小兒慢性便秘之中醫藥治療驗案

A Case Report of Chronic Constipation in Children treated with Chinese medicine

小兒便秘是兒科門診常見問題，西醫治療小兒便秘一般多使用緩瀉劑或浣腸劑灌腸，長期使用容易衍生依賴性。本例為1歲3個月男童，自6個月大轉換副食品後即出現便秘症狀。患兒因用力解便，導致肛裂出血，之後每至排便時即因疼痛與恐懼而哭鬧，且因解便不暢進而影響進食，需多次使用軟便劑及浣腸劑，但仍數次因便秘腹痛急診，因而尋求中醫治療。經辨證為少陽陽明鬱熱，大腸津虧便秘，處方大柴胡湯合甘露飲加減。配合調整飲食餵養，服用中藥1週後，患兒便秘獲得顯著改善。連續調理5週，電訪追蹤，便祕未再復發。傳統中醫藥治療小兒便秘安全有效，少副作用，是一個值得信賴的治法。

Constipation in children is a common problem in pediatric outpatient clinics. Modern medicine usually uses laxatives or colonic enemas to treat constipation in children, which can easily lead to dependence over a long time. This is a case of a 1-year-and-3-month-old boy who had suffered from constipation since he was 6 months old when he switched to solid food. Since the stool had been too hard that it resulted in painful anal fissure bleeding, he often defecated with efforts and tears and gradually affect his daily intakes. The child had to rely on the using of stool softeners and colonics, but he had still been taken to an emergency medical department for constipation and abdominal pain several times. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), he was diagnosed as Shao Yang Yang Ming stagnant heat and constipation with deficiency of fluid in the large intestine, and was prescribed Da Chai Hu Tang with Gan Lu Yin. After taking the Chinese medicine for one week, constipation improved significantly. After five weeks of continuous treatment and follow-up telephone visits, the constipation did not recur. Traditional Chinese medicine is safe and effective in treating constipation in children, with few side effects, and is a reliable treatment.