In recent years, I have treated quite many patients with skin disorders. Many of them, having failed previous western treatments, experienced significant improvement with acupuncture and herbs. Western medicine targets the end results of inflammatory pathways with antihistamines, steroid, and recently, the more powerful blockers of TNF (tumor necrosis factors). Chinese medicine goes down to the root of problem – Is there any energy imbalance or disharmony that leads to the skin problem? In other words, Chinese medicine targets the beginning of the inflammatory pathway. It takes into consideration different aspects of the body condition rather than just focusing on the skin.
I’d like to illustrate this with the following cases:
Psoriasis
A 53 year old lady came to me for psoriasis which appears after a bout of pneumonia. She had been under a lot of stress. With acupuncture and herbs, she gradually improved over a period of 2 months.
Eczema
Another lady with chronic severe eczema from years’ duration came for help. She felt extremely hot and anxious. Her forearms and lower legs were full of excoriation marks and superficial skin ulcers, some even oozing. She also complained of severe skin itching. Through combination of herbs and acupuncture, she is at least 75% better. Her mental attitude also improved a lot. She is calm and sleeps better and feels more energetic.
Acne
A young man with severe acne on his face and back came for help. He had been on standard western treatment but results were not satisfactory. With herbs only, he returned very happy 5 weeks later that he had not had any new skin lesions since.
Skin Itching
A retired female physician suffered from severe skin itching for years was referred by a dermatologist. She was given different diagnosis from psoriasis to dermatitis herpetiformis. Medications failed to help her. She made a dramatic recovery with just one acupuncture session and two bottles of herbs. Here is her letter to her dermatologist:
I have a happy news to share with you. I saw Dr. Peter Sheng, as you suggested, a few weeks ago. He gave me acupuncture treatment and also provided me with a supply of powdered herb medicine which he said would supplement yin energy.
The herb medicine is working like a miracle. Within 36 hours, itchiness subsided and about 90% of rashes disappeared. I used Sarna anti-itch lotion in conjunction with the herb medicine applying this over-the -counter lotion every time I felt itchy. Both my husband and I are utterly amazed.
I feel so good nowadays that I even started laughing. I had not laughed for quite a while-as many books on PD describe. I am beginning to look ahead and think about my future-something I had not done for a long time.
–Dr. Peter Sheng
Cincinnati Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Therapy, Integrative Medicine & Holistic Health Care