth using qualitative research data (Gephshtein et al. 2008, 434).

 
Indications: This herbal formula has been used for patients with following health conditions and symptoms:

In another study, one research investigated the improvement of Kampo therapy using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Scale (WHOQOL-BREF).  According to Kazuo Yamada, physician from Medical Center East, patients use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) because of dissatisfaction with conventional treatment (Yamada 2006, 799). His study referenced a survey in 1993 that demonstrated a 77% improvement using Kampo to treat various diseases and improvement to the quality of life (QOL) in patients.  More than 2000 physicians responded to this survey.  The study he conducted included one hundred and sixty-seven outpatients with various diseases or disorders who have already been treated with modern medicines and wanting to receive Kampo therapy.  Each patient was treated with Kampo formulas and modern medicines for three months.  Their prescriptions were selected based on traditional theory.  The results of the study suggest that further research is needed due to significant factors.  One of these factors included that during this study there was a 27.7% drop out rate.  Meaning sixty-four participants discontinued because of drop out or changes in treatment with modern medicine.  For future studies, the dropout rate should be decreased.  Secondly, there was a difficulty to perform such studies because Kampo formulas were based on traditional theory, which is different compared to modern medicine.  Therefore, careful considerations of research strategies, methods and preparation for many kinds of placebos must be accounted for.

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 One major discussion about Kampo treatment is how it can be effective among patients with cancer.  “It is important to first nourish and strengthen the cancer patients’ over-all condition, including the immunes system, in order to heighten their resistance” (Tsumura 1991, 60).  Interestingly, treatment is becoming so popularized because of its effectiveness of treating more than just one condition.  “Kampo treatment not only regulates the immune, hormone and nervous systems and thereby strengthens the body’s own natural healing power, but also prevents many of the harmful side effects which accompany the administration of DNA synthesis inhibiting drugs” (Tsumura 1991, 60).  Kampo treatment has made an effective breakthrough in modern medicine because the herbal medicine doesn’t do any harm to health cells while intoxicating cancerous cells (Tsumura 1991, 60).  Some examples for treatment include: Jusen-Taiho-To which is administered to patients in various weakened conditions.  This type of treatment can help alleviate extreme fatigue, pale complexion, and loss of appetite (Tsumura 1991, 61). 
One of the common illnesses is the common cold.  Kampo is emphasized on the early cold symptoms such as headaches, chills, and fevers (Tsumura 1991, 82).  While diagnosing the patient, the doctor would do an actual pulse reading.  According to Tsumura, if it is weak and the inside of the patient’s mouth is sticky and bitter, doctors would prescribe formulas containing bupleurum (1991, 82).  Unlike Kampo, some drugs would fail to cure the cold and also cause problems with the digestive system (Tsumura 1991, 82).  This is one advantage to Kampo medicine.  On the other hand, some examples of the types of treatment to the common cold include: Kakkon-to, which describes how strong a patients is and displays symptoms such as headaches, chills, fever, stiff neck and back, and has a slight fever but dot not perspire (Tsumura 1991, 82).  Another type of treatment is called Chikujo-untan-to which describes how weak a patient is.  This type of person has continuous fever, frequent coughs with much phlegm, and insomnia (Tsumura 1991, 83).
Lastly, another way Kampo has helped effectively is among adult disorders such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  One formula mentioned in Medicine of the Five Rings by Robert Rister, is Angelica formula which has helped treat ADD/ADHD, anemia, anxiety, and insomnia.  The language behind this formula is based on the fact that Kampo medicine helps restores the balance of thought and digestion between the brain and the stomach.  “Continuous intellectual activity was thought to cause the person to become ‘ungrounded,’ and thereby injure the Earth organ, the spleen (which corresponds to the digestive tract rather than to the organ identified in modern medicine as the spleen) (Rister 2002, 111).  As a result, the herbs in this formula were chosen to restore the spleen’s ability to produce blood (Rister 2002, 111). 
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