Infantile diarrhoea

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Textbook Prescriptions Paediatrics

Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture (Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing Colleges of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1980) — the standard prescriptions of the Chinese colleges.

Points

CV12 Zhongwan midline

stomach Front-Mu and influential point of the fu organs; steadies stomach qi
- ⚠ Organ
- Pregnancy: caution
ST25 Tianshu bilateral

Front-Mu of the large intestine; with ST37 regulates the bowel
ST37 Shangjuxu bilateral

Lower He-Sea of the large intestine; with ST25 stops diarrhoea
EX-UE10 Sifeng eight points, both hands

Extra points on the fingers; empirical points for infant indigestion

Needling Safety

Cited hazards for these points. Tick what applies to the patient to see the cautions that follow from it.

CV12 Zhongwan
- ⚠ Organ injury has been reported after needling this point. Wu J, Hu Y, Zhu Y, Yin P, Litscher G, Xu S 2015, Table 4 (Organ injury associated with acupuncture)

No cited needling data yet for EX-UE10. No flag here does not mean no risk.

Treatment Principle

Restore the spleen and stomach, mainly through Stomach channel points, with needles or moxa.

Indications

abdominal distension and rumblingintermittent abdominal pain eased after a bowel movementfrequent foul stools, from several to over ten a day, sometimes with curds of milkfrequent belching and poor appetitesticky tongue coat, deep forceless pulse

Method

Acupuncture or moxibustion with even movement; withdraw the needles without retaining them.

⚠ Cautions

Infants dehydrate quickly: sunken fontanelle, dry mouth, few wet nappies, lethargy, blood in the stool or high fever need urgent medical care and oral or intravenous rehydration. Use sterile technique at Sifeng and keep abdominal needling shallow in infants.

About

The book's prescription for infant diarrhoea from improper feeding or contaminated milk weakening the spleen and stomach, or from exposure to cold.

Rationale

CV12, the stomach's Front-Mu and where the fu organs converge, steadies the stomach. ST25 and ST37, the Front-Mu and lower He-Sea of the large intestine, together steady the bowel and stop the diarrhoea, and Sifeng is the established point for infant indigestion, easing distension and aiding digestion.

Clinical Notes

Add LI4 when cold from outside is the cause.

Sources

Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, et al. Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1980. Chapter III, Infantile Diarrhea, p. 382–383.

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