Cigarette smoking is bad for our health. Period. We all know that smoking can lead to such terrible tragedies as lung cancer, stroke and heart attack, making smoking one of the leading causes of preventable deaths world-wide. What many people do not know very well, is that smoking is bad for the health of our skin as well.
Just look at the skin of a chronic smoker. It is often drier and full of wrinkles, making smokers look much older than they actually are. This is because the chemicals found in cigarettes damage collagen, which is the main connective tissue keeping our skin flexible, smooth and vibrant. Smoking also constricts blood flow so that proper moisture and nourishment is not able to saturate the skin properly, leaving the skin dry and withered looking. Impaired collagen production and poor circulation also leads to a decreased ability to heal from cuts and wounds, putting smokers at greater risk to suffer with stubborn infections.
Cigarette smoking also puts the immune system into a state of chronic inflammation, triggering off such skin diseases as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, hand eczema, hair loss, acne and lupus. Nicotine in tobacco is an immune-suppressant, which means that smokers tend to have higher rates of HPV infections (warts), herpes, malignant melanoma and other skin cancers.
One study found that up to 95% of patients with psoriasis of the hands and feet were either active smokers or had smoked at some previous point in their life. The nurses study, involving more than 100,000 women over a 25 year period, found a 50% increase in skin cancer rates amongst those who smoked. When trying to treat such complicated skin condition as these, it seems imperative that the patient stop smoking, for even the strongest of medicines, and other positive lifestyle modifications, may have little impact.
Research has pointed out that the ill effects of smoking on skin health is not limited to just the smokers themselves, as those who are passively breathing in smoke can be affected as well. Children exposed to second hand smoke, either with the mother smoking cigarettes during her pregnancy or by someone smoking regularly in their home environment, have a much greater risk of developing, not only eczema, but other allergic diseases such as asthma and hay fever.
I have never been a cigarette smoker (probably because my own parents smoked while I was growing up and it drove me totally crazy) but I can imagine how hard it must be to stop such a strong addiction. That said, I do encourage all my patients who are serious about managing their skin disease to stop smoking and, it it proves too difficult to stop on their own, that they should seek out professional help.
Have you ever wondered just how powerful herbal medicines really are, as in, ‘What can a plant, say much like the one growing in my garden, really do to help my skin?’ I mean, some skin issues are so crazy, so complicated and so very intense! How could some simple plant alleviate psoriasis, or eczema, or other issue. Aren’t these ‘automimmune’ diseases? Truly that is the work for ‘scientists’ working in laboratories to figure out… right? Well, I think you are going to enjoy what I am about to share with you.
First off, ask yourself this, ‘Do I question the power of plants, as food for me, my family, or any animals (like chicken, cows, Giraffes or elephants) in their ability to facilitate growth?’ Do I think I need to wait for the next scientific discovery before deciding what to make for dinner? Of course not, right. We instinctively trust Nature, and all its abundance. We trust that, being human, being a part of Nature itself, that food found upon this great Earth will indeed make us healthy, strong and nurtured. We would certainly be quite disappointed had we to spend 100’s of dollars at our next dinner night out at the fancy French bistro, only to find a plate full of blue, red and yellow tablets! I know I would be pretty upset, seeing as I totally love good food. Food that is fresh and beautiful. Food that was grown somewhere. Food that I have to actually chew!
How about, ‘Mom asked us over to her place for dinner tonight. Says she is going to mix up that CoQ10, Niacin, and L-Arganine dish again. You know the one with the nice orange Ester-C sprinkles on top. Apparently she got a discount at Walmart for the metamucil she uses as the bulking agent….’. Ugh! I’ll stick to my baked root vegetables thanks.
But surely medicine should be different. Treating disease is different than simply maintaining health. We need something really powerful to fight disease. Something developed by people working long hours in sterile laboratories, looking through microscopes at bacteria and viruses and, you know, all that deadly crazy stuff! Well, guess what? Plant based medicines, herbal medicines, have been the mainstay for the treatment of every imaginable disease, health issue, known to human kind since our earliest beginnings. Modern bio-medicine is barely 100 years old! In every culture around the globe, plant based medicines served as the primary, or only, method of directly tackling disease. We have records, both oral and written, of this long history.
Actually, the medicine of ancient China is still widely used all over the world right now in our modern day. Some estimates are that Chinese medicine represent the second largest medical system in the world. Hospitals outside places like China, Taiwan, such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and even the United States are embracing herbal medicines more and more as a primary method to treat complicated disease. Many western doctors are now learning Chinese medicine. They, more than anyone, have seen the limits that pharmaceutical based medicines can offer. Rather than seeing atopic eczema be merely suppressed with steroid creams, whereby the patient also ends up with severely weakened and thinned skin, whose eczema often flares up even worse as soon as the steroid is stopped (due to the well known re-bound effect), these doctors are witnessing the same result my wife noticed with her skin – that the eczema went away, went into long term remission, even after the herbal medicines were stopped. These doctors are noticing that herbal medicine, when properly prescribed, are working on the body in a much deeper way.
But it is not just the doctors noticing this, it is also the very people who design the drug medicines themselves who are noticing that herbal medicines, and particularly Chinese herbal medicines, are powerful tools to treat disease. In one of the most prominent journals for the discussion on drug creation, the British Journal of Pharmacology, I found the following quote in their december 2006 issue, ‘The development of systems biology has led to a new design principle for therapeutic intervention strategy, the concept of ‘magic shrapnel’ (rather than the ‘magic bullet’), involving many drugs against multiple targets, administered in a single treatment. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers an extensive source of examples of this concept in which several active ingredients in one prescription are aimed at numerous targets and work together to provide therapeutic benefit.’ Clearly the folks making drugs are interested in a Tradition of medicine that is thousands of years old, whereby many tricks have been figured out. A medical tradition that actually works, really well.
(By the way, a quick search on the pubmed online research database using the term ‘Chinese herbal medicine’ reveals more than 16,000 threads, so clearly researchers are interested.)
But to be honest, I don’t think the drug companies will ever really figure things out. No matter how hard we try to re-create Nature, I think our efforts will always be secondary to the greatness of Creation itself. Some things, like herbal medicines, are probably best left alone, i.e., as plants. What needs to be encouraged is for people to continue their studies as to how to properly use herbal medicines, especially to treat issues like widespread psoriasis, or fiery red rosacea, or intensely itchy atopic eczema. It is not as easy as picking some dandelions from the curb-side, nor is it as easy as picking up a book and reading ‘ eczema = use this plant combination’, which is how a large portion of our modern medicine is practiced, AKA cookbook medicine, pick a disease, look it up in a book, and then prescribe a certain drug. Actually the ability to properly treat skin disease with Chinese herbal medicine demands much study, many years of it. In order to achieve the best results, the Doctor of Chinese medicine will create a formulation of 6 to 20 herbs, all in differing dosages, and all based on the individual it is meant to help. The possible combinations that can be made with Chinese herbal medicines are endless, which is why it will be really hard to duplicate it, so as to synthesis and mass produce something. The art really lies in the doctor’s ability to properly diagnose the individual before them, and then to make a custom herbal prescription to match.
Seeing as dermatology is the oldest specialty in the world, being seen as one since at least 300 BC or so, one would think that this particular medical art would need extra training. And really, I am ok with that. For the more time I take to study. The more time I take to fly across the world to train with my great teacher, Mazin Al-Kahafji, so as to see first hand the amazing work that he does, the more I come back inspired. The more confident I thus become, have become, to tackle the hard stuff. The more I am better able to look my patient in the eye and say, ‘Yes I can treat your psoriasis. Yes, I have done it before and I know it can work. It is not easy. It is not always perfect. It does not always work. But most of the time, as seen by the majority of my patients, a significant amount of clearing can be seen on the skin.’ And this, my friends, is all through the power of herbal medicines, which is pretty amazing.
Spring, for me, is the most beautiful time of year. Longer warmer days, flowers in blossom, green leaves emerging, insects buzzing, birds chirping – it is all so beautiful. However, this was certainly not how my wife, Gillian, experienced this time of year. When we first met, spring often meant an aggravation of the many allergic symptoms that she felt throughout the entire year. Actually, the spring and autumn months saw the return of the tissue paper pile next to the bed, as Gillian blew her nose all night long! All I can say is, ‘Good thing for Chinese herbal medicine”, as these really did change Gillian’s relationship to her environment.
Gillian, like many other people in the world, had what is called perennial allergic rhinitis, which is basically year round hay-fever that is triggered by everything from dust to animal dander to pollen to mould. Even temperature changes could be a trigger, going from a warm space to a cold one. Or even physical exertion. On top of the hay fever, Gillian also had asthma, widespread eczema, and hives (even anaphylaxis) to certain foods. She had the full blown stereotypical ‘atopic’ presentation, a state she inherited from both of her parents (usually a worse prognosis).
Most people manage their allergies through antihistamines, which may or may not actually work very well, and may actually make them feel rather ‘speedy’ or ‘dopey’, depending on which type they take. Some people start to rely on nasal sprays that contain small amounts of corticosteroids. All of this, of course, does not offer a ‘cure’ by any means, representing more of a long term dependency than anything.
So when Gillian started herbal treatment, initially for her eczema (which cleared very well), she eventually noticed that a lot of her other problems started to disappear. First was the roll of tissue paper, as it was no longer needed because her hay fever symptoms were gone. Then her asthma disappeared (except to cats, although the reaction was now greatly reduced), and many of her food allergies, including the dairy and eggs which previously gave her anaphylactic reactions in the past (I took Gillian on a holiday to Italy when we discovered she was free of those food issues). After stopping the herbal medicines, now 10+ years later, Gillian continues to have clear skin, clear breathing, no sneezing, itchy eyes, or runny nose, and she can enjoy a good tasting cheesy omelette. Gillian has to be careful with certain seafoods still, like salmon, and cannot be around cats for too long, but otherwise she is a completely different person, much less reactionary to her environment. The herbal medicines seemed to have healed the root issues as to why she was reacting in the first place, rather than just suppressing her symptoms.
Modern published research on the effectiveness of certain herbal medicines for allergic rhinitis has shown some interesting results. For example, one study using the herbal formula xin yi san for the treatment of allergic rhinitis found that, not only did the nasal symptoms reduce, an immune-modulating effect was observed in the blood tests drawn – which means that, rather than a patients symptoms being simply suppressed, as is how a steroid or antihistamine would work, a deeper curative effective may be achieved. Pretty cool hey!
Now I didn’t treat my wife, following in the golden rule of medicine to ‘not treat your family members’ (unless, of course, there is no other choice), and left all the healing decisions up to my first mentor, Dr. Wu. Watching Gillian heal, however, did motivate me to study Chinese medicine, and particularly to focus my studies on dermatology, allergy and auto-immune disease. Since I officially started practising Chinese medicine in 2005, I have now had the personal privilege to have helped many individuals and, like Gillian, I have noticed that most people find really good relief with Chinese herbal medicine.
Recently, an old patient, from 4 years ago, retuned to see me, not because he was suffering anymore, but because he thought he should come and let me know how well he was doing, and if there was anything he could do to keep himself feeling this way.
Basically, 4 years ago this gentleman appeared in my clinic suffering with the usual spring time upsets of runny nose, sneezing, and itchy eyes, and had become fed up with the dopey feeling that the antihistamines gave him. He responded very well to herbal treatment and continued taking herbal medicines off and on for about 2 years (through two allergy seasons). In the third year, he felt so good that he didn’t need to take anything, herbal or pharmaceutical, and lived a normal life enjoying the beauties that spring has to offer (I actually didn’t hear from him at all in the third year). Now it is the forth year since starting herbal treatment and he decided to come in for a check up which, as I said above, was really to show me how well he has been doing. It was actually from watching his neighbour suffer with hay fever that he was reminded of how bad his allergies used to be (easy to forgot the bad, when the problem is no longer a problem any longer!) Like my wife, his allergies seem to have become a thing of the past, thanks, of course, to Chinese herbal medicines.
Wishing you the best of health,
Dr. Trevor Erikson
While not obvious to everyone, how much you sweat, or not, is important in understanding skin disease. Sweating is our body’s method of venting off the excessive build up of heat and is a healthy means to keep our body in a balanced state of equilibrium. However, too much sweating, or not enough sweating, may actually aggravate a pre-existing disease, or even create a new one. Understanding how one sweats is important when diagnosing anyone with a skin disease, at least from the Chinese medicine point of view it is.
Think about it, if you sweat too much (particularly when you sleep), your skin will be left damp, possibly aggravating, or inviting, skin issues like eczema to flourish. On the other hand, the inability to sweat properly will leave the body greatly overheated, particularly the skin, which may then lead to the more drier forms of eczema. Since antiquity, Chinese medicine has placed great emphasis on the ability for a patient to sweat. If a patient suffers with eczema that is quite swollen, wet, and red, we may decide that this particularly patient suffers with a build up of pathological fluid, which may then be drained through the use of herbal medicines activating urination. If the skin is quite red, itchy, and dry, but the patient finds it hard to sweat, even though they may be totally overheating, then we could say that heat has lodged in the skin and has not been able to be properly discharged. Chinese herbal medicines may then be used to help open the pours so as to allow the heat to properly disperse.
It is also good to look at the type of materials worn against the skin, as many synthetic fibres may prevent the skin from breathing properly, thus allowing the skin to heat up unnecessarily. Cotton, flax and hemp are obviously the best to wear right against the skin, especially if you suffer with skin disease. This goes for overly thick moisturizing creams, such as vaseline which, while helping lock moisture in by creating occlusion, will also prevent the skin from breathing, particularly when it comes to sweating. Over use of vaseline is very common with patients, particularly with parents trying to help their young children. By smothering their children with too thick of moisturizer, the child may easily over heat, with their skin worsening and their mood turning into an agitated bomb shell!
Interestingly enough, the patient I saw today found this out all by their self. Several months ago this patient started developing a patch of eczema on their neck, for which they feared would spread to the rest of their body, particularly their face. As a preventative measure, this patient started slapping on creams (very similar to vaseline), with the thinking that this would help. On the contrary, the patient quickly worsened, with their entire upper body becoming very very inflamed and red. More thick moisturizer was applied, even more often, and the skin kept worsening, until one day this patient decided to just stop applying anything at all to their skin. Soon after, this patient experienced intense night sweats for several days, which was very unusual for them as sweating was usually non-eventful. The end result was that the majority of the redness dissipated and the eczema started to calm down all on its own. The thick moisturizing cream had blocked this patient’s natural healing method of clearing away excessive heat through her skin, allowing it to build up to the point of worsening their pre-existing eczema.
By understanding sweating, Chinese medicine physicians trained in dermatology can often help the most stubborn of skin conditions. Either by educating on the proper use of different moisturizing creams, or through the use of herbal medicines aimed at helping the body regulate any build up of unwanted heat and moisture.
Wishing you the best of health,
Dr. Trevor Erikson
In 2012, I had the opportunity to retake my dermatology diploma training in London, England, with Mazin Al-Khafji. Even though the cost of flying several times throughout the year from Vancouver to London was quite expensive; and even though I had previously finished at the top of my class when I first took the program back in 2007; and even though I have attained much clinical confidence in the treatment of various dermatological conditions (for which I am fortunate to use in my current clinical practice); I was very excited to train once again with Mazin. One of the reasons I was so excited (besides getting to be in the great city of London again) was because I knew that Mazin had updated most of his teaching material, which is entirely based on his own clinical successes (Mazin is one of the few teachers that I have encountered who only teaches on subjects he himself has had success with, thus the training is very practical and useful to the practicing clinician). This meant that when I studied acne, or atopic eczema, or psoriasis, again, I would get to see hundreds of NEW before and after photographs of Mazin’s case studies. When learning the art of dermatology, seeing is believing, and Mazin’s eye for detail is amazing to behold.
Mazin’s work is so amazing to behold, in fact, that I was amazed to once again realize how wide reaching his reputation for clinical success is. In the class there were students from all over the world (like me) who had flown in for the training, so as to be inspired by a true clinical master. Even more inspiring to me was the fact that a high percentage of the students in the class were themselves accomplished western medical physicians, including a western dermatologist, who had all seen the limitations of what pharmaceutical bio-medicine had to offer (first hand in their own clinical practices) and were now practicing Chinese herbal medicine. As one doctor and friend, Dr. Tanh Huynh from Zurich, Switzerland, mentioned to me, ‘seeing is believing and Mazin shows that herbal medicines work for the treatment of complicated disease. This is what is most important to me’. Tanh, a western medicine internal medicine specialist, now works alongside Mazin at the busy Avicenna clinic in Brighton, England. Tanh also runs the Chinese medicine hospital department at Seespital Horgen, Switzerland, flying back and forth between Zurich and Brighton on a regular basis so as to keep his foot in both busy worlds. It was through Mazin’s work, using herbal medicine to treat stubborn disease, that doctors like Tanh were inspired to do the same.
One of the greatest things I enjoy in my days spent with Mazin is our conversations together. Mazin is a caring and kind teacher who has, over the past many years, become a good friend. I value this more than anything. One of the greatest attributes I have seen Mazin display is his sense of humility. Literally thousands of people have overcome a life-long struggle with serious disease through the masterful herbal prescriptions that he has written over the past 30 years, which is truly amazing considering all the many other treatment modalities many of them had tried beforehand. To me this is extra-ordinary, being on par with super human abilities! But to Mazin, who shared with me one night over dinner, these acts of healing, which seem extra-ordinary, should really just be normal affairs. Mazin believes that the option for people to receive high quality care through Chinese herbal medicine should be made available everywhere, to everyone. This is at the root of Mazin’s heart whenever he teaches. Through sharing his own hard work, showing the audience what is actually possible, showing that even the worst cases of stubborn psoriasis, or acne, or eczema or rosacea, or colitis, or asthma, or any other stubborn health issue, can in fact be helped with properly prescribed herbal medicines, others are empowered to follow suit, thus elevating the standard of Chinese medicine, or health care, to the highest level possible.
For so openly sharing your hard work, for your dedication to excellence, for your constant encouragement that others can do the same (including myself), I am truly grateful Mazin. You have shown me a path for which is truly inspiring and very rewarding to follow. I, and all my patients that I have now helped, and continue to help, are extremely grateful for your kindness and overflowing wisdom.
Healing from chronic skin disease can feel like a miracle when it happens. More so if one had already tried so many methods to overcome it, but nothing seemed to really work out. The creams tried for psoriasis worked a bit initially, but then stopped, leaving more fear of their potential side effects than anything. Eliminating the foods that the expensive blood test said were nasty ‘allergens’ created more paranoia as to what one can actually eat, whereas the eczema itself remained the same, or perhaps even worsened. Even the herbal remedy bought from the health food store, promising acne free skin, lead to nothing but diarrhoea! But then suddenly, a different strategy is tried and a miracle happens – the problem disappears. So what’s with that? What is this secret to healthy skin?
One patient told me several years ago, “I am still psoriasis free – not even one spot thanks to you, Mr. Miracle worker!’ But am I really a miracle worker? Did I somehow wave my arms in the air and make the river nile part before us? Certainly a nice gesture, and certainly a welcome compliment, but the reality is that the results this patient experienced were as a result of many years of hard study and clinical practice, an attempt on my part to follow in the footsteps of the many great physicians who paved the way before me. Chinese medicine dermatology is one of the oldest specialities in the world, dating back to at least 300bc. The collected wisdom of many thousands of years of clinical practice helped guide me in the decisions I made to help this patient, and everyone else I see. In reality, the miracle this patient experienced was calculated, the result of a medical system applied and seen true.
For me, there really is no ‘secret’ to healthy skin. There is no mysterious food to eat.. or not eat (although it can helps sometimes). There is no rare herb, found only on the top of Mount Everest, that will cure every and all diseases. Nor is there any chant or mantra or prayer that will suddenly make your rosacea go away. There are just basic principles that need to be considered when approaching any health problem, particularly when it comes to skin disease. I call these principles the ‘Three pillars of clinical success’:
The Patient
The Doctor
The Treatment
Patient: Successful treatment is, in part, related to the condition itself, as there are some diseases/ problems that are easier to treat than others, and even some that are simply not treatable at all (or not treatable using the current method being used). An experienced doctor will often understand this and will say so when offering advice. On the other hand, success is also related to the willingness of the patient to comply with treatment, which may mean modifying negative lifestyle habits and, of course, actually ingesting any medicine that a doctor may have prescribed (if one doesn’t try, then how does one know if it works or not?). The famous 17th century Chinese physician Xu Dachung warns us, however, that the tendency to blame the patient for an unsuccessful treatment is too high and that the doctor should look to their own skills first – a point for which I totally agree.
Doctor: The doctor must have sufficient training in the area of health that is of concern. They must be familiar with the condition/ disease being treated and, preferably, have lots of actual hands-on experience with its treatment. This often means being able to properly diagnose a particular disease, say psoriasis from basil cell carcinoma, or at least know when something looks weird enough to refer onto someone else for another opinion. In Chinese medicine it is then also important to understand why the particular disease is manifesting in the patient before them, as not everybody will manifest psoriasis or eczema or acne (or any other problem) in exactly the same way. We are all individuals, after-all, and so the doctor must take this into account when diagnosing and prescribing a treatment. The art of Chinese medicine lies in the ability for the practitioner to figure out what the imbalances contributing to ill-health are, and then to create an individualized treatment plan to restore health. The doctor’s theories must match reality. They must lead to the desired alleviation of the patient’s suffering, a feat made more plausible when the doctor is honest of their skill set and experience, having the courage to learn more when faced with challenges unfamiliar.
Treatment: The treatment has to match the problem needing help. It has to match the patient. It has to have a history of success, whether it be from good quality published research or, as is a foundational aspect of Chinese medicine’s long history, through the case studies of other practicing physicians. How did I know that herbal medicine would be best for my patient above, the one who experienced a miracle? I know this because I had seen my teacher display his own work, showing me that herbal medicine had been very effective in relieving many other patient’s psoriasis. Herbal medicines for psoriasis had been shown, to me as a doctor, to be effective, which was the first step of understanding a proper treatment strategy – ie. that the treatment matched the problem that I was wanting to treat. The second, very important, aspect here is that the herbal medicines used are of good quality. That they are fresh, are of the correct species, are at the proper dosage, and are cooked properly so as to ensure that all the necessary medicines are extracted from them. I regularly read on professional online forums of doctors finding that their treatment was unsuccessful for their patient. The doctor’s diagnosis seems correct, the disease is known to be treatable with the chosen treatment, the choice of herbs seems relevant, the patient is very compliant with their treatment, but yet no result. One possible reason could be that the herbs used were inferior, of bad quality, old, oxidized, or at dosages way too low, thus representing a waste of time, and money, really.
Of course at the end of the day, many people still do not get better. Not everyone is able to overcome their psoriasis, or eczema or acne, or whatever else that bothers them, even when all the above pillars seem to line up. Nature is not always so predictable and we must never hold on too rigidly to any one idea/ philosophy. However, the odds of success, of experiencing a miracle, will be greatly enhanced if one takes these pillars to heart whenever they embark on a journey to enhance their own well being. What is the responsibility of the patient seeking help? Is their condition even treatable? How experienced and knowledgable is the doctor? Have they actually seen people with similar problems repeatably improve? How proper is the medicine? Is it of good quality?
The herbal baths that Dr.Erikson prescribed for our 4 month old baby girl made a big difference! We saw a difference in her face within a week. She is now 5 months and her eczema has cleared almost 95%. Last couple nights she slept through 3-4 hrs, woke for feed and went back to sleep with no fuss, big difference from waking every 30 mins- 1 hr. We haven’t had to swaddle her either. She is still itching on some areas, but she is no longer constantly scratching herself and most importantly we no longer have to use the steroid creams regularly.
My husband and I were skeptical at first. However, we were desperate. Using steroid creams was not helping us control the eczema and the side effects made us felt uneasy. We saw three different doctors, all told us different things and continued to prescribed one steroid cream after the other. We were so sleep deprived because our baby was waking so often. When she is able to sleep, I would spend the time to research about eczema. Everything on the internet said to just moisturize and use steroid cream. I tried cutting out all foods that I thought could trigger her eczema. At one point I was just eating chicken and rice because I was so afraid her eczema would react. I was so desperate that I even tried to cut out rice to see if it made a difference. Then I became worried that she wasn’t getting all the nutrients. It was so frustrating. Bath time was so stressful for her and us. She would cry uncontrollably. We tried switching products after products, all did not make a difference. Finally my husband brought up the idea of using Chinese medicine because he knew my mom had made me drink a few herbal medicine after labour that seem to help me feel better. I went on the internet again and found dr.erikson’s story about baby boy and his mom dealing with baby eczema. It sounded exactly like what we were going through. Reading the testimonial, I thought maybe some of the babies coincidentally outgrew the eczema at the same time they saw dr.erikson. Even though I was skeptical, I saw that he was located in white rock, which is fairly close to home, I thought might as well give it a try.
After seeing Dr.Erikson for the first time, he told us to stop all lotions and steroid creams. Stopping steroid creams I understood, but was shocked to hear him say to stop applying lotion. I mean, moisturizing is the number one thing for eczema. He explained that we needed to just let our baby’s skin breathe and take a break from all the lotion that we were using. He gave us a cream which he said has nutrients for the skin and some herbs to boil and bathe our baby in. Within a week, we saw a difference on our baby’s face. It feels so good to see your baby play without having to constantly stop her from scratching herself. Bath time is now fun for our baby. She loves kicking and splashing the water. I’m so glad we don’t have to swaddle her anymore. She hated being swaddled and would always break free, but it was the only way to get her to stop scratching herself at night. We look at our baby now and still can’t believe her skin healed so quickly and feels so soft! Thank you Dr. Erikson! You have truly made a difference in our lives. – K. Thai
There has always been much speculation, at least on my part, that the overuse of antibiotics in young children will increase their tendency to develop eczema. While this has been my own clinical observation, without many thousands of cases to pool from, the data of one doctor’s experience will indeed be limited. Well, in the latest issue of the British Journal of Dermatology, a systemic review of 20 different studies linking the association of eczema with antibiotic use in children, found that early life exposure to antibiotics does increase the risk of eczema, with an increased risk of 7% for each additional antibiotic course received during a child’s first year of life. Thus the relationship is beyond suspicious, and now seems to be quite implicated and real!
Interestingly enough, I just saw a young 14 month old last week who was covered head to two in widespread weeping eczema. Quite a bad case for such a youngster. Upon investigation it became clear that he had a family history of the atopic disorder, with his mother, father, and sister all suffering with some type of eczema, asthma or hay-fever (all related problems). But this poor boy was clearly worse off than any of his relatives, leaving me with the question of why? Well it turns out that the boy had been suffering with chronic earaches since he was few months old, for which he had been put on antibiotics, one after another, with a total of at least 4 or 5 subsequent rounds – all of which coincided with a complete worsening of his eczema.
Basically we can say that the boy (which is true for most people) was born with a genetic tendency to have eczema. It doesn’t mean that he would have it for sure, it just means he had the genetic tendency to develop it at some time in his life. Certain triggers then allow that gene to be expressed. If the triggers are not removed, or continue in their intensity (as in the case of repeated antibiotic use), the eczema will flare in larger proportions and will also become more difficult to control. The trigger has to be stopped and the eczema must be calmed down, otherwise we end up with the eczema becoming a dangerous whole-body event.
So how would antibiotics lead to increased eczema? By looking through a Chinese medicine lens we may gain a few clues. It is well known that over use of antibiotics can lead to diarrhoea and loose watery stools, which is in part due to the drugs ability to wipe out all bacteria – both good and bad. In Chinese medicine we say that this type of bowel movement can be due to a break down of the digestion’s ability to separate out the clear (nutrition) from the turbid (the waste), with an accumulation of un-assimilated pathological fluids being the end result, which the Chinese have coined dampness. Dampness, when it accumulates, has a tendency to clog up the body, leading to such disorders as watery stools, arthritis, heaviness in the limbs, chronic colds and coughs, chronic earaches (research has shown that antibiotics are a poor long term solution for chronic earaches, probably because they actually worsen the fluid build up in the ear canal), thrush, and weepy types of eczema – for which this boy had.
Foods and medicines that are hard on the digestion may thus lead to dampness. Antibiotics seem to do this, as does excess sugar intake. I tell all my patients, especially parents of children suffering with dampness related illnesses like earaches and eczema, that they should greatly reduce their sugar intake, particularly in the form of refined white sugar (especially pop and candies!) but also fruit juice and floor products like cookies, bread and muffins.
When I treat youngsters, less than say 2, for such disorders like chronic earaches or eczema, I always try to do so by focusing on the reduction of sugary foods first. For the eczema I then try to rely on external herbal washes, lotions and creams. If these do not seem to be working, then I administer herbal medicines as a tea, which are made specific to the child’s needs. Much of the time these herbal teas are focused on improving the child’s digestion, as well as helping to facilitate their ability to rid themselves of excessive fluids, or dampness. This has been the way for thousands of years and thus proven as an effective means to conquer somewhat nasty problems. Let us remember that, while antibiotics are extremely powerful and much needed medicines, they are also relatively new in the grand scheme of things and, as such, we are still in the juvenile learning stages when prescribing them. Antibiotics, in my mind anyways, should thus be used as last resort when treating the young, undeveloped, and vulnerable. Best to first adjust the diet and stick to time proven herbal medicines, as prescribed by a trained professional, like a Doctor Chinese medicine skilled in the area of health that is of concern.
A while ago a man came to my clinic presenting with a strange red rash, which was present on only one side of his body, and was intensely itchy. Previous doctors had told him he simply had eczema and, as usual, prescribed him steroid creams and antihistamines in the hopes that his condition would subside. Unfortunately nothing seemed to help and so the itching continued on. By the time this patient came in to see me he had been suffering for 2 years already.
Upon investigation it became evident that the itching started upon his return from a vacation in India. He mentioned receiving a nasty mosquito bite on his forearm, from which left no rash to speak of, only intense itching. The itching continued and over the course of a year and a few months red bumps started appearing in the area where he scratched, as well as much dryness, for which moisturizing creams could not help. The man was otherwise healthy and had not suffered with skin disease at any other time in his 50+ years of life.
My diagnosis for this man was Lichen simplex, often known in Chinese medicine as niu pi xuan (Ox skin dermatosis), which is an extremely itchy skin condition that is often self perpetuated through constant scratching. It is usually only found in areas of the body that can be reached by scratching, and is often only one sided, thus differing from other itchy conditions like eczema or psoriasis which will tend to manifest symmetrically on the body. The origin of the itch can be from stress, nervous habit or, as in the case I present here, a simple mosquito bite. The need to alleviate the itch through scratching perpetuates the itch itself, leading to dryness of the skin and the appearance of an actual rash which may not have been present before. So in a way, lichen simplex is a self induced condition, as it is due to repeated bouts of scratching that deteriorate the skin and creates more itching – thus called the scratch-itch-scratch cycle.
In order to alleviate the lichen simplex one must then stop scratching. The cycle must be broken. I decided to give this man a lotion that I hand-make here in the clinic which uses such anti-itch medicinals as peppermint oil and calamine (a medicinal mineral). He was to apply the lotion 6, or more, times per day, or basically whenever he felt itchy. We wanted to try and stop the scratching cycle so that the skin could heal itself. I decided to not give any internal medicines at this point, as his condition did not seem too severe to me, and I felt rather confident that the lotion would suffice. Sure enough, over the course of a couple weeks his rash disappeared and his itching subsided.
This was his update to me:
“Dr. Erikson, I just want to update you since my appointment 2 weeks ago. The lotion you provided has worked very well in decreasing the itch and as a result my rash has completely cleared up. I was not expecting such quick results after having this for almost 2 years and am very pleased with the outcome to date. Thanks again.”
As many of my teachers of Chinese medicine have pointed out, “the right diagnosis leads to the right treatment, which then leads to the right outcome.”
Chinese medical dermatology represents one of the oldest continuously-practiced specialities in the world, with records describing doctors as trained skin specialists since at least 300 BC. Much experience has thus been gained over these past few thousand years, allowing doctors to offer herbal treatments that are both effective and safe – a major reason why it is now practiced in hospital settings all over the world, right alongside western medicine. I know this first hand because many of the doctors I trained with in England, while finishing my dermatology training, were western trained physicians – from countries like Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland – who had switched over to herbal medicines as their primary treatment choice. These doctors saw first hand the limitations of pharmaceutical medicines and, like me, are now using herbal medicines with good success to treat such complicated disorders as psoriasis, eczema, rosacea, acne, and much more.
“Whenever those in the state are afflicted with illnesses, with ulcers on the head or with wounds to the body, he [the chief physician] visits them, and then sends to them physicians with an appropriate specialty to cure them.” –Rites of Zhou, 300-200 BCE (Translated by Nylan, M. (2001). The five Confucius classics. Yale University: New Haven, Connecticut)
Anyone who has suffered with skin disease, or has tried to treat it, knows first hand just how difficult it can be to overcome. For some people merely avoiding certain allergic foods may improve their situation, while for many others changing the diet does little to alleviate their problem. Steroid creams may offer relief in the initial stages of a skin flare, but are actually a poor long term solution, as their side effects can do more damage than good. Thus the time tested methods of properly prescribed herbal medicine serve a very good place in the management of skin disease.
This past autumn I was visited by a young woman who had been suffering with terrible eczema all over her body for many years. She had tried eliminating many foods in her diet and had used many different kinds of vitamin supplements, but unfortunately she found no relief. The itchy rash was disturbing her sleep and lowering the quality of her life. She didn’t know what else to do except to go back to using steroid creams, which she did not want to do. From a Chinese medicine perspective this woman’s particular skin problem was due to deep-seated heat in her blood, which needed to be cooled through the use of a specially constructed herbal medicine formula. Within a few weeks her skin was virtually clear, for the first time in years. Her itch was gone, her sleep was better and her outlook on life had become very positive. I kept her on herbal medicines for another couple months so as to help prevent the eczema from coming back. Many months after stopping, she happily reported back to me that her skin was still clear.
Eczema on the upper back
Eczema clear after herbal treatment
When it comes to managing skin disease everyone needs options that are safe and effective. With such a long history, herbal medicines are a good choice, but are best used through the guidance of a registered practitioner who, like the doctors of ancient times, has received specialty training in dermatology.
Many have to come to know me through the various writings and webinars I have published, which is certainly a big aspect of my work as a Doctor (the educating part), but this is really quite small in relation to the time and dedication I put into my clinic. My mentor, Mazin Al Khafaji, always reminds me that my main work is in the clinic, with patients, not rattling off fanciful theories and such. What this means is that the results my patients experience, or do not experience, are of top priority (seems obvious right?). Thus I have to pay close attention to every detail of a patient’s journey with me, especially to the aspects that I have direct control over, like the herbal medicines they consume (my most important contribution when treating such chronic and debilitating disorders as atopic eczema and psoriasis).
After diagnosing my patients, through a very thorough examination under strong bright lights and a detailed taking of their general health history, the creation of a herbal formula becomes paramount. Such herbal prescriptions have been written for thousands of years and are the mainstay of most Doctor’s practicing Chinese medicine. The first step is in relation to figuring out what herbs to choose, as well as their relative daily dosages (I have roughly 250+ herbs on hand at my clinic). The second step is in insuring the medicine prescribed is of good quality. No matter how well the diagnosis and herbal formulation is, if the herbs are not fresh and of a high standard, the patient may receive very little benefit.
As I wrote about in my previous blog on herb quality, I spend a lot of time trying to source out good quality herbal medicines. I want fresh and I want herbs free of contaminants like pesticide residues, heavy metals, etc. (I am currently using herbs from Spring Wind). In the picture below we can see an example of two different quality grades for the herb Yi Mu Cao (aka. Motherwort). It seems fairly obvious that the one on the left is of the superior grade, as the vibrant green and yellow colours just speak of freshness. Compared to the one on the right which is brown and dull looking, and is representative of common herbs bought out of a China town market. These two samples of course smell much different, with the one on the left having a somewhat sweet and aromatic quality, and the one on the right smelling musty and somewhat mildewy.
Now the kicker, the higher quality herb is more than twice the wholesale price as the poorer quality one. Thus if one was trying to save money, cut a few corners and make a bigger profit, poor quality herbs are very appealing. The cost, of course, will be in outcome. Not only will the poor quality herb struggle to achieve its promised effect (I often use Yi Mu Cao in formulations when it is clear that a woman’s skin issue flares up pre-menstrually), but the herb may in fact make a patient sick! Herb quality is well worth the extra price tag – for sure!
So again, check around. Make sure the herbs you are taking (patient) or prescribing (doctor) are of good quality. I am sure that the desired result will be much better for all.
Stumbling through various health blogs, magazines and health symposiums, we are often bombarded with a wide variety of ‘health experts’ advertising their products or services. This, of course, includes Western Doctors, pharmaceutical companies, vitamin supplement companies and, as well, Naturopaths, Homeopaths, Chiropractors, Doctors of Chinese Medicine, and so on. It can often be quite hard for the average person to know what will actually work for them, with the decision made even worse when claims that a product or service achieves a ‘100% cure rate’, or a ‘95% success rate’ are made. Wow! What to do? Could these claims be true? 100% cure for all disease? Well, I will tell you what I would do, I would run away as fast as I could!
See, the thing is, the human body is incredibly complex. Every person has their own unique constitution that will manifest any troubles, i.e. disease, in its own unique way. What may work for one person, may make another person worse, and unfortunately some people may not actually get better at all. Claims that 100%, or even 95% or 90%, of people are cured from their problem, any problem, are just plain ridiculous. Rather than develop faith in a given treatment, such claims actually make me more skeptical.
One of the great Fathers of Chinese medicine is considered to be Zhang Zhong Jing, who wrote a couple texts 1800 years ago entitled the Shang Han Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage) and the Jin Gui Yao Lue (Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber) – both of which are considered masterpieces for clinical practice and have influenced many generations of physicians throughout the ages, including this present day. In the introduction to the Shang Han Lun, Zhang Zhong Jing writes, ‘Although this book cannot completely cure all diseases, it provides the means to understand the origin of illnesses encountered. If [the reader] follows the materials herein collected, [he should be able to] think out over half [of all medical problems].’ In that passage we can see one of the reasons that this text has been such a grand source of inspiration for so many hundreds of years – Zhang Zhong Jing’s humility. He knew that one cannot treat everything, and everyone, successfully. He knew that such claims are simply impossible and so did not even pretend to promise such things.
To my knowledge, Chinese medicine represents the second largest medical system in the world. It is practiced in major hospitals throughout Asia, and even Europe, right along side Western medicine. I personally have colleagues who are trained Western medical specialists who are now using Chinese herbal medicine as their primary treatment tool. They do so because they have seen tremendous results. They, like me, have seen many an individual (suffering with debilitating diseases such as psoriasis, atopic eczema, or even rheumatoid arthritis) become symptom free while taking properly prescribed herbal medicines, and even after stopping them. Doctors all around the world know that herbal medicine is a very powerful tool to treat disease and relieve suffering, but most know that the results are certainly not 100%, and are thus humble in their achievements.
In my own clinical practice of medicine I have noticed that certain disorders tend to respond to treatment better than others, which means that the overall success rate is most definitely related to the disease being treated, just as much as it is to the individual’s own unique constitution. For example, we can look at two different blistering disorders seen on the hands. Hand eczema, or pompholox eczema, tends to respond very well to herbal treatment (particularly when the patient also learns to take care of their hands). My Mentor, Mazin Al-Khafaji, has said in the past that he has found roughly 80% of patients with pompholox eczema overcome this stubborn problem, which is similar to what I see in my own clinical practice. But contrast this to something like pustular psoriasis ( some doctors think this is not really a form of psoriasis, but something else), which can look quite similar to the untrained eye, I myself have found a very low rate of success – perhaps only 20% or so (this could be related to many things, including: difficulty of the disease, availability of certain key herbal ingredients, my own skill level and experience). I would be extremely leery of anyone claiming they get a 100% cure rate with pustular psoriasis, as it is certainly a very stubborn and recalcitrant problem.
So basically we have different ‘success rates’ for different diseases. Personally, I am always cautious to use the word ‘cure’, as this represents a ‘forever’ disappearance of one’s problem. Rather, I like to say that we are trying to knock the condition into deep remission, with the hopes that it never comes up again. Gillian, my wife, was treated very successfully with Chinese herbal medicine for her atopic eczema, seeing her 22 year long itchy plague clear 100%. This effect lasted for a good 10 years after stopping the herbal medicines. But then when my son was born in 2011, a little bit of eczema came back up on her arms, most probably due to the stress of birthing a premature baby, as well as having to use the strong alcohol soaps at the hospital. Her skin quickly cleared after the stress settled down, stopping the use of the strong soaps, and with the help of a one of my ointments, and has now been clear again for the past year. So while I originally thought that Gillian was cured of her eczema problem, 10 years without any skin issue, I now understand that the disease was knocked into remission. Gillian still caries with her the tendency to have eczema, and probably always will, but herbal medicines (and some lifestyle adjustments) have helped her live a very normal life for many years.
So again, when is it a good idea to run away from that booth at the health fair? When you see two words being used together – 100% and cure. No matter how convincing the treatment may appear, I do not believe there is a 100% cure rate for any and all diseases. This is absolute foolish talk!
“I would highly recommend Dr. Erikson! His ability to listen and his caring manner were qualities that I appreciated during each of my visits. After trying many different traditional and naturopathic remedies, I decided to see Dr. Erikson in the hope that he could help me. When I first saw him, I was suffering from ongoing problems with eczema. Since starting his specially made herbal tea, I have seen drastic improvements. In fact, it has virtually disappeared over the past 15 weeks. Thank you so much Dr. Erikson!” – NM
What could be worse for a child than to have the Chicken Pox during Christmas time – Right!!?? Well that was exactly what happened to me as a youngster (see that photo – Yes that’s me :)). I so remember that tormenting itch – Oh the agony! Chicken Pox at Christmas time! Man-o-man, of all the luck! But like many things in life, out of despair came wisdom, as it was during that nightmarish holiday that I was exposed to the power of herbal medicine – Calamine. My loving mother completely smothered me in the stuff and, while seemingly ridiculous at the time, it did really help – quite a lot actually. Who would have guessed that, years later, I would now be using the same stuff in lotions that I hand make for my patients. Calamine is most definitely an effective herbal medicine used extensively in Chinese medicine dermatology.
So what is Calamine anyways? It is actually a mineral, called Smithsonite, which is mainly composed of zinc carbonate and ferric oxide. Western medicine has been using it in a liquid suspension since the early 1800’s as a soothing, anti-itch, astringent lotion for insect bites, poison ivy, Chicken pox, eczema, and the like. In Chinese calamine is known as Lu Gan Shi (Stove sweet stone), and seems to be first mentioned in the Wen dai ben cao (Materia medica for external elixirs) written during the song dynasty (960-1279 AD), thus having a long recorded history of use. Today it is widely used in hospital settings throughout the world for helping to dry up damp sores on the skin, generate new flesh (the protective barrier it creates on the skin helps to regenerate new skin underneath), and for stopping itch.
I make a lotion that contains 10% finely ground and sifted calamine, that is based on an old empirical Chinese medicine formula, and is similar to one used by dermatologists around the globe. The lotion itself contains several herbs, including peppermint oil, which is another good anti-itch medicine. My patients find that it is very good at helping to cool down very red and inflamed skin, while also relieving itch (usually within a few minutes). They will usually follow this lotion with a good quality moisturizer so as to counter the overly drying effects of the calamine.
So when people ask me how did a white guy from the suburbs of Vancouver decide to become a Chinese medicine herbalist, I guess I have my Mom to thank. So thank you Mom for exposing me to the power of herbal medicines, especially Calamine!
Ahhh.. Chocolate. Sweet intoxicating richness – the inspiration of romantics for centuries. Certainly you made the perfect valentines day gift yesterday, for which I am sure many a happy face was created. In 1796 a Spanish army surgeon said it all, ‘Chocolate is a divine, celestial drink, the sweat of the stars, the vital seed, divine nectar, the drink of the gods, panacea and universal medicine.’ So good are chocolate’s health benefits, for now modern science is even proving them to be true!
But before we proceed a step further lets discuss the kind of chocolate that is good for you, as it is certainly not the average overly-processed stuff found in most candy aisles. Healthy chocolate is at least 60 to 70%dark chocolate. Most candy bars do not even contain much real chocolate in them at all, being mostly filled with refined sugars and poor quality fats, so it pays to read the label. It is also good to seek out chocolate that is both organic, thus avoiding harmful chemicals, as well as fair-trade so as to guarantee that the farmers are getting paid well for their efforts.
Dark chocolate is a very nutrient dense food, containing many important vitamins and minerals such as vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, E, pantothenic acid, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, potassium and manganese. It is composed of about 20% protein and upwards of 50% good quality fat. Chocolate is also rich in powerful antioxidants, called flavanols, which may help improve blood circulation. The list of health benefits from chocolate includes: better heart health, lower blood pressure, reduced risk of stroke, improved cholesterol profiles, and a smarter brain.
Eric Brand, a prominent Chinese medicine scholar and practitioner, educates us through his informative blog that in “the text Zhong Yi Shi Liao Yin Yang Xue (Chinese Medical Dietary Therapy and Nutrition), cocoa is sweet, balanced, and enters the heart channel. It arouses the spirit, relieves thirst, and disinhibits urination.”
In regards to skin health, studies have shown that regular chocolate consumption: softens the skin, protects the skin against the damaging effects of the sun, improves microcirculation to the deeper layers of the skin, rehydrates the skin, and improves the overall cosmetic appearance of the skin – thus giving it a nice radiant look. But again, these benefits come best from good quality dark chocolate, not those overly-sugared candy bars.
In the creams that I personally hand-make for patients, I will often use cocoa butter, usually combining it with shea butter. These two saturated plant-based fats create a fantastic barrier that helps lock moisture into the skin, while also offering nourishment. This means that cocoa based creams can help alleviate and prevent the dryness seen in many skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. In contrast, petroleum based products – such as vaseline – offer no nourishment whatsoever, and in fact may occlude the skin too much so that it cannot breathe properly.
So how much chocolate does one need to eat in order to obtain the healthy benefits? Well, research seems to indicate that about 50 grams per week of good quality 70% dark chocolate is enough, which is about half of a standard sized bar like Green and Blacks, or Camino (both companies use fair trade and organic chocolate). Basically, chocolate is best used as a small enjoyable supplement alongside a properly balanced diet containing a wide variety of fresh colourful vegetables, whole grains and quality proteins.
You know that saying, ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’, well physicians of Chinese medicine have historically always utilized this idea when prescribing herbal medicines. It is well known that herbs work better in pairs or, better yet, in formulations of many herbs. Now even the modern scientists are noticing this to be true, for research is showing that when herbs are combined together their ability to fight disease is much greater than if the herbs were used alone. The important part is that the herbs need to be cooked together.
Seems, a bit Harry Porter really doesn’t it? I mean mixing a bunch of roots, leaves, fruits and seeds into a pot, boiling them away for half an hour, and then straining off some horrid tasting liquid is all a bit witchcraft and ferry-tale right? Why bother? Why not let the scientists investigate what the main active chemicals in the plants are and extract them. Put it all in a nice little pill and away we go. Cooking plants together seems so primitive doesn’t it.
Actually, this ancient art of cooking herbs together is being shown over and over again in laboratory settings to be a very important step. It seems that newer and more complex chemicals are formed when herbs are cooked together, ones that have profound effects. For example, when investigating the anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial actions of the two herbs, Ku Shen (sophora flavescens) and Dang Gui (angelica sinensis), researchers found that they worked much better as a herb pair, rather than as isolated herbs. As a team, these two herbs had a much stronger effect at clearing such pathogens as E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Shigella Castellani and Chalmers, while inhibiting the production of toxic inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β, TNF-α, iNOS, ICAM-1, and COX-2. The researchers thus concluded that, “The study supports the hypothesis that the anti-pimple and anti-eczema activities … are attributed to herb pairs, A. sinensis and S. flavescens, used in combination”.
In another study, which was looking at the complexity of Chinese herbal medicine formulae, researchers found many interesting things with the 800 year old formula called Dang Gui Bu Xue Tang, which contains just two herbs: dang gui (angelica sinensis) and Huang Qi (Radix Astragali). Certain chemicals found within each herb were more available, with increased solubility and less oxidative destruction, when cooked together. This study looked even further than chemicals within the herbs, it actually looked at gene expression in individuals taking this medicine, finding that changes to at least 403 genes were specific to the herb pair, compared to using just the individual herbs used alone. Basically the herbs worked better when combined together.
Actually, the formula Dang Gui Bu Xue tang is traditionally used for those suffering with blood loss, who are weak and depleted. Researchers have found that this formula has the ability to increase hematopoiesis, which is the ability for the body to make more blood cells. A couple years ago, I had a patient who lost a lot of blood during the delivery of her second child. She came to me with a haemoglobin level in the 70’s, having a very pale and white complexion (even her palms were pale!). She was obviously told that a blood transfusion would be needed as she had severe anemia. She refused the transfusion and so I prescribed Dang Gui Bu Xue Tang (with some other herbs added) and within one week her haemoglobin jumped up to 110, which is basically 4 units of blood! This patient was actually a GP and was obviously very impressed, saying that there is no western medicine drug that can do such a thing.
Herbs are powerful, especially when they are cooked together. Need I say more…
Many skin disorders can look alike and, as such, it takes a well trained eye to determine exactly what is taking place on the skin, and even then a second or third trained eye may be needed. I often run into cases where I encourage the patient to see another physician, especially in cases where the diagnosis seems somewhat hazy, or is something that I am not comfortable treating – skin cancer being one of them! In the past year alone, I have encouraged at least 4 different individuals to see western trained dermatologists as I was certain that they had something different than what they thought.
The first two patients had been told by previous practitioners, both western MD’s and alternative natural doctors, that they had psoriasis, which was clearly not the case. While psoriasis can be tricky to diagnose from time to time, it usually presents with a fairly identifiable pattern that both of these patients did not have.
For the past 20 years, the first individual had a sore on only one side of his chest, an obvious red flag that it may be something other than psoriasis, as psoriasis is usually symmetrical. To make matters worse, the sore was ulcerated and would ooze yellow fluid, which is also not characteristic of psoriasis. I suspected a condition called paget disease, which I knew could become cancerous. I encouraged this man to have a biopsy through a western specialist and sure enough he did have cancer. Luckily the cancer had not spread too deeply into the surrounding tissue, which is somewhat of a miracle considering the length of time he had it – 20 years!
The other individual had many random red and raised spots all over his body, which all had a yellowish scale. He told me that he was a sun lover for many years, a fact that helped confirm that he had a condition called actinic keratosis, or solar keratosis, which is a condition that arises from sun damage. Upon closer examination I noticed that many of them were bleeding and ulcerated, taking a long time to heal, which led me to think that these may be squamous cell carcinoma – a common evolution of the actinic keratosis. I encouraged this man to see a western dermatologist to confirm diagnosis and to offer treatment, as I believe one of the best ways to rid oneself of this type of cancer is surgical.
The third patient that I referred on for further examination was actually a group of 5 people – a new mother, her mother, her infant son, her father, and her husband. All of them had somehow developed a ‘mysterious’ and itchy rash 6 months previously, right around the birth of the infant. The general physician who saw them thought that the new mother may have had scabies, but changed his mind when she did not seem to respond to the medicines he prescribed to her. He declared that infants do not get scabies, so must have eczema, and prescribed a topical steroid. No diagnosis was given for the others. A referral was put in to see a western dermatologist which, due to our long back list in British Columbia, was in another 6 months time. Upon investigation I diagnosed scabies, in fact I thought it to be one of the worst cases I had ever seen, taking note that it was probably the infant that was actually passing it around when everyone would hold him. I encouraged this family to go straight to the hospital emergency and tell them what I found, for which they did that same day. The on-call emergency dermatologist agreed with me and was thus able to offer swift treatment, a much appreciated move as I could not imagine them living with this condition for another 6 months!
The last case, for which I encouraged a referral, did indeed have psoriasis, which responded very well to Chinese herbal medicines. The problem was that there was a solitary lesion on the patient’s neck that did not respond and upon close examination looked suspicious with tiny blood vessels growing in it (another red flag that could indicate basal cell carcinoma). To be safe I encouraged this patient to seek the advice of a western trained dermatologist, for which we are still waiting for feedback.
Misdiagnosing is common, but preventable. The main part is to become knowledgeable with what common skin disorders look like, so that when something appears differently than the norm we can ask for other opinions. The very first text book dedicated to dermatology in Chinese medicine, the Liu Juan Zi Gui Yi Fang (Liu Juan Zi’s Formulas Inherited by Ghosts, 479 to 502 AD), explicitly explains how some sores found on the body are associated with death, or are not treatable, and so again pointing out the importance a correct diagnosis!
That is exactly what I asked my wife Gillian Allan, a registered Midwife, way back in 2001 when we first met. Gillian had been suffering with allergic eczema, asthma, hay fever, and chronic hives for most of her life. Her response back to me was that she had tried everything, had spent hundreds of dollars on “alternative” medicine and had now come to a place in her life where she needed to just accept her fate.
Western medicine, with its basis in biochemical pharmaceuticals had basically written Gillian off. They had told Gillian that her only relief would be found in topical steroid creams, but that because her eczema was so wide spread she needed to apply them very sparingly and carefully, as the side effects could be very detrimental to her. Basically they had told Gillian that there was no cure for her eczema and that she would suffer with it for life.
Gillian, being a very proactive rebel, was not prepared to accept what these Doctors were telling her. She jumped into the arena of alternative medicine with full gusto, trying everything from elimination diets to energy healing to homeopathic remedies. But to Gillian’s disappointment, she was still suffering. Her skin was the same – red, inflamed and extremely itchy. All the hundreds of dollars that she had spent over years of experimenting had not worked. This is about the time when I met Gillian.
So I said, “You know, Gillian, Chinese medicine is very different than all the other things you have tried. Chinese medicine looks at your body in a different way and has a long track record, thousands of years in fact, of success. Why not give it a go?” Gillian, holding out her dry sand-paper like arms to me, said “Trevor I have tried everything, I need to accept the fact that I have eczema. My skin is the way it is, horrible!”
Well, I am also quite the proactive rebel and so persisted for the entire first year that we dated to encourage Gillian to give Chinese medicine a try. Eventually she gave in and we made the journey to visit my first mentor Dr. Kingson Wu, who after closely examining her, prepared a mix of herbal remedies for Gillian to take home and drink.
The herbs tasted awful, but the one thing I love about Gillian is that whatever she commits to she persists with. Gillian had a focus, which was to heal her skin. She had made a decision to try something different and she was not about to give up because of a bad taste!
Good thing for Gillian’s persistence, as 3 months later she was eczema free – for the first time in her life! Now when Gillian would hold out her arms to me, instead of sandpaper there was normal, moist and supple skin. Gillian was so excited and would exclaim “I have normal skin! I have normal skin! Trevor, feel my skin. It is actually soft!”
Gillian continued to take herbal medicines for about a year and a half. Not only did her eczema clear up, but so did her asthma (which used to be triggered from such simple activities as climbing a hill in the cold air) and her hay fever (which usually entailed a morning ritual of cleaning up the hundreds of tissue papers left beside the bed after a night of non-stop drippy nose!). Now, being 2011 and almost 10 years after Gillian stopped taking the herbal remedies she is doing great. She has not had any eczema since.
So instead of being the husband with the know-it-all attitude of “I told you so”, I decided it would better for me to learn how to treat others who were suffering in similar ways to Gillian. I dedicated my life to learning Chinese medicine, particularly in the area of dermatology. It was seeing first hand the amazing results that Gillian experienced that motivated me to study all over the world, gaining the knowledge base that I now have. It has become my greatest pleasure to see Gillian’s story repeated through the lives of others.
So again, “Have you tried Chinese medicine for your skin problem?”
I recently published a short article in the Health action networks magazine on how Chinese medicine can be safe and effective in the treatment of baby eczema.
Have you ever thought that every time you visit your physician, whether they be a doctor of allopathic, naturopath, homeopathic, or Chinese medicine, that the advice they give you is largely theoretical, and that the “practice” of medicine is simply no more than the proving of a theory.
Sounds ridiculous right? But it is absolutely true.
I saw this today myself when I asked the neonatologist (premature baby doctor), who was overseeing my young premature son in the hospital’s intensive care unit, if there was anything we could do to help his constipation. Her advice back to me was to let Nature work its course, that she wasn’t worried and that he would eventually poop all on his own. She did say however, that if she were “20 years older and wearing glasses” that she would probably give him a glycerine suppository, a practice that many other doctors still practice, but one that she obviously doesn’t agree with. So who’s theory is better?
A few hours after that conversation, I chatted with a woman on the phone who’s first few words to me were, “do you believe that gluten allergy is the main cause of eczema?”. I said, while this may be true for some, I would not agree that this is true for many, if not most people. I said that if a gluten allergy was causing a problem on the skin, like eczema, then the simple solution would be to remove that from the diet and see what happens. Certainly the skin should get better if the “main cause” was due to a gluten allergy, but like many people I see, this woman still had troubled skin, even though she had pretty much eliminated all sources of gluten from her diet for over 2 years. Does the “gluten allergy theory” still hold out in this case? I personally do not think so.
In Chinese medicine we also use theories to understand why a health problem exists, and then how to solve it. Believe me when I say, that you will find a large degree of differing viewpoints from the different doctors of Chinese medicine as to why they think you have the problem that you do. Many times their theories lead to good outcomes. Many times they do not. I, as a doctor of Chinese medicine focusing on dermatology, am also just coming up with a theory, with which I will hopefully create a good result. I photograph all my patients with skin problems so that I can objectively see if my theory is panning out or not.
As my very first mentor, Dr. Kingson Wu, stated to me many years ago,
“Do not believe anything you read or hear, prove it in clinic.”
Wow! Pretty heavy handed advice, but it has certainly helped define my whole clinical practice. Medicine should be based on good clinical outcomes, not just theoretical ones. If a patient is not getting better, then we need to change our theory, our approach. (Read knowing enough is enough)
Where is the best place to get a good theory anyways? Well in Chinese medicine this hopefully comes down through the oral transmission, or deep studying, of another accomplished doctor who was well known for their good clinical outcomes. It makes sense that it is the theories of these successful doctors that we want to follow. The job of the student is to then try and replicate these famous doctors results, by re-proving those theories in a clinical setting. This is also why we call medicine a “practice”.
My mentor, Mazin Al khafaji, is considered one of the most respected dermatologists in the world, not only by other doctors of Chinese medicine, but also by very high level western medicine physicians working for very prestigious medical universities and hospitals throughout Europe. He won this privilege not by blasting his theories all over the place, he did so purely by sharing his case studies. Over the past 25+ years Mazin has collected literally thousands of detailed photographs of the many complicated skin conditions he has treated successfully, thus proving that Chinese herbal medicine, when applied through the correct theory, is an extremely effective treatment. Pictures as they say “speak a thousand words”.
Anyone can hold a theory, as to why they think you have the problem that you do. Anyone can have a theory as to what the correct treatment would be. But it is the end result, of whether you get better or not, which is the main determinant of how good the theory is or not. Mazin liked to say this little phrase by Jonathan Swift, which I think sums this up perfectly,
“All poets and philosophers who find
Some favourite system to their mind
In every way to make it fit
Will force all Nature to submit.”
May we all remember that medicine is simply the art of proving a theory, for which there are many. Take some time to think about the theories that you have adopted in regards to your health. What do you believe to be true? What have you found works for your particular health needs? Let us hope that the theory you follow is sound enough to ensure the good results that you deserve.
Diagnosing the severity of a baby’s eczema can be difficult, primarily because they cannot talk very well. Asking them to rate the intensity of their itch on a scale of 1 to 10 just won’t work! Hence we need some other methods from which to judge just how bad it really is.
Besides the obvious look of their skin – how widespread the eczema is, how red and inflamed it is, the amount of excoriated scratch marks there are, and whether it is wet or dry – a very useful method of gauging the intensity of a child’s eczema is by looking at their sleep. The relentless itching that is associated with eczema is often times worse at night, and in a young child this will usually translate into frequent periods of wakefulness, crying and scratching.
It is not uncommon for children to wake 4 to 6 times through the night from itching. They may also become very hot, kicking their blankets off in order to cool off. By paying attention to these signs we gain much information as to how bad they are suffering. While some rashes, like seborrheic dermatitis may look really bad, the impact it is having on the child may be minimal. Sleep is a good gauge.
Not only do sleeping patterns give us a good gauge of the intensity of your child’s eczema, it is also a good method to measure whether a given treatment is working or not. When the inflammation level in your child starts to cool off, say from herbal medicines, their sleep will improve. They will no longer be waking to scratch, but rather will sleep soundly through the night. This is obviously good for the child, but is most certainly good for the parents, as now everyone gets a proper nights rest!
Just over 48 hours ago, due to not-yet-known causes, my son was born 8 weeks early. He weighs just over 3 pounds, is delicate and beautiful. Modern Western medicine is the reason he can survive right this moment, a true miracle of advancement.
The whole team helping him at the hospital are truly amazing. They are compassionate, skillful and very dedicated health care providers. They are working around the clock to ensure my son keeps breathing, that his heart keeps ticking, and that his energy remains stable. I am totally, 100%, indebted to them for their kind care.
It is in these somewhat awkward, traumatic and upsetting times that insights have a tendency to come storming in. For me, being a Doctor of Chinese medicine, this whole experience has been very humbling. It can become all too easy to focus on the things about Western medicine that I don’t like (the over steroid use for chronic skin disease management is one), that I forget about all the many many wonderful parts of our modern medical world that are actually really really good.
38 years ago, my mother lost a son born at the exact same gestation as my son. The hospital she was in at the time just did not have the proper technology, nor understanding, of how to keep the little guy alive. So far this journey has been an extremely healing one for my mom as she is realizing that it can work out, that our son, her grandson, can survive.
We all have this tendency to put things into neat little boxes of either “all good” or “all bad”, rather than seeing that everything in life can have both good and not so good qualities. There is no “us and them”, there is only what works. In medicine we call this collaborative care. I am pretty darn sure that no one practicing Chinese medicine here in North America would have as much success as the Western medical model in regards to infant survival. And the same is true for the opposite, I know of no better model of care for infant eczema relief than Chinese herbal medicine, as it much safer and effective in the long term.
Good medicine is a collection of techniques gathered throughout our entire world. It is the synthesis of many thoughts and skills coming together to provide the best result possible. So in this regard, there really is no “Western” or “Chinese” medicine, there is just “effective” medicine, which quite frankly could come from anywhere. We just all need to stay open to our options.
The prognosis for my son improves every day. He is growing everyday. His vitals are strong. He is going to grow into a beautiful man one day, much in part to the miracles of our modern medical system.
Big title right! More than a billion options for eczema using Chinese herbal medicine, sounds far fetched and unrealistic. But on the contrary it is a very real reality, one that I am sure is the reason Chinese medicine is able to get consistently good results for such a stubborn skin disease.
Ok, lets do the math…
In my practice, I draw from about 200 different herbs when I create a prescription. Each daily prescription will then have anywhere from 8 to 18 different herbs in it, obviously being totally dependant on the person I am treating. So let’s see…
8 to 18 herbs drawn from 200 herb choices. In order to see the amount of variable ways that I could write a formula, we can do a simple math equation like the following:
Variable formula options = (Total amount of herb choices) x (amount of remaining herb choices) x (amount of remaining herb choices) x (duplicated up to the 8 or 18 herbs needed for a formula)…
(I know it is some heady math… but fun nonetheless!)
200 (Herb #1) x 199 (Herb #2) x 198 (Herb #3) x 197 (Herb #4) x 196 (Herb #5) x 195 (Herb #6)… ok wait let’s stop there and see where we are in terms of the amount of different formulas I could create with just 6 herbs in it (a very small formula indeed)….
Hmmmm…. can this be right? My calculations say, 5,933,421,090,000.
Thats almost 6 trillion different kinds of formulas I could make for eczema, using only 6 herbs in a formula, drawing from a bank of 200 herb choices! If I were to see the differing amount of formulas I could write using 18 herbs in the mix, I think I would run out of space on my computer screen!
So just with 6 herbs in a formula, out of a list of 200 to choose from, we have more formulas than there are humans on the Earth!
Unbelievable right? But absolutely true. Chinese medicine has an unlimited amount of formulations that can be used for eczema, but not just eczema, any type of issue. This is why Chinese medicine can be so successful – it can fine tune in the most delicate way to match any individuals needs.
The way that eczema will manifest in the different people, and the way the people are different themselves, means we need medicines that can be adaptable to the person, rather than just to the disease. Contrast this to the letter one of my patients received from her western dermatologist in regards to the treatment of her atopic eczema,
“My patient is aware that as a Western medicine trained dermatologist, I can offer her topical corticosteroids, topical immunomodulators, systemic corticosteroids and other immunosuppressant medications for the treatment of her atopic dermatitis.”
In other words, pretty limited options. None of them are able to match the individual, as all them have the same relative function of suppressing the immune system. None of them take into account the uniqueness of human life, their digestion, stress levels, menstrual cycles, and variability in how the skin looks. The list above is maybe 10, at the most, different medicines to choose from in order to treat the millions upon millions of different people suffering with eczema. This certainly will not do, as has already been seen. Western dermatologists struggle greatly in their ability to treat eczema effectively.
Luckily the same above dermatologist went on further to acknowledge the limitations of her own medicine and how Chinese medicine was actually making her patient better.
“Unfortunately, my patient has not achieved any control of her dermatitis with traditional Western medicine therapies. Fortunately, she seems to have a found a system that works for her, including the use of Chinese medicine… At present her disease is under control.”
The statement of the above dermatologist probably relates to why many Western doctors throughout Europe, like those in Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, have switched over to using herbal medicines in their practice. In fact my mentor, Dr. Mazin Al Khafaji now consults for a major Western Swiss hospital where they use only Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of various complicated skin disorders – a whole ward in a major Western hospital using only herbal medicines is quite profound when you think of it! These doctors understand the limitations of the bio-chemical pharmaceuticals, and even of their own diagnostic system, thus they opened right up to Chinese herbal medicine approach, seeing such incredible results from them.
Although Chinese medicine offers more than a billion treatment options for eczema, or any other skin disorder, can seem overwhelming, as in “how do you choose the right ones?”, the system is very well organized and sound. Dedicated study and mentorship with other skilled Doctors illuminates the methods, making the process very enjoyable and interesting indeed. I certainly love my work.
I love working with natural medicines, using them to help people overcome their health concerns. I can think of no better career path.
Soap, excessive bathing, and seasonal weather patterns probably have the biggest influence on our skins health as they, quite simply, dry out the skin. Dry skin is a precursor to inflamed skin, like the various forms of eczema.
Now that we are midway through autumn, many of us are experiencing dryness. “Dryness you say? It has been raining almost everyday here on the pacific west (wet) coast!”. Yes, dryness. Even though there may be an increased amount of rain, those large drops of water do nothing to hydrate your skin. The actual air in between those rain drops is actually quite cold and dry, having only a very small amount of the fine mist (water vapour) necessary to keep our skin moist. This is a fact that will continue right through winter.
The other extremely drying event that happens during this season is that we run our indoor heating. Forced air furnaces, electric radiators, and wood stoves dry out the air. In fact they can dry out the air so much that the indoor humidity becomes dangerously low, less than 30% (The recommended range is 30 to 60%, too low can lead to nosebleeds and dry skin). Many people do well to not only moisturize often throughout the day, but also to have an indoor humidifier. When I lived in the country and used a wood stove for our heat, we always kept a kettle full of water on top of it. This served to keep the indoor air moist, but also provided a quick source of hot water for tea!
As I mentioned in past articles, you can never really moisturize enough, particularly if your skin is already on the dry side. 5 to 6 times a day can be perfectly fine. Just ensure that your moisturizer has a natural base like cocoa, coconut or shea, so that it can occlude the skin to keep moisture inside, but also allows your skin to properly breathe.
With so many different advertisements for both skin care products and treatments, we so easily get caught up in a frenzy of overconsumption, often times without any real help. Month after month, year after year, we may spend hundreds of dollars on our skin, but is it really doing any good?
So the number one question I tell everyone to ask themselves is this, “Is your current skin care regime working for you?” This question is particularly for those suffering with chronic skin disorders like psoriasis, eczema, acne, rosacea, etc. Are you actually getting better? Is your skin healing? Are you having fewer flare ups?
If you are getting better, then stick with it. Hopefully long term gain will be achieved and you will not have any dependancy on any product, or service, other than a good moisturizer and sound nutrition.
How easy it is to convince ourselves that a certain expensive product (because of the way it was extracted, or cold pressed, or what have you), or treatment (because it originated in France or Taiwan or is based on some fancy technology), is helping us, when in fact a whole year may have gone by and yet our skin is not much better than it was before. This goes for those all too often diagnosed “food allergies” like wheat, dairy, soy and eggs. If your skin still isn’t any better, and you have been avoiding these things for the past year, why do you think you are still allergic to those foods? Shouldn’t your skin be better by now?
I see this all the time in my patients. They come to me claiming they are allergic to some foods (usually based on some “new age” method of allergy testing) and yet the problem still exists. This makes no sense to me. If the problem was related to an allergy to a certain food, then the avoidance of that food should allow the skin to clear up – correct?
(Of course many people do have food allergies and/ or sensitivities, and these people should absolutely avoid these known culprits.)
The same is true for the long list of expensive vitamin supplements, lotions, creams, etc. that may have actually been prescribed by a “natural health” care provider. Again, if your skin is not doing any better after taking these products for say 4 or more months, then chances are they are not the right treatment choice for your skin problem. Maybe they are good for something else, just not your skin problem. Be honest with yourself.
Again a simple and easy question to ask, “is my current skin care regime working for me?” If it is not, then try something else. Try a different angle, like I suggested to me wife Gillian so many years ago.
Even if you have tried Chinese herbal medicine in the past and didn’t find good results. Question the approach. What was the skill set of your practitioner? How much training in dermatology did they have? How much actual success did they have with your particular problem? What kind of herbs did they use – raw and dried that you cook as a tea (better option), or was it in a capsule or powder format? It is important to ask questions.
When I treat a patient’s skin, depending on the actual problem, I usually like to see some type of change by the 8th or 12th week. If there is no obvious change by that time, then I will usually give up and recommend that they try something else. Skin disorders can be extremely stubborn and as such there really is no one perfect way to achieve success. I feel confident in my skills and I see many amazing changes in my patients, but it is certainly not perfect, and it is certainly not for everyone.
Always remember that different approaches do exist. Stay open and be honest with yourself as to your progress, or lack of. Ask questions and always remain hopeful and positive.
“That unbearable itch… I can’t take it any longer! I have to give in… I have to scratch!” Sound familiar? Well, itchy skin disorders are among the most agonizing experiences we can experience. In fact we scratch our itches purely to create a sensation of pain, which actually trumps the itch, albeit temporarily. The aftermath of scratching does have its consequences, some of which are quite bad indeed.
Everybody loves a good back scratch from time to time. This sure-to-create a purr-like-a-cat sound from our loved ones is usually totally fine. It feels good and no real damage is probably done, and in fact it probably helps create intimacy by meeting some primal grooming need that we all share.
Scratching becomes bad when the act starts to have a negative impact on our skin by either aggravating an already existing disorder, like eczema and psoriasis, or actually creating a new problem, like lichen simplex. There comes a point when the scratching to overcome an itch has to stop.
Some skin conditions like the various forms of eczema and dermatitis, psoriasis, and urticaria can be extremely itchy. This sensation can literally drive people crazy! People may actually scratch so deep that they start to bleed, which is where one of the problems lie. The deeper the scratch, the greater the chance of a scar. Once the deeper aspects of the skin, called the dermis, is broken, the creation of a scar is usually unavoidable. Many times these scars are permanent, being visible long after ones skin problem has cleared up.
Continued scratching also makes the skin rough and dry, becoming thick like leather. This is a patient induced problem termed lichenifaction, and obviously complicates the original skin problem.
Another issue is that scratching can spread bacteria, giving rise to an infection. We can really see this when a yellow crusting appears over top of the rash. This is usually the tell tale sign of staphylococcus aureus, otherwise known as the “golden staph”. Our bodies also have a tendency to react, in a sort of allergic way, to these types of infections by making the eczema spread rampantly throughout the whole body. I myself have seen patient’s small, singular, dime sized sores become widespread after scratching, an event dermatologists call auto-sensitization.
Many people scratch as a coping mechanism for stress and nervousness. They actually scratch so much, in one particular area like the nape of the neck, side of the forearm and lower backside, that a rash is created. This rash then becomes itchy of its accord, thus creating a viscous cycle of scratch – itch – scratch. This condition is known as neurodermatitis, or lichen simplex.
So how do we avoid creating all the above problems of scarring, infection, lichenifaction and the development of new problems? Simple, stop scratching! I know, I know, this is certainly easier said than done, but it is in fact crucial for a proper outcome. Some methods that can be useful for you to gain control over the itch are as follows:
Mindfulness. Learn how to become aware of your actions, so as to empower the ability to make clearer choices. This can greatly help the reactionary jump to unconsciously scratch ourselves to death.
Whenever one feels the urge to scratch, apply some type of lotion or ointment that can help clear the itch away. Of course this should be something that will not create its own set of extra problems, like the steroidal creams may do. I make a few different lotions and/or soaks for my patients using Chinese herbal medicines that are know to subside itch and lessen inflammation. Some of these contain peppermint oil, which has been shown to have remarkable anti-itch properties when used properly.
Exercising regularly can help lower stress, which in turn can help lessen the need to scratch.
Limit the amount of overly stimulating foods that you consume like alcohol, coffee and too much onions and garlic, as they may aggravate the skin.
Moisturizing regularly and appropriately when your skin is dry, as dryness leads to itchiness and actual rashes, like that of asteatotic eczema.
Wear softer and more natural materials close to your skin. This could include cotton, silk and bamboo. These materials breath better, so as to not trap pathogens against your skin, and are less irritating so as to not induce itchiness.
Of course stubborn skin issues like eczema, psoriasis, lichen plans, lichen simplex, and prurigo may need special attention other than just external fixes. These may need internal medicines, preferably herbal and preferably prepared by someone experienced in treating the skin. While the avoidance of scratching goes a long way in protecting the skin, as well as preventing problems from worsening, many skin issues have roots inside the body and thus need appropriate internal treatment in order to achieve lasting long term benefit.
While the glossy ads with promises to cure every skin disease under the sun sound promising, they are usually nothing more than a bandaid. Whether it is a steroidal based cream or a bees wax based calendula salve, relief of symptoms may occur, but they in no way represent a cure of any sort. These remedies are only temporary at the best of times.
The truth is that the majority of chronic skin disorders are stemming from inside the person, not just the outside. Different causes related to the nervous, hormone, immune, digestive, and circulatory systems are where the problem lies. Why else would a woman’s acne get temporarily better when they go on the birth control pill? Why do people with psoriasis have a higher risk of heart disease? Why would certain food items trigger one’s eczema to flare up? The answer is very simple – because the problem is on the inside.
That is why proper treatment has to involve medicines that are ingested into the body, so as to correct the root causes of the problem. Good therapy for most skin disorders is a process of “healing from the inside out”. Creams, salves, lineaments, washes, ointments, or whatever product that one applies to their skin is good and can actually be extremely useful, but is of course limited in its ability to reach the depths of ones internal environment, where the real problem is.
Chinese medicine has always held this to be true, offering a wide range of treatments that suit an individuals needs. When I was a student Doctor in the dermatology ward of a busy hospital in Chengsha, China, I would see roughly 60 patients every morning. The range of skin disorders was huge, everything from psoriasis to the various forms of eczema from acne to warts, from vitiligo to rosacea, from rubella to peri-oral dermatitis. Every single patient, with the exception of many fungal disorders, would be prescribed a custom fit herbal tea to drink daily, as well as an external remedy to apply directly to the skin. Results were usually good, depending on the severity of the condition being treated.
Without the internal medicine, results can be superficial. Consider a story my very first herbology teacher, Dr. Terri Willard, told me way back in 1991. While not a doctor of Chinese medicine himself, he did have lots of good thinking and advice. He said,
“To remove the smell from a stinky garbage can, you have to clean it with soap and water. Scrub it out! Spraying lysol overtop will only hide the real problem, which is that the can needs a good clean.”
Consider the role of herbal medicines, for the treatment of most any skin disorder, to be a way to clean out the inside world in order for proper healing to occur. Combined with good dietary nutrition, herbal medicines are the best way to “heal from the inside out.”
Red and itchy rash with tiny blisters, appearing on the hands and feet. What could it be? From the title you can see the range of responses different health professionals will have for the same problem. Some of these conditions are easy to tell apart, while others are not. Below I would like to share a bit of information that will hopefully shed light on this often complicated issue.
I recently saw a patient with the same symptoms I mentioned above. Over the summer she developed a rash on both her feet and hands that was red, itchy and full of tiny blisters. Upon seeing two different general physicians, she still didn’t have a proper diagnosis. One told her it may be fungal, while the other said it is probably eczema. One recommended a steroid cream, the other said that she had better not use a steroid for risk of worsening a fungal problem. To make matters even more complicated, a local natural health practitioner told her that it is probably shingles!
So what did this woman really have? How could we figure it out?
Well let’s chat about the history a bit here. In her youth she had suffered with atopic eczema, hay fever and hives when touching horses. So right off the bat we know we are dealing with someone with an allergic constitution, who has a predisposition to eczema. When she described her current outbreak on her hands and feet, it was actually quite similar to what she had as a child – red and itchy rash with tiny blisters, particularly between her fingers and on the palms and souls of her hands and feet. This to me sounded a lot like eczema, particularly pompholox eczema.
Pompholox eczema is usually on both hands, or feet, not just one side.
Chinese medicine has identified this type of eczema for a long time, with one of the names for it being “Ant nest”. An old text book called the Collection of Treatments for Sores states that this disorder,
“Mostly erupts on the hands and feet, its appearance is like the nest of an ant, just like the pricks of a needle, the itching is extreme and upon rupturing there is watery exudation.”
Below is an image clearly depicting “Ant nest”, or pompholox eczema.
Now this type of eczema can certainly look fungal as well, being similar to athletes foot or Tinea pedis in appearance. The difference though would be that the fungal problem is usually only one sided, or at least initially, and would not usually involve both hands and feet at the same time. It is possible to have both a fungal infection and a pompholox eczema at the same time, and in this situation the two of them can be hard to tell apart. A skin scraping can then be taken and analyzed under a microscope so as to look for actual fungal spores, which will then clarify the issue for sure.
Below is a type a fungal rash with small blisters, but is only on one foot, not the other. And not on the hands.
As for the recommendation of shingles, I thought this to be pretty far fetched, as this relative of the herpes virus usually only manifests on one side of the body along a particular nerve root. It usually only affects one part of the body as well, like the trunk, head, or wrist, again following a particular nerve root. So for the wrist, the virus may go up the radial nerve, thus appearing on the same side as the thumb, index and middle finger and be absent on the other side.
Shingles usually only comes about once in life and then never returns. So besides the fact that this woman’s rash was totally non-specific to one particular nerve root, being on both her hands and feet, it had been coming and going for months already. It was very clear that her condition could not be shingles, a fact that made her very happy.
Now because this woman had a long history of eczema and allergies, I assumed that her problem was actually due to eczema. She was just having a re-flare up of an old problem and everyone was acting stumped. A little investigation combined with some understanding of the way that different disorders manifest went a long way in deciphering a not so complicated issue.
While creams containing steroids for the relief of eczema and psoriasis can be an important remedy to bring about rapid improvement of ones symptoms, many physicians will agree that the relief is just temporary. Almost 300 years ago a famous doctor named Hsu Ta- ch’un warned of medicines that are too strong, having the ability to quickly subdue illness temporarily, but that weaken the body in the process.
When drugs of ferocious strength are applied, the evil influences [inflammation, etc.] hide for the time being, but the proper influences [ones own body, immune system, etc.] are harmed too.
Steroids only suppress the problem, and in doing so they can have negative side effects – permanent thinning of the skin being one of them. By having such a strong effect on subduing inflammation steroidal creams applied to the skin can also weaken the pituitary-adrenal-axis, thus weakening the bodies ability to fight off disease naturally on its own. Thin and frail skin combined with a weakened immune system leads to further flaring of ones eczema, psoriasis or other skin issue – possibly even worse than it was before! This has been dubbed the “re-bound effect”, or the consequential worsening of a condition after too strong of therapy is used.
Again Hsu Ta-ch’un warns,
It appears as if the treatment was effective for a while, but as soon as the force of the drugs is exhausted, the evil influences will recover, and the patient’s original influences will have been injured significantly in the meantime.
The proper treatment of most skin conditions, in my opinion, is through gradual improvements, rather than quick shotgun style suppression. In order for long term resolution of a skin disorder to occur, Hsu Ta-ch’un recommended in 1757,
The evil influences that have invaded the patient must be diminished gradually, and the patient’s original influences must be supported step by step; as a final result, the evil influences will be exhausted.
When I treat chronic debilitating conditions like eczema and psoriasis, I need to use herbal medicines that not only bring down the symptoms of inflammation, but I also need to use medicines that help nourish and strengthen the body. This process is an art of balancing ones individual prescription so as to provide both aims, at the appropriate times during treatment. It is in this way the long term health of the skin may be achieved, without the danger of re-bound effects.
Many of us have dry skin, an obvious consequence of our environment, lifestyle and genetics. By learning to moisturize and protect oneself, dry skin becomes completely non-problematic. If left un-checked however, dry skin can instigate flare-ups of actual skin disorders like eczema.
I learned a few years ago that if I neglect to moisturize, come spring after months of assault from the dry indoor air created from the furnace mixed with my love of hot bathing, I will develop a type of eczema called asteatotic eczema on my shins. The first time I noticed it I was totally horrified and thought I was doomed to suffer with poor skin now for the rest of my life! Luckily I learned to back off on over bathing and to ensure that I moisturize regularly, and ever since I have not had a return of this problem. I basically learned, first hand, that dry skin can lead to problems, so prevention is the key to avoiding the problem. Pretty simple really.
Now on the flip side, are those people that have dry skin and moisturize constantly, but yet they still suffer. What is up with that? What actually could be happening is that an underlining skin problem has already taken place, like eczema or psoriasis, and it is the reason the skin is drying out. Basically the dry skin that I experience is due to both my environment and lifestyle choices, or external circumstances, whereas the dry skin we are talking about here is due to internal causes stemming from a diseased state.
I remember a man I saw several years ago who came to me for a fertility related problem. I did my examination and noticed that his hands were quite cracked and dry. Because this fellow was a hard working tradesman, using his hands a lot, his GP had for years told him that his hands were the way they were from his work. The GP said all he could do was to keep moisturizing, that or quit his job.
When I took a closer took at his hands I noticed that they were more than just dry and cracked, there was actually some red scaly patches on his hands as well. I asked if he had other similar patches on his body, like his elbows and knees. Sure enough he did have some on his knees, and in fact he said his father was very similar. From what I could tell this looked suspiciously like psoriasis to me.
I prescribed some external herbal ointment and a tea for him to drink twice a day. After a couple of months, we noticed that his hands became very supple. No cracks, dryness, nor red scaly patches, and better yet this was taking place without him having to change his career path! I assumed my diagnosis of psoriasis was correct, as was evidenced through the way that he responded to treatment.
A year or so later this fellow was still free of the dry cracked hands that had plagued him for most of his adult life and, better yet, his wife became pregnant! Three years of trying to conceive and there it was. I am sure, as is this fellow, that the inflammation that was affecting his hands, was also affecting his fertility. Dry skin was thus a sign of a much deeper, more systemic, problem.
Cigarette smoking is bad for our health. Period. We all know that smoking can lead to such terrible tragedies as lung cancer, stroke and heart attack, making smoking one of the leading causes of preventable deaths world-wide. What many people do not know very well, is that smoking is bad for the health of our skin as well.
Dr. Erikson 