By Winston Lee L. Ac, Ph.D., KMD
Atopic dermatitis is the most common type of eczema. And according to the National Eczema Association, “affecting more than 9.6 million children and about 16.5 million adults in the United States. It’s a chronic condition that can come and go for years or throughout life.”
Mayo Clinic in Minnesota defines symptom as below;
“It is a condition that makes your skin red and itchy. It’s common in children but can occur at any age. Atopic dermatitis is long-lasting (chronic) and tends to flare periodically. It may be accompanied by asthma or hay fever. No cure has been found for atopic dermatitis.”
This disease is widespread among kids under ten years old. Unfortunately, there has been no reliable treatment for the symptom. Symptoms of the atopic dermatitis are mostly the red rash appears on skin on kid’s elbows and somewhere behind their knees. Due to severe itchiness, it bothers children to fall asleep at night, and their quality of sleep is usually poor.
The triggers of the symptoms are including exposure to allergens such as pollen, pet dander or peanuts, or by stress, dry skin, and infection. Skin irritants such as some fabrics, soaps, and household cleaners may also flare atopic dermatitis. The exact reason for the onset of the symptoms has not been reported yet. Therefore, the treatment is symptomatic. The treatment method is limited by applying antihistamine and steroid hormone ointments. Sadly enough, it comes back as the ointment use has stopped.
There was a female patient in her 30’s. She had a six years boy who has Atopic dermatitis of the moderate stage. I prescribed herbal medicine to treat the symptom. The result was excellent. His symptoms have improved dramatically. The boy was only six years, and the chief complaint was the itchiness. He looks like a small and underweighted boy with pale skin. Besides the itchy skin, he also had a low appetite, suffered from frequent stomachache and asthma. These are the typical combination of small and fragile kids. I took his pulse, and it showed a faint and weak one as expected. I focused on his digestion system.
Therefore, I gave him a prescription as below.
Bai Zhu 80g
Sha Ren, Cang Zhu, Hou Po, Qin Pi, Fu Ling, Ren Shen, Huang Qi 60g each
Bai Dou Kou 50g, Mu Xiang Gan Cao 40g
Sheng Jiang 30 pcs Da Zao 20 pcs
Lu Rong 30g
I made 20 times in total from the dosage I showed earlier and have produced a concoction of 100cc x 30 pouches. The patient has taken two pouches a day after having breakfast and dinner. I asked him to have eating three meals a day regularly with moderate amounts, and I advised him not to have snacks between meals.
He became eating like his age group after taking the formula I introduced. His overall physical condition improved as well as his psychological health. His mother told me that after taking the herbal formula, he barely complains of fatigue, and he did not lay down after the meal anymore. Surprisingly, the Atopic dermatitis symptoms were disappearing. Especially itchiness had almost gone. After finishing the medicine, his overall atopic dermatitis symptoms had been improved by 90%.
The prescription has no direct indication for treating the skin problem. But it worked as I planned. The prescription stimulates functions of the digestive tract and boosts the segmental movement of it. Besides, this medicine helped the circulation of blood effectively throughout all body tissue, including musculoskeletal tissue and skin.
After this treatment, his mother comes to see me every other six months and takes herbal medicine. He and his mother took this medicine first last spring in 2019, and he is taking it regularly. His dermatitis has disappeared till now.
One thing I want to emphasize is to seek the root reason when we see a patient. Analyze it under the brilliant theory of Eastern medicine. Add when it falls short, remove when it is excessive.
