Eczema is a common inflammatory skin condition, sometimes beginning during childhood, that causes itchiness, dry skin, rashes, scaly patches, blisters, and skin infections.
In the following case, a 49-year-old male, who worked in scientific research for the U.S. government, suffered from chronic eczema and suffered long-term itchy skin on his arms, back, and legs. Eczema is often worse when the seasons change and other symptoms can develop such as a cold, cough, and an itchy throat.
He consulted several doctors in China before he came to the United States, and was prescribed a hormone ointment that finally stopped his itching. But soon after, he found that his skin had been badly damaged by the ointment he was using.
The patient came to us after his wife had heard there was a senior traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor in our clinic—Feng Suo An. Feng is the inventor of Wei Nai An, a Chinese patent medicine, which is highly effective for stomach issues.
In TCM, qi (vital energy), blood, and body fluids are the essential substances for life activities, all originating from the internal organs and flowing constantly inside the body. Ensuring these essential substances are sufficient and circulating throughout the body is very important for health and well-being. Illnesses or other conditions are caused by the stagnation or lack of these substances.
In the view of TCM, many diseases are believed to be caused by forces in our environment. These forces are referred to as the six external pathogenic influences, categorized as wind, cold, heat, dryness, dampness (humidity), and summer heat.
Feng said that the patient was qi-deficient and his body had heat and humidity. He was given a decoction to nourish and replenish the qi and instructed to drink it for one week.
On the second day, the patient called the clinic and said the result was amazing—after only two days of drinking the medicine, his skin itch was gone. He said it was difficult to explain and that he wanted to see the doctor again to learn why the remedy worked so well—why he had healed so quickly.
Feng told the patient: There is heat and humidity inside his body, and the lungs have deficiencies. Chinese medicine recognizes the relationship between the lungs and the skin. If the lungs are deficient, it would have a negative effect on the skin.
The wind can easily enter the skin, which means that when the skin “has wind,” it gets cold—yet the body will be hot and humid. When the inside is wet and humid, and the outside wind and cold, confrontation occurs on the skin’s surface.
People who do not have an air deficiency can drive away the wind and cold from the outside, and then the heat and humidity inside will drain out, and the body will be balanced. The patient couldn’t stand the heat and humidity inside and the wind and cold outside, thus the condition of eczema occurred.
The medicine that the doctor prescribed included astragalus (to enrich lung qi), to strengthen the resistance of the body’s surface, and the strengthen the stomach qi. Using TCM such as Phellodendron and Shengdi can remove dampness and heat. Using Radix isatidis, honeysuckle, and poria to detoxify, will remove the heat poison created by the hot humid gas. Radix isatidis and honeysuckle are two herbs that are very useful for releasing the heat poison.
Feng also nourished the patient’s blood with angelica, red peony root, and other herbs. If there are wind chills, the combination of wet and dry creates heat externally and must be treated with white moss skin, Cnidium fruit, sophora flavescens, and radix pectinea which act as a skin antipruritic. Due to the doctor’s clear diagnosis and specific prescriptions, the patient’s results were immediate and lasting.
The patient’s result was very positive and he became a frequent visitor to the clinic, bringing his wife and their colleagues.
Feng said that “Whenever I see such miracles happen, I love my Chinese medicine career even more. I hope that through my own practice, I can open a door for truly traditional Chinese medicine that is slowly disappearing but that indeed has benefited millions of people.”