help request with infantile seizure?

August 7, 2002

A fellow student in my class is struggling with dx. and tx. of his

2.5 yr/old daughter who experienced a 2.5 hr long seizure (simple-

partial or complex-partial, DR. is not sure yet). EEG shows a focus

in her left frontal cortex. CT scan looks fine, and an MRI is

sceduled for next week. Blood tests and lumbar puncture show no

infection.

Px's tongue shows intermittant thick, greasy, unrooted, yellow coat

and is slightly dusky. Pulses are difficult to determine with

student level skills. Her father speculates a possible Phlegm-fire

pattern: Px has been showing a pattern of deliberate retention of

bowel movement leading to constipation, which may be contributing to

a heat & /or phlegm- heat pattern resulting in seizure (liver wind)?

The Px has a fiery and controlling personality, has had no

immunizations, eats a clean, organic diet. Her parents have

implemented a low-key, non-pressured potty training program.

She has recovered remarkably well, but has begun the antiseizure

med, tegretol (150 mg/day), prescribed by the ped. neurologist to

buy some time to formulate a tx principle and course of action.

Any info. or suggestions would be warmly welcomed and appreciated.

August 8, 2002

Dear Brad,

>

> Infantile convulsions or seizures are known in Chinese medicine as

> 'jing feng' or 'wind of fright'. " Jing feng' could either be an acute one

> or 'ji jing feng' or 'chronic ' one or 'man jing feng'.Most of the signs of

> seizures i.e. tremors, shaking etc all point to an overactive 'liver yang'

> . This 2.5 year old girl had a long seizure. She also exhibits some

> overactivity of the liver yang with a " fiery' personality. Hence, in

> dealing with an acute ar chronic 'wind of 'fright' , the liver yang has to

> be pacified. Chinese infant massage xiao er tuina, acupuncture or a number

> of herbal formulae may be used individually or in combination to deal with

> this clinical pattern.

>

> During an attack massage on certain acupoints peculiar to Chinese

> infant massage may be used. The formulae of massage techniques to be

> applied are the following:

>

> 1. Use the tip of the thumb (including the ends of the fingernails )

> to apply a dig massage on the acupoint Philtrum or 'ren zhong' ( a

> Governing Vessel acutract point between the base of the nostril and the

> upper lip )until the patient recovers consiousness. This acupoint may also

> be needled.

>

> 2. Use the tip of the thumb to apply dig massage over the acupoints

> 'ten kings' (the tips of the ten fingers) . Five times to each finger. The

> 'ten kings' may also be needled and bled a bit.

>

> 3 Use the tips of the index finger and thumb to grasp and pluck the

> tendons on the acupoint 'actual center' (Wei zhong ,A Urinary bladder

> acutract point located at the center of the crease at the back of both

> knees) . Apply this massage five times on each back of the knee.

>

> The above techniques are lifted from my book " Chinese Infant Massage A

> Guide To the Massage of Children up to Five Years Old " (Greenhouse

> publication, Melbourne , l986 , pp. 80-83) . The books also has line

> drawings of individual techniques and location of acupoints. If you cannot

> get hold of my book, I will think of ways to probably scan some pages and get

them to you.

>

> After the acute phase has passed, measures must be adopted to prevent the

> recurrence of the seizures. The overactive liver yang has to continually

> addressed by a combination of appropriate herbal formulae, massage,

> acupuncture, a good rhythm of sleep and wake up time, less hot foods and

> more cooling foods etc.

>

> Good Luck,

>

> Rey Tiquia

> Chairperson

> Alliance of Associations of Australia

> Phd Candidate

> Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science

> University of Melbourne

> Parkville

> Victoria

> Australia

>

August 8, 2002

Have you checked out Julian Scott's pediatrics book? Lot's of jems in

there. There's also a moxa protocol for seizures that involves tying

the thumbs and toes together and doing direct cones on the jing-well

points (tied to gether so you can put one cone on both sides of the

Channel at the same time)- but I'm not too sure what the details of that

treatment are - I think it's a folk remedy, but it seems that you do the

Lung and Spleen channel. My friend's dad's niece had it done in Vietnam

from a lady in the country side and didn't experience any other seizures

afterwards. I seem to recall hearing about this treatment in a book

somewhere too, but my memory sometimes jumbles up what I read with what

I heard.