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Abstract: The patient, a 72-year-old female, was diagnosed as having dry mouth syndrome in a foreign hospital, and was treated with leflunomide tablets and white peony total glycoside capsules with poor results. Combining with the patient’s examination results, medication history and personal wishes, the patient was given Chinese herbal medicine treatment, and her dry mouth symptoms improved significantly and her quality of life improved significantly.
Basic information】Female, 72 years old
Type of disease】Dry mouth syndrome, dry mouth syndrome
Hospital】Wangjing Hospital, Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Consultation time】December 2021
Treatment plan】Chinese herbal medicine treatment (Sheng Di Huang, Dendrobium, Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum, Mudan Pi, Tian Dong, Chuan Niu Knee, Dou Wu)
Treatment Period】3 months of outpatient treatment
Effect】Significant improvement of dry mouth and physical condition
I. Initial consultation
At the time of consultation, the patient complained that he had symptoms of dry mouth and the need to drink water when eating dry food without any obvious cause since one year ago, but he did not pay attention to them at that time. The patient was treated with Leflunomide tablets and Paeoniflorin capsules as prescribed by the doctor, but the effect was not good, and he had palpitations from time to time and occasionally felt pain in both knees, so he came to our hospital for consultation. The results of autoantibody test showed that ANA1:320 and anti-SS-A antibody (+). Combined with the symptoms and test results, the diagnosis was “dry syndrome and dry mouth syndrome”.
II. Treatment process
Since the patient had been taking western medicine for a long time with poor effect, which affected his appetite, and he was worried about the gastrointestinal reaction when taking western medicine, he considered to give him Chinese medicine treatment, and the patient agreed. After 2 weeks, the patient’s dry mouth was slightly relieved and the pain in both knee joints was worse than before, so he adjusted the above prescription and added Chinese herbs such as Chuan Niu Knee and Doklam, etc. After 4 weeks, the patient’s condition improved again and requested for Chinese medicine treatment. After 4 weeks, the patient returned to the clinic again, his condition improved and his dry mouth symptoms improved significantly, so he was asked to continue taking the above. The patient continued to take the medicine for 6 weeks and then visited the clinic, and his condition was further relieved.
III. Treatment effect
The patient’s dry mouth symptom was relieved after the Chinese medicine treatment, no dry corner of the mouth symptoms appeared, can eat a little dry food, oral secretion increased, the pain and discomfort of both knee joints were relieved. The patient complained that her appetite improved after her dry mouth symptoms were relieved, her sleep quality improved after her joint pain was relieved, her mental state also improved, and her outdoor activities increased compared with before. In conclusion, the treatment effect is remarkable and the disease has been well transferred through the evidence-based treatment of traditional Chinese medicine.
IV. Notes
We are glad that the patient’s symptoms have improved after the herbal treatment. Patients should pay attention to oral hygiene, drink a small amount of water several times to keep the mouth moist, avoid eating dry and hard food, do not eat spicy and stimulating food, quit smoking and limit alcohol to reduce the factors that cause dry mouth. At the same time, pay attention to mental regulation, avoid impatience and anger, ensure sufficient sleep, avoid overwork, moderate exercise if the condition is stable, take medication on time, do not arbitrarily reduce or stop the medication, and follow up with the hospital in a timely manner if the condition is unstable.
V. Personal insight
Patients with dry mouth disease have a long course of disease, if the effect of western medicine treatment is not good, they can be treated by Chinese medicine, and given optimal treatment plan, combined with Chinese and Western medicine, and given guidance on psychological and daily life, most patients can have their dry mouth and eye symptoms relieved and can work and live normally. For some serious patients, most of them can get control of their disease through TCM treatment. For example, in this case, after the patient visited an outside hospital, he found that the effect of western medicine treatment was not good, so he chose Chinese medicine to treat his symptoms, and the treatment effect was equally good.