[Case study] One kid’s Tourette’s syndrome case

The patient, male, 4 and a half years old, complained of Tourette’s Syndrome in Western medicine, which was manifested as: blinking, clearing throat, grinning, humming, and occasionally uttering obscene words involuntarily. The condition alternates among these manifestations. The onset of the disease mainly started from the isolation of MIQ, and it has been more than three months. The patient had seen two TCM doctors before, and both times he felt immediate effects after taking the medicine, but it will be ineffective if taken longer. Have taken Xiao Chai Hu Tang, Xiaoyao Pills and so on. Other symptoms include short-tempered, talkative, worrying, sweating a lot, picky eaters, stools alternatively loose and dry, slightly yellow urine, difficulty falling asleep, and fear of light. The boy complained of stomach pain every day. The skin on the hands looked dirty. The complexion is greyish-yellow and not moist. stuffy nose. The tongue is thin and moist, the front of the tongue has Qi-stagnated points, and the root of the tongue is thick with red spots. The pulse is floating, taut and thin, and weak when pressing down. His situation is diagnosed as the spleen-earth deficiency with no ability to nourish liver-wood, plus an unreleased exterior. After a period of treatment with traditional Chinese medicine, the symptoms are significantly relieved. During the treatment, the child got a cold, which is an important opportunity to release the exterior with the body’s own power.  After the cold is carefully treated and cured, the kid’s Tourette’s symptoms basically disappear, and the patient did not do further treatment. During the monitor for about 3 months, his condition was stable, only blinking once or twice very occasionally.

Here are a few things to discuss in this case:

First, why did the medicine prescribed by the previous doctors work well at first, but then it stopped working? We generally understand tics as a manifestation of the internal movement of the liver wind or start from the Shaoyang meridian according to the Six-Jing(meridian) differentiation in TCM. However, we should consider the fact that children often have excess liver and insufficient spleen. If the spleen is insufficient, the liver-wood will not be able to be well-nourished by spleen-earth. It’s like a small sapling planted on soft soil that cannot stop moving when the wind blows. Therefore, cultivating the spleen-earth is one of the key factors in the treatment. Can’t simply interpret impatience as liver excess and use Xiao Chai Hu Tang.

Second, why has a cold such an important opportunity for treatment? After his spleen is supplemented and liver energy is balanced, his body needs an opportunity to release the exterior. A cold often has the effect of triggering the reset of the entire Taiyang meridian system. Therefore, on the basis of the original treatment, when the patient got cold, we immediately did the proper treatment and achieved a good result. This is also the reason why I have repeatedly emphasised that the treatment of many complicated diseases should pay attention to the opportunity of a cold release.