Skin Disorder and Traditional Chinese Medicine

Your skin is the largest organ in your body. It envelops your body in a waterproof protective covering that will take all kinds of abuse from birth through midlife crisis. As the body’s largest organ, skin is vulnerable to many diseases. Almost everyone experiences some sort of skin disease in his life. Conventional dermatology has made a significant contribution over the years to the health of our skin, but for those skin disorders, which are not responsive to conventional medicine, and for those patients who prefer more natural methods of treatment, the ancient tradition of Chinese medicine provides a safe and effective alternative.

Skin problems arise from a number of causes, the most common of which are infections, overexposure to sunlight, parasites, toxic substances, hormonal imbalance, cell dysfunction, and stress. It is standard procedure in traditional Chinese medicine to assess the patient’s symptoms and then to classify the disease as a particular "pattern," based on whether it is of internal or external origin, shows signs of heat or cold, is an excess or deficiency condition, etc. In Chinese medicine, external pathological factors such as Wind, Dampness, Dryness, or Heat can invade the body and cause skin disorders. Internal imbalances are differentiated into patterns such as heat toxin in the blood, blood stasis, damp-heat, or blood deficiency, and are often reflected on the skin. When skin problems are generated by internal imbalance, the underlying problem must be addressed, in order to clear up the surface manifestation.
 
Acne

Acne is a disorder that can take on various forms, such as blackheads, whiteheads, pustules and cysts. The face is almost always involved, but lesions can also often be found on the chest and back. Most cases of acne are caused by increased production of sebum, obstruction of follicle and/ inflammation.
In Chinese medicine, acne is considered primarily a heat and damp excess in the skin. The energetic systems involved are lung, stomach and liver. In our clinic we have achieved good result helping acne patient by combing acupuncture, Chinese herbs and diet plan.
Modify your diet: Eating too much sugar results in high insulin levels, which stimulates testosterone and causes acne. Avoid sugar, spicy foods, processed and fried foods, which contribute to internal heat toxins. Drinking water to flush toxin from your system. Maintain regularity of bowel movements. Avoid dehydrating skin products.
 
Eczema

Eczema is a pattern of skin inflammation with clinical feature of redness, itching, scaling and vesicles in varying combinations. Most commonly, eczema presents as lesions, which can be dry or wet, flaky and often hyper pigmented. They are found in patches in the areas of the elbows, knees, wrists and ankles and around the eyes. Extreme temperatures, sweating, irritating clothing and harsh soaps are known to exacerbate the disease.
In Chinese medicine, wind, heat and damp or any combination of the three is usually the cause of eczema. The energetic systems involved are lung, spleen, stomach and liver. We can use Chinese medicinal herbs and acupuncture to treat eczema successfully. Acupuncture can significantly reduce the itching and eruptions of eczema. We also employ the use of nutrition to weed out food allergies and herbs to keep the whole body balanced.
Modify your diet: Lower or eliminate intake of dairy, fried foods, sugar, and processed foods, shellfish, caffeine and spicy foods. Avoid aggravating detergents. Reduce or quit using stimulants: nicotine, alcohol and chocolate.
 
Herpes

A herpes outbreak results when your immune system becomes lax and cannot suppress the herpes virus. Itching, tingling, burning and painful skin lesions break out on the skin. Symptoms of tingling often occur a week or so prior to the lesions first being observed. The lesions usually evolve over a five to ten day period.
Herpes infection is classified in Chinese medicine as a combination of the heat, damp and toxins. The frequency and intensity of symptoms depends upon the strength and balance of the liver, spleen and kidney energetic systems.
You can also take acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas to treat herpes effectively.