A Holistic Approach from Chinese Medicine Perspectives
I learned as a first year medical resident that steroid and antihistamines are good for skin conditions like urticaria or chronic eczema. However, when skin conditions become chronic, it is very difficult to manage . In my medical practice over the last three decades, I have treated many patients with chronic refractory skin disorders, like acne, urticaria, eczema or other forms of dermatitis.
I have been impressed with the Chinese medical approach, which is treating the whole body, in order to improve the skin. Skin is certainly not a standalone tissue and is affected by other body conditions.
In Chinese medicine, we have the so-called five element system or theory, namely, wood, fire, earth, metal and water; each with a corresponding internal energy center with special pathophysiologic implications according to traditional Chinese medicine ( TCM) presuppose. The following are simple examples of how TCM theory is applied to real world cases.
Fire corresponds to the heart. Some with eczema or chronic dermatitis are very hot and mentally restless. They have sleep disturbance , with their skin hot to touch. Their pulses are strong and may be rapid. These people have heart fire and treatment is to put out the fire . Shi Gao or gypsum is a frequently use the ingredient for cooling purpose. Of course, there are classic formulations putting together several herbal elements like Bai Hu Tang or Ma Xin Shi Gan Tang.
Wood corresponds to the Liver, which should be viewed as akin to the autonomic nervous system, affected easily by emotional stress. Liver energy disharmony may underline a lot of skin conditions as well as a variety of other allergic disorders. I frequently add formulations to pacify the liver in my herbal preparations. When they ask the question, how do I know if someone has lived his harmony the answer is through questioning, tongue and pulse exam.
Earth means digestive system including the stomach and the spleen ( spleen in TCM is more like the duodenum and pancreas) . The term leaky gut is used frequently by functional medicine practitioners nowadays, and there’s no argument that many of us have some inflammation in the gut, which allows absorption of large food molecules, provoking immune and inflammatory response affecting many organs including our skin. I don’t necessarily believe that we need to treat everybody ‘s gut in order to treat the skin. However, for those who have obvious digestive symptoms like bloating, reflux, abdominal cramps, severe diarrhea or constipation, I definitely focus more on treating the G I tract. And there have been plenty of examples where, after balancing and boosting stomach and spleen energy, skin disorders disappear.
Metal corresponds to the Lung. In TCM, skin falls under the respiratory system or the lung. So it’s a very common practice to treat the lung in order to treat the skin. This is especially true for those who also have allergies such as rhinitis or asthmatic condition.
Last if not least, water corresponds to the kidney. People having kidney Yin or Yang deficiency may also suffer from chronic skin condition. A typical and interesting example is acne that occurs in the lower chain area , which also corresponds to the kidney. So in this case, in addition to using anti-inflammatory herbs, I also add kidney boosting formulations. As another example, an elderly person may feel dry cold with itchy skin. By boosting kidney yang and warming up the person, itching stops.
Of course, the organ names mentioned so far do not mean the same as used in western medicine, TCM is an entirely different system. Beside applying five element theory, there are many other simple considerations, missing completely in Western medicine. I have already mentioned that some patients are too hot. What about some feeling too cold with skin problems. TCM prescribes warming herbs for these patients. In the final herbal preparation prepared for each individuals, I usually make some anti-inflammatory ingredients like Jin yin hua, or lien qiao, some blood movers like dang gui or dan shen, and some herbs that goes to the skin as a guide like Jin gen etc.
If you have chronic of skin condition and you’re not getting anywhere with western medicine approach, you may want to consider this as an alternative. I do provide telemedicine through Zoom.
Please visit my website Peter Sheng.com and send an appointment request.