Patient: Female, Age 82
Date: 26th December 2022, First Visit
Main Concern: Fatigue and panting for past few days.
First visit on 26-12-2022：
A 82 year old lady staggered to her feet approaching our consultation room, accompanying by her son this morning. After she sat on the chair, her son went off and waited outside the room.
As observed, the patient’s face looked pale and yellowish, some sort like an anaemia patient.She looked like miserable; people around could easily feel her loneliness and depression.
She started telling us: “Hi TCM practitioner, I am old nowadays. I am useless. My legs are lack of strength. I cannot walk properly like last time.”
Listening her elaborations made me feel great sadness.
Her appetite is still fine, with mouth bitterness for past two days.
Last Monday she started to feel her body weakening, sound like catching flu. After taken some medicines, she feels much better. She has been feeling fatigue and panting for the past few days, sometimes feels that she is going to sway and fell down. When we do tongue diagnosis, she hardly stuck out her tongue and she could feel the tension of throat muscles. For past a year, she felt the hoarseness when she voiced out. She has nose block and insomnia problem. She has a frequent urination in the midnight, about two hours once. Her bowel movement is smooth.
In the end of June 2022, she had been admitted to the hospital due to high fever.
Her tongue diagnosis shows red with light coating on top of the tongue. The edge of the tongue at sideway slightly swollen, and we observed thickening blood clot underneath the tongue.
Pulse Diagnosis:
(right pulse) energetic and floating
(left pulse) floating but tiny.
I prescribed medicine for the patient. When she was ready to leave the room, her face was much more relaxed and relieved. I guessed, she had been alone for a very long time without a listener, today, she manages to speak out, and so she feels comfortable.
Second visit on 29-12-2022:
Main concern:
Today, the patient said that her legs were having discomfort in the midnight, after waking up the next day she needed some mild hitting to make her legs feel good. She still panted like last time. She tends to sleep in the daytime. Yesterday she dared not take the shower due to the cold water. She felt chest pain but today the chest pain alleviated. The tension of throat muscles and sore throat reduced. She felt reluctant to move the body. She has a bit of bitterness mouth. Today, she can easily stick out her tongue.
She felt heaty in the eyes, heavy head and wanting to lie down on the bed.
She has swollen ankle at night.
She has smooth bowel movement.
Base on the description, her symptoms of flu have not been recovering. She still feels cold. However, the good point is the discomfort from throat to chest has been slowly mitigating.
Third visit on 05-01-2023：
Main concern:
Today her main issue is still related to panting, dryness in the mouth and throat, dry cough and little phlegm.
Her legs lack of strength, slight chest pain, a little bitterness in mouth.
Today she could sticking out the tongue easily compare to last time.
She felt heaty in the eyes, heavy head and wanting to lie down on the bed.
She has swollen ankle at night.
She has smooth bowel movement.
bp=144/80 p=72
Patient feels that her flu still exist and started to cough. We prescribed herbal medicine to strengthen her lung.
Fourth visit on 12-01-2023:
Main concern:
Yesterday the patient feel the back muscle ache.
Today some dizziness and her legs still lack of strengths.
Her panting problem still persisting. Her throat itchiness and dryness have been reducing.
She does not feel mouth bitterness now.
Today she could sticking out the tongue easily compare to last time.
She has swollen ankle at night.
She has smooth bowel movement.
bp=142/83 p=81
Her body is recovering gradually.
Fifth visit on19-01-2023：
Main concern:
After the oral prescription, she feels her legs were strengthening. The issue on the throat and tongue have been gotten rid. Today she only feels some chest pain.
Her panting problem still persisting. Her throat itchiness and dryness have been reducing.
She does not feel mouth bitterness now.
Today she could sticking out the tongue easily compare to last time.
She felt heaty in the eyes, heavy head and wanting to lie down on the bed.
She has swollen ankle at night.
She has smooth bowel movement.
bp=148/81 p=78
Today her daughter come back from overseas and brings her to the clinic for consultation, so she looks graceful. She comes with a smiling face and seems like all the issues are recovering gradually.
Sixth Visit on 27-01-2023：
Main concern:
Today is the first working day after Chinese New Year; she feels everything is in order and getting better. Her daughter still accompanies her for this visit.
She still feels chest pain but the number of occurrence has reduced. Now her legs are strengthening and she can walk firm than last time. Many issues are slowly rectified.
Her panting problem still persisting. Her throat itchiness and dryness have been reducing.
She does not feel mouth bitterness now.
Today she could sticking out the tongue easily compare to last time.
She felt heaty in the eyes, heavy head and wanting to lie down on the bed.
She has swollen ankle at night.
She has smooth bowel movement.
During last week which is Chinese New Year, the patient went back hometown with her children. Her wish was fulfilled and she feels contentment. She told me earnestly that: “I met my siblings, my relatives, my grandchildren and many other people. We had a great reunion. I managed to serve all of them without any body ache. I am so happy about myself！ They are total of 90 over people in my hometown.” I was rather astonished with my amazing expression: “Wow! You manage to serve total of 90 over people without any body ache, so marvellous!”
Analysis of the study case:
Patient’s children hardly accompany her as her son is busy with work and her daughter stays overseas. She feels lonely and sad. I remember clearly this 82 year patient wobbling when she first stepping into the consultation room. Her face looks depressed, a bit pale and yellowish which indicating an anaemia issue. Her expression impressed me. From the start of consultation, she tells everything including flu and all aches for the whole body. Gradually, she started to share her past experiences and stories, she felt relaxed and relieved after the conversation. By taking the herbal medicine, we observed improvement for her body. For the last two visit, when she brought by her daughter, she looked charming and smiling face. I was much comforted when she told that she has no body ache anymore when she managed to serve over 90 relatives in her hometown.
From this case study, it reveals the inner side of most elderly folks. Sometimes, when they fall sick, part of the reason is due to the body aches, and another part is due to mental problem like loneliness. They hope their children to stay by them and listen to their stories, this is a satisfaction for them. Sometimes a greeting and sincere regards will make them feel much contentment.
Tips to help relieve the suffering old folks:
Accompany and listen to them
If family members and relatives spend time to accompany and listen to old folks, they will help to alleviate the emotional feelings of old folks like loneliness. Nowadays, the old folks in the city spending most of the day time alone at home. If someone is willing to listen to them, they feels relieved, the body aches will get rid of as well.
Sunbath
Infrared from the sun will make vasodilation, the mechanism to enhance blood flow to areas of the body that are lacking oxygen and nutrients. It gives warmth to the body and manufacture Vitamin D to enhance the absorption of calcium to strengthen the bone.
Make new friends
The researchers thought that people with more friends might have higher activity of endorphins, molecules released in the brain that regulate pain and makes us feel good. Hence, maintain a good friendship enrich our life and improve our health.
Do more singing
Singing also helps with blood circulation due to greater amount of oxygen needed to project one’s voice. Singing is also great for lung health. Besides, singing stimulates the immune response, enhances memory in people with dementia, helps with grief and relieves stress, strengthen the heart blood circulation etc.
Regular exercise
Exercise controls weight, prevent sickness, improves mood, boosts energy and promotes better sleep.
For old folks, if some of them encountered leg pain and could not walk properly, they could choose to stroll around at own pace.
此文章还有以下语言版本：
简体中文 (Chinese (Simplified)) 
Melayu (Malay)
