A 16-year-old boy began running to the bathroom more than a dozen times a day—suddenly, inexplicably, and relentlessly. His family feared a serious urinary disorder. Yet every medical test came back normal: urine analysis, kidney function panels, even ultrasound scans showed nothing wrong.
The mystery deepened—until one overlooked factor emerged: fear.
The boy was a patient examined by Grace Zhang, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner and acupuncturist at New York’s Northern Medical Center. At first glance, the teen appeared pale and slightly tense. During pulse diagnosis—a standard TCM assessment—Zhang placed three fingers on his wrist, evaluating different functional systems of the body.
The pulse under her ring finger, in TCM—associated with kidney function—felt short, rapid, slippery, and forceful. This pattern often indicates emotional shock disturbing kidney energy.
When Zhang asked about recent stressors, the boy recalled a specific incident: a deafening, unexpected noise that had frightened him badly. His heart raced, his body froze—and soon after, the frequent urination began.
Following a short course of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, Kevin’s symptoms resolved completely.
Zhang described the case as a textbook example of “fear affecting the kidneys,” a concept in TCM that links emotional shock with urinary and nervous-system disturbances.
