How Do You Treat Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo in Your Practice?

Abstract

The majority of patients with vertigo have a history of treatment with other professionals, such as neurologists and otorhinolaryngologists, and have unsucessful laboratory examinations. The major cause of vertigo in our experience, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is Deficiency of Kidney, Retention of Heat in the Gallbladder, and Deficiency of Blood. The major causes that induce the energy imbalance are emotional disturbances and improper dietary practices (Table 1).

Table 1.

Foods to Avoid when Energy is Imbalanced

Type of energy imbalance	Signs and symptoms	Emotional disturbances	Avoid
Deficiency of Kidney	Hot flashes &/or sweating at night (Yin Deficiency), feeling cold (Yang Deficiency)	Fear	Coffee, black tea, & soda
Retention of Heat in the Gallbladder	Dry mouth, bitter taste in mouth, vertigo, headache	Fear; insecurity	Dairy products, melted cheese, fried food, chocolate, eggs, honey, alcohol, & coconuts
Deficiency of Blood	Constipation	Excessive worry	Raw foods, cold drinks, & dairy products

Medical Acupuncture is pleased to continue this regular feature, Clinical Pearls, which we have found to be very useful for, and practical to, the readership, and very popular. All of us are confronted with clinical challenges, especially when dealing with therapeutic strategies. We hope this ongoing collection of Clinical Pearls will be easily accessible and ready to put into action for the benefit of our patients, and even ourselves. How often do we ask our colleagues: “How do you treat…?” This time, we posed the question: “How do you treat benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in your practice?” Herein lie your contributions. We trust that our readership will continue to participate in this section by either asking the questions or supplying the “Pearls.” If you have a “question” you would like to see answered, please send it to our interim managing editor, Julia Chapman, at: jchapman@liebertpub.com We encourage and welcome your input and participation. Please address your answers to “Pearls” to our managing editor, at: acu.editorial@gmail.com

Treatment for these imbalances includes: (1) Avoidance of foods that cause the imbalances (Table 1) and (2) auricular acupuncture, with mustard seeds. Points used include: Kidney; Liver; Gallbladder; Occipital; point for internal ear area; Spleen; Diaphragm; Lung; and Large Intestine. The frequency for this treatment is once or twice per week. The patient is instructed to press the points a minimum of three times per day day, for one minute each time.

For bleeding the top of the ear, when there is some Heat, with gloves on our hands, we clean the whole ear area with cotton and alcohol. Then, folding the ear to find the highest point, we use a small needle to prick it after massaging it from the lobe to the top. Before and after the massage, I take out 5–10 drops of blood from the ear.