TCM Clinic for Psoriasis, Eczema and Acne is the first specialized acupuncture/Chinese medicine clinic for skin disorders in the United States. Patients receive treatment for various skin problems such as psoriasis, eczema, acne, urticaria, contact dermatitis, herpes zoster, seborrheic dermatitis, seborrheic keratosis, lichen planus, alopecia areata, erysipeloid, and vitiligo.  TCM Clinic for Psoriasis, Eczema and Acne applies Chinese herbs and Acupuncture to various dermatological conditions and achieves considerable effectiveness with low recurrence rates. The advanced skills and treatment techniques of our Chinese-trained doctors are the basis of success for TCM  Clinic for Psoriasis, Eczema and Acne. Our doctors take the time to listen to each patient and tailor a treatment which will relieve that specific complaint. TCM Clinic for Psoriasis, Eczema and Acne has successfully treated many cases for which conventional Western medicine failed to provide a cure or a solution. 

Written records dating back 2300 years prove that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been applied to the treatment of skin conditions for millennia. Using time-tested methods of diagnosis, herbal medicine therapies and acupuncture stimulation, Chinese medicine dermatology has brought its relief-giving techniques into the 21^st century. Chinese medicine dermatology is a recognized and respected segment of the Chinese medical system. For anyone with a difficult or intractable skin condition, it would be worthwhile to investigate the possibilities Chinese medicine offers. 

General Information: 

Skin is the largest organ of the body. We can see it and apply treatment directly to it.  It provides an essential barrier, marking the boundary of the body from the outside world. The skin helps the body function and keeps us alive by regulating body temperature, protecting us from bacteria and viruses, giving us the sensation of touch, and aiding in metabolic processes. Hair and nails also belong to the skin system.  

Skin diseases can be attributed to a number of causes including sun exposure, hormone imbalances, genetics, and allergic reactions.  

Related Research and Successful Cases:

Eczema

Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a chronic condition causing skin to become scratchy, itchy, red, and dry. In more extreme examples, skin will become cracked, blistery, and leathery. On fair-skinned people, the affected area turns a brownish-gray color. On dark-skinned people, eczema generally alters their natural pigmentation, making the affected area either lighter or darker. Eczema appears on wrists, elbows, and knees, but most frequently on the face.

Causal factors of eczema include allergy reactions, stress, and genetic predisposition. Allergens that could trigger an episode of eczema include foods like cow's milk, eggs, wheat, nuts, strawberries, and shrimp; and airborne irritants such as dust mites and pollen. Common substance irritants that are implicated in causing eczema include woolen and synthetic fabrics, latex rubber, detergents, chlorine-based products, nickel used in plated earrings and other jewelry, heat and sweat, and chemicals such as formaldehyde. People are often exposed to irritating chemicals through lack of information about their presence. For example, formaldehyde can be found in permanent-press fabrics, polishes, rugs, foam insulation, and particle board. Since eczema may be an internal response to stress, any emotionally-charged event may trigger a flare-up. Eczema affects approximately nine out of every one thousand people. 

Eczema is the most common inflammatory skin disease. The National Institutes of Health estimates that 15 million people in the United States have some form of eczema. Approximately 10 to 20 percent of all infants have episodes of eczema. Eczema is characterized by various types of skin lesions including erythema, papules, vesicles or blisters, erosion, oozing, scaling, lichenification, and cracks. Itching is the most universal symptom. Eczema may look different from person to person. Many substances have been identified as eczema "triggers,” from shampoo and jewelry to food and water. Environmental and psychological factors also play a role, and triggers are not the same for every person. Many times it is difficult to identify the exact trigger that causes a flare-up. The conventional Western medicine treatment includes:

• Skin creams or ointments that control swelling and allergic reactions

• Steroids/Corticosteroids

• Antibiotics to treat secondary infections

• Antihistamines

• Tar products

• Light therapy

• Moisturizing products

How Does Chinese Medicine Understand Eczema?

Eczema can be caused by both internal and external factors. “Damp heat” is the pattern diagnosis most often given in cases of eczema. The mechanism for damp heat is rooted in constitutional weakness, and in a dysfunction of the transformation and transportation functions of the Spleen, resulting in the accumulation of damp heat on the skin. The acute stage of eczema/damp heat is due to a dysfunction of the Heart, and the sub-acute and chronic stages are due to Spleen and Liver dysfunction. 

Damp-heat is the main pathogenesis in eczema’s acute stage. When the disease transitions into the chronic stage, an accumulation of damp heat combined with yin-blood deficiency and stasis are the main pathological changes. 

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This is a young person who has an itchy condition, primarily distributed on the inner elbow area, and also behind the knees. This is a type of eczema or itchy dry skin known as atopic dermatitis. It is the most common type of eczema. It affects a lot of different people and appears in this specific pattern.

Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis presents with dry, inflamed, and itchy skin that appears in a specific pattern.  It usually appears in childhood, and is often linked to asthma.  The specific gene has not yet been identified, but we certainly know there is a strong genetic predisposition to this disease. When both parents have atopic dermatitis, 81% of their children will also develop it. 

Environmental factors that make this genetic disease worse include:

• Heat

• Water exposure, not drinking water

• Soap

• Streptococcus bacteria

• Staphylococcus bacteria

This knowledge helps us to design our treatment plan to treat this disease. Though we can not change the genetics, we can modify the environment.

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This is a 9-year-old boy who has suffered from atopic dermatitis for four years. He presented with red macules and papules all over his body, especially on his face, neck, trunk, flexor and extensor surfaces of his knees, elbows, hands, legs and feet. Around the ankles, the skin lesions were thickened and cracked with a serum-like discharge; they were extremely itchy and painful. He also had asthma. His parents had no history of eczema or asthma.  He was prescribed steroidal cream and anti-histamines externally, prednisone and antibiotics internally, and an inhaler for his asthma. After taking prednisone his skin lesions were better, but whenever he stopped taking prednisone the skin lesions flared immediately. 

In TCM theory, the syndrome identification for this child was “Blood Dryness with Dampness,” so he was prescribed with Chinese medicinal herbs that had the functions of nourishing blood and transforming dampness. After one month taking these herbs, there was a significant change.

The picture included here was taken after he had been treated for five months.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a persistent skin disorder characterized by patches of red, silvery scales, with inflamed and thickened skin. This condition appears most often on the scalp, elbows, knees, and lower back, but psoriasis can also affect the torso, palms, and soles of the feet, groin and genitals, arms, legs, scalp and face, body folds and nails. There are many forms of psoriasis, each differing in location, severity, and duration, and in the shape and pattern of the scales. Some psoriasis comes and goes in cycles of remissions and flare-ups over a lifetime. EPRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT="motional stress, trauma, and dry skin can cause an episode of psoriasis. Research has shown that an abnormality in the function of key white blood cells in the bloodstream can trigger an inflammation in the skin which leads to rapid skin shedding. Psoriasis can be activated by infections, such as streptococcal throat. Flare-ups sometimes occur in the winter, as a result of dry skin and lack of sunlight. It is believed that external stressors serve as triggers for an inherited defect in skin-cell production. In the United States two out of every hundred people have psoriasis. Approximately 150,000 new cases occur each year in the United States.

According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis. There are five principal forms of psoriasis, including plaque psoriasis, guttate psoriasis, inverse psoriasis, pustular psoriasis, and erythrodermic psoriasis. Plaque psoriasis is the most common type of psoriasis. About 80% of people who develop psoriasis have this type, which is characterized by a very thick pad of skin called a plaque, with silvery scales, primarily on the extensor surfaces of the skin.

What is psoriasis? It is nothing more than fast-growing skin cells. The normal life-cycle of a skin cell is 28 days from its creation to the time it sloughs off. However, in some patients with psoriasis, skin cells take only three days to mature.  The mature cells come up to the skin’s surface very quickly and begin to slough off. Psoriasis also affects the nails and scalp, and it is, interestingly, also associated with arthritis.

Characteristics of Psoriasis:

• Fast-growing skin

• Thick scaly plaques on the extensor surfaces of the skin

• Can affect nails and scalp

• Can be associated with arthritis (About 10 to 30 percent of people with psoriasis also develop psoriatic arthritis, which causes pain, stiffness and swelling in and around the joints.)

• 1/3 of patients with psoriasis have family members with psoriasis

• Seen in high frequency in twin studies

Psoriasis can last a long time, even a lifetime. Symptoms come and go. Things that make symptoms worse include:

• Infections

• trauma

• Stress

• Dry skin

• Certain medicines

Psoriasis usually occurs in adults, and it sometimes runs in families. The conventional Western medicine treatment includes:

·        Topical treatment, applied directly to the skin lesions - corticosteroid ointments, ointments made from vitamin D, and ointments containing retinoids, coal tar, anthralin, and salicylic acid.

·        Phototherapy - treatment with light

• Systemic treatment, for severe forms of psoriasis, which involves taking oral or injectable medications. Some of these medications suppress the immune system, which causes significant side effects. Biologics are the newest systemic psoriasis treatments, including Amevive®, Raptiva®, and Enbrel®. All are immunosuppressive.

In TCM theory, the pattern that produces the symptoms of psoriasis is most often “pre-existing deficiency at the nutritive and blood levels that provokes wind and dryness,” so that the skin loses its nourishment. This results in the characteristic thick and dry silvery scales.

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This is a 47-year-old male, with a nearly 20-year history of thick plaques with silvery scales on the scalp, trunk, hips, legs and arms. He did not complain of joint pain, but there was mild pitting of the nails. The skin lesions were only mildly itchy. He had no remissions during this period. His dermatologist prescribed steroid creams, but these had very little effect.

This man’s TCM practitioner identified his syndrome pattern as “blood heat with blood stagnation.” The practitioner prescribed Chinese herbs which had the functions to clear heat and move blood. After two weeks, the patient noticed a big change. This picture was taken after he had been treated for three months.  

Acne

Acne is a disorder of the skin’s sebaceous glands that results in plugged skin pores and skin lesions. Acne presents with blackheads, whiteheads, inflamed papules, pustules, cysts and nodules. Acne occurs on the face, as well as the neck, chest, back, shoulders, and upper arms. Although most teenagers get some form of acne, adults in their 20's, 30's, 40's, or even older, can develop acne. Acne is not a serious health threat, but it can be disfiguring and upsetting to the patient. It may leave permanent scars. Nearly 17 million people in the United States have acne, making it one of our most common skin diseases.

Medically, acne is defined as a chronic inflammatory skin condition mostly occurring on the face in which the hair follicles of the skin become plugged with sebum. Signs and symptoms of acne include whiteheads and blackheads on the face, neck, shoulders, or back, as well as pimples and cysts. All hair follicles contain sebaceous glands that secrete fatty oil (sebum) to lubricate the hair and skin. When the body produces sebum and dead cells faster than they can exit from the pore, the two solidify as a white, cheesy plug. The acne plug may appear as a whitehead if it doesn’t protrude from the follicle and is covered by the epidermis or a blackhead if it does protrude and isn’t covered by the epidermis. Pimples are infections that develop when whiteheads rupture the follicle wall. A sebaceous cyst is a flat, pliable lump under the skin which forms when a sebaceous gland continues to secrete material that does not rupture through the skin. Although acne is a chronic concern from puberty through early adulthood, it primarily affects adolescents. Three out of four teenagers complain of acne.  

Acne medication reduces the clumping of cells in the follicles and oil production, and diminishes bacteria and inflammation. In conventional Western medicine, topical medication includes topical creams, gels, or lotions with vitamin A acid-like drugs, benzoyl peroxide, or antibiotics. Oral medication includes antibiotics, birth control pills, tretinoin or isotretinoin, corticosteroids, and anti-androgenic drugs.

In TCM theory, heat is nearly always involved in the etiology of acne: wind heat, damp heat in the intestines and stomach, or heat in the blood. Heat in the blood produces the most severe cases of acne. Strong emotions may result in stagnated heat and produce acne symptoms.

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This is a 21-year-old female, with a two-year history of pustules on the cheeks, forehead and chin. The skin lesions were worse before her period. Her Western medical doctor had prescribed oral antibiotics and sulfur ointment, which did not help. She did not want to take birth control pills, which can be prescribed to treat difficult cases of acne.

The TCM pattern diagnosis of this patient’s condition was “Blood Heat,” so she was prescribed Chinese herbal medicine which functions to clear heat. This photograph was taken after six weeks of treatment.

About the Practitioners: 

Hong Chen graduated from the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Luzhou Medical School, received her Master’s degree from Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and her Ph.D. degree from Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She has been a postdoctoral fellow at the New York University Medical Center. Her area of specialization for her Master’s degree was in traditional Chinese medicine gynecology, and she specialized in traditional Chinese medicine dermatology for her Ph.D. training. She has taught at Luzhou Medical School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and practiced in their affiliated hospitals. She has published more than twenty research papers on Chinese medicine gynecology and dermatology.