Xiao Chai Hu Tang plus flavor for pediatric constipation

  In today’s society, the number of only children has increased, and several elderly people at home surround a child, fearing that the child is malnourished, often consuming a high protein diet, but parents still feel that the child does not eat well, so the clinical clinic often see children who come to the clinic because of constipation.  These children, generally well-developed, often have stools that are difficult to solve, time-consuming and laborious, and occasionally lead to anal fissures with fresh blood on the surface of the stool, because the child is a child’s Yin and Yang body, conventional rhubarb, senna and other bitter cold laxatives parents dare not use, when helpless to use open plug, or seek treatment from Chinese medicine.  The author believes that most of these patients are liver and spleen deficient, impatient, and even like to hit and bite people, move and sweat a lot, and often have hot palms, and at first they can eat, but after constipation, their appetite decreases, and after the decrease in appetite, parents are afraid of nutritional deficiencies, and increase the high protein diet, so the vicious cycle, the disease is difficult to solve, and the diet multiplies, which hurts the spleen and stomach, and over time leads to weakness of the spleen and stomach, and even to chancre. The author often uses Xiao Chai Hu Tang with added flavor to treat this condition and often obtains good results.  The treatment of constipation with Xiao Chai Hu Tang is inspired by the provisions of Xiao Chai Hu Tang in the Jin Kui Yao. In the Jin Kui Yao – Women’s Postpartum Diseases Pulse Evidence Treatment XXI, it is recorded that “the maternal depression, the pulse is weak, can not eat, the stool is firm, but the head sweats, so it is because the blood is deficient and syncope, syncope and will be adventurous. If the patient wants to be relieved, he must sweat a lot. The head sweats because the blood is deficient and the lower syncope, the lonely yang up out, so the head sweats. So the maternal happy sweating, the death of Yin blood deficiency, Yang alone, so when sweating, Yin and Yang is restored. The stool is firm, vomiting can not eat, Xiao Chai Hu Tang is the main.”  In the original text, this formula treats constipation in women with blood loss and sweating after childbirth and loss of fluid, while children with constipation often sweat more and move more due to excessive intake of high protein, resulting in excess calories, and sweating more leads to death of fluid and dryness of the stomach, so the stool is difficult to resolve, and can also be treated with Xiao Chai Hu Tang.  Case 1: Xiong, male, 3 years old, visited the clinic on April 17, 2015, his mother reported that the child had recently increased his appetite, and then had dry stools, such as sheep stool, once every two days, no abdominal pain, bloating and vomiting, normal urine, dry nasal cavity, occasional nasal bleeding, normal tongue coating, and sunken pulse.  Herbs: Chai Hu 10g, Bei Sha Shen 10g, Scutellaria 3g, Shui Han Xia 6g, Roasted Licorice 3g, Honey Jujube 30g, Ginger 1 piece, Whole Gua Piper 10g, Citrus aurantium 10g, White Peony 10g, Radix Platycodon 6g. 5 doses.  The night after taking the medicine, the stool was smooth and formed, and then continued to take five doses of stool is no longer dry, he was told to control the intake of high protein, diet with meat and vegetables.  Case 2: Lu, male, 1 year and 6 months old, was seen on October 5, 2015. The parents reported that the child had dry stools for a long time, with stools like sheep stool, irritability, sweating and no thirst, normal urine, red tongue with thin white coating and floating purple fingerprints.  Her formula: Chai Hu 10g, Scutellaria baicalensis 6g, Radix Panax notoginseng 10g, Radix Codonopsis pilosulae 6g, Citrus aurantium 10g, Radix Paeonia lactiflora 10g, Glycyrrhiza glabra 3g, Jujube 6g, Ginger 1 tablet. 3 doses.  The bowel movement was smooth after the return visit and normal after stopping the medicine, and was advised to stop the medicine for observation, followed by health promotion.