Kampo treatments for vertigo/dizziness

Abstract

The treatment tools for vertigo/dizziness are positioning maneuvers, medication, rehabilita-tion, intermittent pressure therapy, and surgery. Although many drugs are used, Kampo formulations are sometimes effective in the treatment of patients with vertigo/dizziness who are re-sistant to usual treatments or have comorbid psychiatric conditions. In Kampo medicine, the condition of a patient is evaluated based on the concept of yin-yang, deficiency-excess, cold-heat, exterior-interior, qi-blood-water, five viscera and location of the disease, which are difficult to understand and utilize for an otolaryngologist. In this report, we introduce some cases that were effectively treated with Kampo formulations based on the concept of deficiency-excess, and qi-blood-water and concomitant symptoms. While Kampo formulations are thought to be an effective tool, they should be used cautiously, because some cases of severe complications such as interstitial pneumonia and mesenteric phlebosclerosis have been reported.