Rucklidge J J, Saunders D
Psychiatry Research Unit, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Psychosom Med. 1999 May-Jun;61(3):355-8. doi: 10.1097/00006842-199905000-00015.
This article presents the results of a brief hypnosis treatment of a woman with chronic, idiopathic vaginal and anal itch.
The patient was referred after 3 years of unsuccessful outcomes with standard topical and oral treatments prescribed by her family physician and three dermatologists. Treatment consisted of five sessions of self-hypnosis training in techniques of relaxation, deepening, and imagery, and home practice with an individualized instructional tape.
After treatment, the patient reported substantial tissue healing, confirmed by her treating physician, that coincided with significant reductions in her scores of itch intensity, itch-related sleep disruption, and distress from pre- to posttreatment. These improvements continued at 4 months of follow-up, and the patient reported complete resolution of physical symptoms.
The fact that these changes coincided with only minor improvements in general anxiety scores suggests that the resolution of the patient's itch condition was treatment-specific rather than the result of methodological artifact, participant reporting bias, or a general sense of feeling better. These findings suggest that hypnosis is a cost-effective treatment for idiopathic itch conditions, especially those that are unresponsive to standard medical treatments.
本文介绍了对一名患有慢性特发性阴道和肛门瘙痒症的女性进行简短催眠治疗的结果。
该患者在其家庭医生和三位皮肤科医生开具的标准局部和口服治疗均未取得成功的三年后前来就诊。治疗包括五次自我催眠训练，内容涉及放松、深化和意象技巧，以及使用个性化指导录音带进行家庭练习。
治疗后，患者报告组织有显著愈合，经其治疗医生确认，这与治疗前后她的瘙痒强度评分、与瘙痒相关的睡眠干扰以及痛苦程度的显著降低相吻合。这些改善在随访4个月时持续存在，患者报告身体症状完全缓解。
这些变化仅与一般焦虑评分的轻微改善同时出现，这一事实表明患者瘙痒状况的缓解是特定于治疗的，而非方法假象、参与者报告偏差或总体感觉好转的结果。这些发现表明，催眠是治疗特发性瘙痒症的一种经济有效的方法，尤其是那些对标准医学治疗无反应的瘙痒症。
