Poor memory involves the reduction or loss of memory.
Differential diagnosis: Patients with spleen deficiency may suffer from mental fatigue, poor appetite, poor memory, pale tongue with white coating, and thready and weak pulse. Patients with kidney Yin deficiency may suffer from hotness in palms and soles, tidal fever in the afternoon, spontaneous sweating during sleep, red tongue, and thready and rapid pulse. Patients with Yang deficiency may suffer from aversion to cold, cold waist and knees, pale tongue with white and greasy coating, and deep and thready pulse. And patients with overfatigue of brain may suffer from mental trance, poor memory, general fatigue, insomnia, poor appetite, improvement of symptoms after rest, pale tongue with thin and white coating, and deep and thready
pulse.
Treatment:
Foot massage: The massage is applied to head (1), brain stem and cerebellum (3), thyroid gland (12), adrenal gland (21 ), pituitary gland (4), spleen (34), kidney (22) and heart (33) reflecting areas (Fig. 65).
Foot acupuncture:
Meridianal acupoints: At Kunlun (BL60), Pucan (BL61), Taixi (KI3), Taibai (SP3), Shangqiu (SP 5) and Rangu (KI 2) acupoints, a reinforcing technique is applied and the needles are retained for 20 minutes.
Moxibustion after acupuncture may be applied to patients with spleen and Yang deficiency and mental fatigue.
External application of drug: An adequate amount of Suanzaoren (spiny jujube seeds) is pounded to prepare a paste for application over heart (33) reflecting area and affixed by a piece of adhesive plaster.