Five Female Cases of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Diarrhea after Taking Cold Food and Drink Under Stressful Conditions Successfully Treated with Ireito-Based Kampo Prescriptions / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

We report five female patients (range 33-54 years) with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) that were successfully treated with ireito-­based prescriptions. Showing yin deficiency and weak constitution, they maintained a good state of bowel movement with warming and invigorating prescriptions. However, when it became hot around March to June and these patients encountered stressful conditions, they became thirsty and tended to take a lot of cold food and drink. Then, they developed diarrhea, epigastric and/or abdominal fullness, anxiety and depressive feeling, which are regarded as due to qi stagnation. Stuck sensations in pit of stomach by abdominal examination were reported in all cases. Their symptoms were derived from water retention and qi stagnation, and therefore, we prescribed ireito for one patient, ireito with keishikashakuyakuto or kenchutobased prescriptions (ogikenchuto or shokenchuto) for 3 patients, and ireito with keishibukuryogan for one patient. Ireito is composed of heiisan and goreisan. The Chinese herbs Magnolia Bark and Citrus Unshiu Peel in heiisan not only help the digestive system, but also improve qi stagnation. These results suggest that ireito,containing Peony Root, is effective for patients with IBS, who show stuck sensations in the pit of stomach and suffer from diarrhea with abdominal pain after taking cold food and drink under stressful conditions.