- Her main physical symptoms included a stiff neck, a feeling of pressure in the head,
throbbing headaches on the vertex, dizziness, tinnitus, blurred vision, dry eyes, insomnia
(waking up frequently during the night) and a feeling of heat in the evening.
Her complexion was dull with red patches on both cheek-bones and her eyes were rather dull and
without glitter.
Her tongue was Red, redder on the sides, slightly Stiff and the coating was too thin. Her pulse
was Wiry but Fine.
Diagnosis The blurred vision, dry eyes, insomnia, Fine pulse and Stiff tongue with
insufficient tongue-coating indicate Liver-Yin deficiency while the
feeling of heat in the evening, red cheek-bones and Red tongue with
insufficient coating denote Empty-Heat.
Due to the deficiency of Liver-Yin, there was also Liver-Yang rising as
manifested by the stiff neck, throbbing vertical headaches, dizziness,
tinnitus, a feeling of pressure in the head and a Wiry pulse.Her hypertension, which was the reason for seeking treatment, was due
to the rising of Liver-Yang. When the systolic pressure is high while the
diastolic one is near to normal, it usually indicates the rising of
Liver-Yang. Furthermore, when the systolic reading oscillates
considerably from day to day, it indicates that nervous stress, rather than
a hardening of the arteries, is the cause of the problem. This is usually
due to emotional strain affecting the Liver. In this patient's case, this
was very obvious from the dullness of her complexion (lack of shen)
and eyes which indicate long-standing affliction of the Mind and/or
Ethereal Soul by emotional strain.When asked about emotional strain, she confirmed that she had been
under great stress about her daughter's marital problems. Due to
financial problems, her daughter was trapped in a marriage to a very
cruel husband and suffered a great deal: this made her mother very
angry towards her son-in-law and, over the years, caused the rising of
Liver-Yang and deficiency of Liver-Yin.Treatment principle Nourish Liver-Yin, clear Empty-Heat, subdue Liver-Yang, calm the
Mind and root the Ethereal Soul.
Acupuncture Reinforce: LIV-8 Ququan, Ren-4 Guanyuan, SP-6 Sanyinjiao, KI-3
Taixi. Even method: LIV-3 Taichong, KI-2 Rangu, Du-24 Shenting,
G.B.-13 Benshen, P-7 Daling.
Explanation LIV-8, Ren-4, SP-6 and KI-3 nourish Liver-Yin.