Clinical Course of Three Cases of Cold Hypersensitivity in the Hands and Feet During Combined Magnetic Thermal Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine: A Retrospective Case Report

Objectives: This retrospective case report describes the clinical course of three patients with cold hypersensitivity of the hands and feet (CHHF) during combined magnetic thermal acupuncture and individualized herbal medicine.Methods: Three female patients treated at a Korean medicine clinic between March 2022 and December 2024 were included if they reported persistent or recurrent cold sensation mainly in the hands and feet under ordinary temperature conditions and had Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and digital infrared thermographic imaging (DITI) records. Secondary causes, including Raynaud phenomenon, endocrine disease, and systemic vascular disease, were assessed based only on medical history and clinical findings history and clinical findings. Laboratory tests, autoantibody tests, thyroid function tests, vascular examinations, cold provocation tests, and nailfold capillaroscopy were not performed. Magnetic thermal acupuncture was applied to acupoints on the hands, feet, and abdomen three times weekly. Sayeok-san or Hyangsayangwi-tang was prescribed according to pattern identification for four weeks.Results: NRS scores changed from 7 to 2, 8 to 1, and 7 to 3 in Cases 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Relative pre-post changes in DITI-measured skin surface temperature were recorded. Trunk temperature changes were regarded as supplementary observations because the trunk regions included areas receiving direct thermal stimulation. Accompanying symptom changes were reviewed only as medical-record observations because they were not assessed using standardized instruments.Conclusions: During the combined intervention period, subjective cold sensation and DITI-measured skin surface temperature changes were recorded. These findings cannot be attributed to any specific treatment component and should not be interpreted as evidence of treatment efficacy, peripheral blood flow improvement, or physiological improvement. Controlled studies are needed.