Pediatric emaciation with diarrhea belongs to the categories of diarrhea and chancre (characterized by a large abdomen and a thin, yellow face) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which are treated with prescriptions and medicines based on different evidence.
Pediatric emaciation is mostly caused by improper feeding or post-disease disorders, resulting in deficiency of the spleen and stomach, and loss of healthy transportation and digestion. Clinical symptoms include emaciation, lack of spirit, abnormal diet, and irregular bowel movements (abnormal stools). In addition, no matter external evil or internal injury to milk and food can affect the digestive function of the spleen and stomach and lead to diarrhea.
If the child has lost weight, and if it belongs to the syndrome of internal accumulation of milk and food, it can be seen as abdominal distension and nausea (no appetite, less food), or vomiting and sour rot, and loose stools (unformed stools), it can take Citrus Aurantium Pill with additions and subtractions. If it belongs to the evidence of weakness of the spleen and stomach, with yellow face and thin body, fatigue (lack of spirit) and tiredness, loose stools or milk and food residue, it can be used to add or subtract Fertilizer Pill.
If the diarrhea of children is obvious, if it belongs to damp-heat diarrhea, use Pueraria lobata and Huang Huanglian Tang, for patients with watery stools, or like eggdrop soup, diarrhea and other diseases. If it is wind-cold diarrhea, use Huo Xiang Zheng Qi San to relieve the patient’s symptoms such as loose stools, foam, and not much odor.
For diarrhea caused by injured food, Baohe Pill is used to treat patients with loose stools with milk clots or food residue. If the patient has spleen deficiency diarrhea, Ginseng Lingbai Zhu San is used to strengthen the spleen and vital energy, and help transportation to stop diarrhea, targeting the symptoms of loose stools with pale color and no odor. The adverse effects of the above formula are not known.
Wasting and diarrhea in children should be taken seriously, and early treatment is recommended if there is any discomfort. Acupuncture and tuina can also be used as prescribed by the doctor.