We implemented a questionnaire survey targeting mothers who are in child care and had participated in consultations regarding drugs and diseases. We examined the future roles of community pharmacists by exploring the mothers’ concerns and, anxieties about child cares and their backgrounds, and their expectations for profession of community pharmacist. Mothers have listed anxiety and concerns of child care about “dermatitis such as rash and atopic eczema”; “food allergies”; “infectious diseases such as measles, chicken pox, and mumps”; and “side effects of vaccination”. In addition, most of them indicated their own concerns and anxiety about “solutions to children’s illnesses.” Despite their anxieties and concerns, however, approximately 60% of the mothers have never consulted with community pharmacists. Among them, approximately a half of them indicated the following three reasons why they have never consulted with pharmacists: “I have nothing to talk about,”, “I do not know what I should talk about,”, and “I was not sure if it was alright to talk about my concerns.”. From these results, we concluded that community pharmacists in the future should improve their communication skills and inform their availability to consult about medicine and disease to local residents.

We report four cases of anxiety disorder where psychiatric symptoms were effectively treated with combination therapy utilizing keishikaryukotsuboreito and kanbakutaisoto, which are two herbal formulas. The patients had common symptoms and experienced episodes leading to emotional stress. Moreover, in all four cases aggravation of psychiatric symptoms due to emotional stress, re-experience and memory retrieval were commonly observed. Additional treatment with kanbakutaisoto was effective for such aggravation. On the objective assessment, rapid pulse, deficient pulse, weak abdominal strength and brisk pulsation in the supraumbilical region were present. Yawning was not necessarily present. There are many patients with anxiety disorder or mental disorder associated with emotional stress, and Kampo treatment is often considered to be effective for these cases. However, a single administration of Kampo extract formulae does not often provide adequate results. When a single Kampo administration is ineffective, the combination of keishikaryukotsuboreito and kanbakutaisoto may be useful.