Chinese Medicine for Dizziness

Chinese Medicine has different disease categories and disease names than Western Medicine, and dizziness is recognized as a disease (rather than a symptom). The word for dizziness is xuan yun, with xuan literally meaning "blurred vision," and yun meaning "dizziness." Dizziness may also be referred to as "muzziness" or "fuzziness" with a feeling of heaviness in the head and a lack of mental concentration. Symptoms may include slight dizziness upon standing too quickly, or a more severe sensation of vertigo in which the room seems to be spinning and the patient loses his/her balance. In order to treat the Western disease of hypertension, a Doctor of Chinese Medicine may take into account headache pattern diagnosis as well as dizziness pattern diagnosis.

There are many different "pattern diagnoses" associated with dizziness, and each pattern diagnosis requires a different treatment, whether herbs or acupuncture (or both) are utilized. The patterns associated with dizziness are termed Liver Yang Rising, Liver Fire Rising, Liver Wind Rising, Turbid Phlegm in the Head, Qi and Blood Vacuity, and Kidney Deficiency. It is important to determine which pattern is the underlying factor causing the disease in order to effectively treat the condition with herbal therapy.

Liver Yang Rising is a term that refers to the phenomenon of the Yang energy of the Liver ascending upwards too much, and it often occurs in those with a "Type A" personality. The symptoms include severe dizziness, ear ringing, red face, irritability and angry outbursts, and an accompanying headache. The sides of the tongue may be an unusual bright red color, and the pulse is likely to feel like a strong wire. Liver Fire Rising is similar, except there will be intense thirst, a bitter taste in the mouth, dark-colored urine, and dry bowel movements or constipation. The tongue might have a dry, yellowish coating, and the pulse will be fast and very "full" on palpation. With Liver Wind Rising, the dizziness is more severe, with loss of balance and tremors (as is often seen in patients with Parkinson's).

Symptoms of Turbid Phlegm in the Head causing dizziness are made apparent by a feeling of heaviness in the head, difficulty concentrating, feeling groggy in the mornings (or having to press the snooze alarm several times before getting up in the mornings), and a feeling of oppression in the chest. There may be nausea, lack of a true hunger sensation, and a sticky taste in the mouth. A Doctor of Chinese Medicine may notice that the patient has a swollen tongue with a turbid and sticky coating, and that the pulse feels oily/slippery on palpation. In this condition, a healthy amount of Yang energy (often referred to as clear yang) cannot rise to the head because there is turbid Phlegm obstructing it. This does not mean that the patient inherently has chronic sinus infections or allergies. In the case of what is called "insubstantial phlegm," there can be Phlegm present without it being inherently obvious to the layperson. The symptoms, combined with the tongue and pulse diagnosis, effectively confirm this condition. Treatrment usually involves strengthening the digestive system.

Manifestations of Qi and Blood Vacuity are mild dizziness (usually due to standing up too quickly), pale face, tiredness, poor memory, difficulty sleeping, heart palpitations (fluttering), depressed mood, and an erratic appetite. This pattern is often associated with either postural hypotension or anemia in Western Medicine. Treatment includes herbs which help the body to produce more white and red blood cells.

The final pattern diagnosis is Kidney Deficiency, which does not mean that the patient has renal problems. This is a Chinese Medicine term, and it is not synonymous with Western Medicine terms. Symptoms include chronic dizziness with an empty feeling in the head, ear ringing, depressed mood, poor memory, exhaustion or malaise, waking frequently at night, an achy or sore back, and possible knee problems. The tongue may appear pale or red and peeled, while the pulse feels empty like a deflated balloon.