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Dermatology
Dermatology in TCM
Clinics
Overview
Modern medicine uses drugs and repeated external therapies to suppress skin problems. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) goes to the root of the problem and cures without future relapses. In the TCM approach, pathological factors are represented by earthly elements. An excess amount of an element can result in unique characteristics of a disease.
Fire: too much fire in the body can result in heat-related skin conditions, like hormonal acne and shingles, characterized by the appearance of redness, burning or heat sensation. Symptoms worsen with alcohol, anger, stress, spicy food, and hot weather.
Wind: too much wind is characterized by quick onset, movement of symptoms to different areas of the body, itchiness, and sometimes the development of an aversion to wind. One example is hives.
Dampness: too much dampness can result in conditions like eczema, characterized by oozing or weeping conditions or feeling heaviness of the body. Dampness can be internally generated, and worsens by eating rich, oily or dairy foods.
Dryness: too much dryness is characterized by scaly, itchy skin that worsens in dry, winter or autumn weather. One example is psoriasis.
Coldness: a lack of fire is characterized by open sores, purplish color, wet discharge and slow healing, usually a chronic condition. One example is hives caused by cold weather.
Common Treatable Conditions:
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Acne
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Alopecia
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Eczema
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Psoriasis
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Vitlligo
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Hives
Acne
Acne is commonly a sign of pathogenic heat in the lungs and intestines. The Chinese approach to treating acne is to cool the heat, cleanse the lungs, and detoxify the intestines, which will externally heal the condition.
Eczema
Eczema is a subtype of dermatitis, but the two terms are often used interchangeably. In TCM, skin and lungs belong together, because the skin is like an outer lung with pores that breathe and exchange substance with the outside world. The strong correlation of eczema accompanied by respiratory ailments confirms the connection.
Eczema also occurs more in children. A child’s digestive system is immature, and the spleen is another major pathological factor for eczema.
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can improve the spleen function and lung function, clean the pathological factors from the body and cure the disease.
Psoriasis
Psoriasis is an auto-immune disorder of the skin. In TCM, there are both internal factors and external factors that cause psoriasis. Change of emotions is the main internal factor, and external factors include wind, coldness, heat, fire, dampness, and dryness from the earthly element.
Based on different colors of skin lesions, forms, syndromes, tongue picture, and pulse condition, we can diagnose one of three causes for psoriasis: too much heat in the blood (Xue Re), lack of fluidity in the blood (Xue Gan) and blood stasis (Xue Yu).
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine in turn cure these root causes by removing heat and cooling the blood, enriching the blood and moistening dryness, and promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis.
Friendly Reminder:
It is very important to maintain a healthy lifestyle to reduce the relapse of psoriasis.
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No alcohol, no smoking, no seafood, no spicy food, more fresh fruits and vegetables
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Reduce stress, get more rest
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Keep room clean, dry, and well ventilated
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Gently clean the skin, and do not peel lesions
Success Story
A twenty-seven-year-old male patient suffered from psoriasis for three years. Symptoms worsened during cold seasons. The patient reported to have a dry mouth and bad sleep, also urine was dark yellow. Severe lesions were found on knees and joints, see the before photo below. Treatments were focused on dispersing excess dampness and heat in the body, as well as strengthening kidney functions. One week later, the patient no longer had a dry mouth and reported urine was lighter in color. After three months, most symptoms for psoriasis went away. Skin was healed.