Symptoms:
At initial stage of dysphagia, cases manifesting as difficult swallowing, chest distress and pain. Patients can have only liquid or semiliquid diet, and can't have solid food or vomit immediatelly after having a meal. Then situation become serious gradually. Patients can not have even fluid diet. The cases also manifest as phrenodynia, sallow complexion, constipation like sheep stool. As time passes Yin and Yang exhaust simultaneously. Cases also manifest as short breath, aversion to cold, puffy face and limbs, abdominal distension, loose stool like a thick sauce, cold limbs, indistinct pulse, etc.
Principle of treatment:
Points of Ren Meridian and Foot-Yangming Meridian are selected mainly,with points in Back-shu and Hand-Jueyin as supplementary. Reinforcing method is applied and moxibustion is added.
Prescription:
Tiantu (CV22) (RN22), Danzhong (CV17) Front-Mu Point of the Pericardium (RN17), Zusanli (ST36) He-Sea Point (Zusanli (ST36) He-Sea Point), Neiguan (PC6) Luo-Connecting Point the Eight Confluent Point (Neiguan (PC6) Luo-Connecting Point the Eight Confluent Point), Shangwan (CV13) (RN13), Weishu (BL21) (Weishu (BL21)), Pishu (BL20) (Pishu (BL20)), Geshu (BL17) (Geshu (BL17)).
Modification according to symptoms:
For constipation,Zhaohai (KI6) The Eihgt Confluent Point (Zhaohai (KI6) The Eihgt Confluent Point) is added; for short breath,Qihai (CV6) (RN6) is moxibusted; for cold limbs and indistinct pulse Mingmen (GV4) (DU4), Shenshu (BL23) (Shenshu (BL23)) are moxibusted.
Cautions and precautions:
For cases with esophageal functional disorder such as esophageal inflammation , cardiospasm, etc., curative effect of acupuncture is fairly good. For cases with carcinoma of esophagus and cardiac cancer , acupuncture can remit some
symptoms, such as chest distress and pain, difficult swallowing. For cases with dysphagia, possibility of cancer should be ruled out first, lest opportunity for operative treatment will be missed.
Key Words: dysphagia, acupuncture
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