Dermatology in Traditional Chinese Medicine

As the body’s largest organ, skin is vulnerable to many diseases. Almost everyone experiences some sort of skin disease in his or her life. Every year, twenty-five percent of Canadians seek help from physicians or dermatologists due to skin problems. 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 Traditional Chinese Medicine provides a safe and effective alternative.

In Western medicine, germs and viruses are the primary culprits; genetic defects and disorder of immune system are mainly internal causation of some diseases. But in Chinese medicine, the causes of disease are divided into three basic categories: first, external causes, which include six atmospheric energies (namely, wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness, and fire); second, internal causes, which include seven emotions (namely, excitement, anger, worry, melancholy, grief, fear, and shock); and third, two other causes that are neither internal nor external, fatigue and foods.

Skin problems arise from a number of causes, the most common of which are infections (viruses, germs, fungi) overexposure to sunlight, parasites, toxic substances (allergens), 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 Blood Stasis, Disharmony of Liver and Kidney, 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.

Western medicine treats illness by isolating the diseased area and giving drug medications to alter and counteract the individual problem. Chinese medicine treats illness by identifying which parts of the whole are out of balance and the resulting energy patterns they form. These are then treated with energetic therapies and herbal medications to correct the imbalance and bring the whole back to balance. While Western medicine derived its theory and treatments from dissection, microscopic analysis and chemical derivations, Chinese medicine developed mainly through thousands of years of observation, not only of the human body, but its relationship to nature and the universe.