Guest guest Posted September 9, 2004 Report Share Posted September 9, 2004 I have an HIV negative patient who contracted valley fever. VF is caused by inhaling a fungal spore. It usually is self-limited, but the disseminated form is deadly. The deadly form usually only occurs in those who are immunocompromised in some way. No evidence that this pt. is. However he is a senior and hispanic, two other risk factors. Anyone treated this? Anything similar in the CM literature? This is a rare example of my hands being tied by my poor chinese reading skills. I will probably refer in 2 weeks if no changes occur. His patterns are clear to me, but I need to have some idea of prognosis. CC is severe dyspnea. Chinese Herbs FAX: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 9, 2004 Report Share Posted September 9, 2004 Recently I had the experience of dealing with a client who had what appeared to be a straightforward Lung-Kidney-Liver Yin Defciency with chronic dry cough, thirst, and general irritability. Pulse was generally thready, except in right cun position, where it was slippery and full. Tongue reddish and fissured, very thin to no coating. After several weeks of a formula similar to Lily Bulb Decoction to Preserve the Metal [bai~ He/ Gu\ Jin- Tang-] with no results, I reviewed the case and recognized that it was probably a chronic case of Valley Fever - client formerly lived in northern Calif. After adding the following herbs: Quisqualis, Fr [shi~ jun- zi~] Ulmi Macrocarpi, Praeparatio Fructus [wu/ yi/] Torreya Grandis, S [fei~ zi~] Stemonae, Rx [bai~ bu\] Pruni Mume, Fr [wu- mei/] Dry cough almost disappeared within 4 days. In retrospect, the full slippery pulse in right cun position stood out as possibly correlating with the fungal infection, and this pulse became more normal to thready, similar to the other pulses, after the 4-day period. Note that many of the TCM anti-Parasite herbs also have significant anti-fungal actions. First, though, I had the client avoid all grain products, as she seemed to have an intolerance to them and noticed the severity of the cough reduced after avoiding them. (Grains, sugars, and other starchy foods in excess can feed a fungal overgrowth.) Then within about 4 days of formula with above herbs added, the symptoms almost disappeared. Assessment of VF was confirmed by a physician friend of mine, who also saw the client. He said that the antifungal regime, if it appeared to be working, should be maintained for 6 months, off and on, after symptoms appear to be gone, to prevent relapse. In dealing with fungal conditions, strict compliance with dietary recommendations (anti-fungal diet, similar to anti-candida diets widely popularized) is important. With your Hispanic client, I'd check into the possibility that both corn and wheat tortillas might be an aggravating factor, as molds and spores are common contaminants of corn, and it is also a grain. If the case is disseminated, and there is Blood Stagnation (whatever other patterns might be present), a goodly amount of Blood-invigorating herbs may be necessary to act as messenger agents to permeate the formula throughout the body, or else pockets of infection may not be reached. In chronic cases, some degree of Blood Stagnation is likely. ---Roger Wicke, PhD, TCM Clinical Herbalist contact: www.rmhiherbal.org/contact/ Rocky Mountain Herbal Institute, Hot Springs, Montana USA Clinical herbology training programs - www.rmhiherbal.org > Thu, 9 Sep 2004 08:07:08 -0700 > < >valley fever - life and death > >I have an HIV negative patient who contracted valley fever. VF is >caused by inhaling a fungal spore. It usually is self-limited, but the >disseminated form is deadly. The deadly form usually only occurs in >those who are immunocompromised in some way. No evidence that this pt. >is. However he is a senior and hispanic, two other risk factors. > >Anyone treated this? > >Anything similar in the CM literature? This is a rare example of my >hands being tied by my poor chinese reading skills. I will probably >refer in 2 weeks if no changes occur. > >His patterns are clear to me, but I need to have some idea of >prognosis. CC is severe dyspnea. > ---Roger Wicke, PhD, TCM Clinical Herbalist contact: www.rmhiherbal.org/contact/ Rocky Mountain Herbal Institute, Hot Springs, Montana USA Clinical herbology training programs - www.rmhiherbal.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 9, 2004 Report Share Posted September 9, 2004 A beautifully detailed case and discourse, Roger. I enjoyed it immensely. On Sep 9, 2004, at 11:51 AM, rw2 wrote: > Recently I had the experience of dealing with a client who had what > appeared to be a straightforward Lung-Kidney-Liver Yin Defciency with > chronic dry cough, thirst, and general irritability. Pulse was > generally thready, except in right cun position, where it was slippery > and full. Tongue reddish and fissured, very thin to no coating. After > several weeks of a formula similar to Lily Bulb Decoction to Preserve > the Metal [bai~ He/ Gu\ Jin- Tang-] with no results, I reviewed the > case and recognized that it was probably a chronic case of Valley > Fever - client formerly lived in northern Calif. > > After adding the following herbs: > Quisqualis, Fr [shi~ jun- zi~] > Ulmi Macrocarpi, Praeparatio Fructus [wu/ yi/] > Torreya Grandis, S [fei~ zi~] > Stemonae, Rx [bai~ bu\] > Pruni Mume, Fr [wu- mei/] > Dry cough almost disappeared within 4 days. In retrospect, the full > slippery pulse in right cun position stood out as possibly correlating > with the fungal infection, and this pulse became more normal to > thready, similar to the other pulses, after the 4-day period. > > Note that many of the TCM anti-Parasite herbs also have significant > anti-fungal actions. > First, though, I had the client avoid all grain products, as she > seemed to have an intolerance to them and noticed the severity of the > cough reduced after avoiding them. (Grains, sugars, and other starchy > foods in excess can feed a fungal overgrowth.) > Then within about 4 days of formula with above herbs added, the > symptoms almost disappeared. > > Assessment of VF was confirmed by a physician friend of mine, who also > saw the client. He said that the antifungal regime, if it appeared to > be working, should be maintained for 6 months, off and on, after > symptoms appear to be gone, to prevent relapse. > > In dealing with fungal conditions, strict compliance with dietary > recommendations (anti-fungal diet, similar to anti-candida diets > widely popularized) is important. With your Hispanic client, I'd check > into the possibility that both corn and wheat tortillas might be an > aggravating factor, as molds and spores are common contaminants of > corn, and it is also a grain. > > If the case is disseminated, and there is Blood Stagnation (whatever > other patterns might be present), a goodly amount of > Blood-invigorating herbs may be necessary to act as messenger agents > to permeate the formula throughout the body, or else pockets of > infection may not be reached. In chronic cases, some degree of Blood > Stagnation is likely. > > > ---Roger Wicke, PhD, TCM Clinical Herbalist > contact: www.rmhiherbal.org/contact/ > Rocky Mountain Herbal Institute, Hot Springs, Montana USA > Clinical herbology training programs - www.rmhiherbal.org > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 , " " <zrosenbe@s...> wrote: > A beautifully detailed case and discourse, Roger. > I enjoyed it immensely. > indeed. thanks. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.