The prevention of disease.

There is a saying in Chinese called yang shen, which quite literally means to “nourish life”. This is associated with the prevention of disease through eating well, exercising well, thinking well, sleeping well, etc. Yang shen can apply to the general lifestyle choices we make that help us live a healthy life.

A similar phrase appears in one of the earliest Chinese medical texts, the Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wun written between the 4th and 2nd centuries b.c., “The sages did not treat the sick, they treated those who were not yet sick”. An obvious reference for Doctors to educate their patients on the necessity of living a good lifestyle in order to prevent illness. This same thought trend continues in another early text titled the Nan Jing, where it states “The superior practitioner treats what is not yet ill; the mediocre practitioner treats what is already ill.”

Many scholar physicians throughout the ages, particularly Hsu Ta-ch’un of the 17 hundreds, have focused on the “not yet ill” part of this phrase. Hsu has surmised this to mean that the superior physician is able to prevent the transmission of an illness, already aquired, from one part of the body to another part of the body.

Medical experts know, therefore, that if an illness reaches its full strength, it will inevitably be transmitted throughout the body. Such a transmission is to be prevented beforehand…That is what is meant by the statement “The superior practitioner treats those who are not yet sick.”

It is always good to prevent oneself from acquiring sickness by living a healthy lifestyle, but even those with the best intentions can still become sick. Thus it also becomes important to understand illness, so as to prevent it’s destructive path on the body, onto other areas throughout the whole body. There are many examples of this in our modern day, like the prevention of melenoma through proper protection from the sun during its peak hours, to the removal of the an actual lesion so that it doesn’t spread or metastasize to other parts of the body. Everyone knows what damage melanoma can do if allowed to spread, a fact learned through superior practitioners understanding the course a disease may take if allowed to grow.

Another modern example of this concept relates to psoriasis, an illness with undeniable consequences to body parts other than just the skin. Psoriasis has been linked to increased pregnancy risks like miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy, to arteriosclerosis and heart attack, depression, and even erectile disfunction. The connection, from a western point of view, is due to inflammation, which we could view as a type of fire.

If a fire catches on our stove top, we put it out and then the fire no longer does damage. But if that fire is allowed to grow larger, soon it starts to affect other parts of the kitchen – the counter top, the walls, floor, etc – until the whole house is ablaze in flames. Think of psoriasis in this way. As the flames of inflammation affecting the skin create the thick scaly patches we know as psoriasis continue to grow, soon the blood stream is affected, with the arteries and veins becoming thick and full of plaque. With a compromised circulation organs that require lots of healthy blood flow, like the heart, uterus and penis, will also become affected and quickly lose their own health.

The superior practitioner can see that psoriasis is more than skin deep and would thus not be satisfied with the mere application of a cream, like steroids. They know that there may very well be a fight going on inside the body as well, one that must be stopped through the administration of internal medicine (preferably herbal) and through the education of methods to protect ones heart (like eating less sugar and exercising), so that the effects of this fight don’t start to hurt the innocent bystanders standing afar.

The prevention of disease is then two fold. One part has to do with self preservation and the prevention of illness through a healthy lifestyle. The other part has to do with the prevention of an already acquired illness from spreading to other parts of the body, creating havoc on the parts that are “not yet ill”. The second part shows the importance of treating illness as it appears, quickly and effectively, before it has the chance to do more damage.

Wishing you health,

Dr. Trevor Erikson

Reference: The above quotes and ideas come from Paul Unschuld’s great book, “Forgotten Traditions of Ancient Chinese Medicine – The I-hsueh Yuan Liu Lun of 1757 by Hsu Ta-ch’un“. Published in 1990 by Paradigm publications.

The number one question to ask when seeking treatment for skin disease

When you click through the google pages, looking for that perfect someone to help you with your skin problem, a very important question should be asked. Unfortunately this question, in my opinion, isn’t asked enough and is the reason why many people may fail in their attempts to get better.

The question is simple, “Do you have experience in helping others with my particular problem?” The answer to this question is what will guide you to healthy skin.

Most Doctors, regardless of what they practice – biomedicine, naturopathy, homeopathy, or Chinese medicine – really only receive a bare minimum of dermatology in their foundational training in school. This could have been as small as 14 hours! Certainly not enough to tackle the many aspects needed for successful outcomes to your skin problem -proper diagnosis, treatment, and prognostic abilities being the main ones. Doctors from most schools, alternative, natural or allopathic, are really just generalists. They know a little about a lot of things and conditions, but they may not know enough about your particular problem. They really need to have gone on further and trained deeper into their respected areas of interest.

Many Doctors have wonderfully elaborate theories as to why your skin is the way it is, but this does not mean you will actually get better! Theories are great thoughts, great words, that can easily become dry air if they do not pan out in clinic. Again, one of the best ways to help guarantee success is to simply ask the Doctor of their experience level.

How long have they treated skin disease? Did they receive any extra training in the treatment of skin disease? If so, for how long and where? Do they get to see many skin patients in their clinical practice?

Doctors of Chinese medicine, specializing in dermatology, receive years of extra training, as do western dermatologists here at home. We should expect the same from any care provider we see as well.

It may be perfectly fine for a Doctor to humbly admit that they do not have a lot of experience treating cases similar to yours, as long as they have the knowledgeable confidence to give it a try. That they are honest and say, “well I haven’t treated a lot of conditions like yours, but I am willing to give it a try based on the knowledge that I have gained.”

Then you, the patient, can make an educated choice when committing to any given treatment. Not only will this help you towards a more successful outcome, but you may end up saving thousands in the process!

Wishing you health.

Dr. Trevor Erikson

Chinese medicine treats skin disorders effectively well!

Chinese herbal medicine is powerful. I have seen it help 30 year old psoriatic lesions disappear, chronic eczematous skin turn healthy, and acne stricken amenorrhic (non-ovulating) woman start menstruating regularly and become pregnant. Many would call the healing attributes of Chinese medicine to be “miraculous” but, to the Doctor of Chinese medicine, an individuals return to health is just a normal everyday occurrence.

Yes many health conditions are still very stubborn, severe, and impossible to treat, it is just that the time tested holistic theories of Chinese medicine offer another perspective. Another angle that may have been missed by the narrow focus of the modern microscope. I do believe that the scientific rigor of allopathic medicine will eventual discover how and why Chinese medicine can work so effectively, but until then “miraculous” is a fitting term.

One of the main reasons that Chinese medicine can be quite effective at treating many health complaints is that the Doctor practicing it may have obtained specialized training in the areas they are interested in. This is obviously the same as western allopathic medicine, where Doctors take on further studies to become a dermatologist, a cardiologist, or even a reproductive endocrinologist. A typical hospital in China that focuses on natural medicine, will have many floors of departments dedicated to these same areas of specialization. If you have a heart problem, then you go to the Chinese medical cardiologist who will be very skilled in listening to your heart – offering treatments of acupuncture, herbal medicine, and even pharmaceutical medicine when needed.

Here in North America, Chinese medicine is relatively new. Most practitioners are similar to a GP or MD in allopathic medicine, in that they are “generalists”. They have finished a regular 3 to 5 year program, became licensed, and then set up a practice. Their skill is as good as what their general training offered. This may be good for many health complaints, but it may not be good enough for the more specific and stubborn issues. This is why I always like to educate people on the need to question their health care provider about their skill level. Ask them how much extra training they have received in knowing how to treat the problem you or your loved one has. What is their experience? How confident are they?

It actually goes for anything in life. When I go to a new hair salon, I always want to see the one who is good at cutting “crazy” curly hair. When my wife and I were developing a piece of land on Pender Island, we searched out the best excavator operator, one who would make the landscape that much more beautiful. The man we found, Ron Hensha, actually had an art degree from Emilie Carr! With Ron’s combined skill in using both big machinery and  a paintbrush, he transformed the house building site into one that looked as if it were always there – a part of nature, rather than one opposed to it. One can never go wrong in searching out the best when it comes to the problem they want addressed.

I personally feel very privileged to work at Acubalance wellness centre, as I know that all of us have taken many extra hours of training in the field of reproductive medicine. The majority of us have also successfully become Fellows of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (FABORM), one of North America’s first attempts in creating specialized Chinese medicine designations. Because of our training we have had the opportunity to help hundreds of couples overcome their fertility problem, thus improving our clinical confidence – the much needed link between knowledge and success.

Dr. Lorne Brown, the clinical director and founder of Acubalance, founded a continuing education school called Pro-d seminars, where-by he seeks out the best Doctors in the world to share their skill and wisdom on a variety of specialized topics. Their actual motto is “knowledge, confidence, success”. It is because of the integrity of the programs that Pro-d offers that Doctors in the west have the ability to focus their skills and better their clinical outcomes.

I myself am a FABORM, having spent many hours training in reproductive medicine and taking the time to challenge the exam 2 years ago in the United States. I also took extra training in dermatology and have personally spent hundreds of hours flying back and forth between both China and London England studying with the best Chinese medical dermatologists in the World. I knew that Chinese herbal medicine was effective for treating skin disorders because I saw first hand the benefits my wife, Gillian, received.

Gillian struggled with eczema for 22 years before being pretty much cured with herbal medicine. The Doctor who treated her had years of experience in helping others overcome their skin issues. Watching Gillian heal motivated me to seek out the best training I could find, so that I would have the confidence to replicate the experience I had watched Gillian go through. I knew that I would need extra training because the basic 14 hours of dermatology training I received in my 5 year long Doctor program would not be good enough!

So yes, Chinese medicine can treat skin disorders effectively well, as it can for many other issues like infertility. The secret to success is in seeking out the practitioners who have dedicated their lives to deepen their knowledge and skills. As it is only through constant focused study and application of knowledge, that the best results will show up.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Dr. Trevor Erikson

Psoriasis linked to pregnancy complications

A recent study, that was just released in November 2010, points out a relationship between psoriasis and increased pregnancy risks. Women with psoriasis had:

-Spontaneous abortion, increased by 20.9%

-Preterm birth, increased by 14.3%

-Severe preeclampsia and eclampsia (Pregnancy related hypertension), increased by 11.3%

-Ectopic pregnancy, increased by 10.6%

These results show how psoriasis is truly an internal, systemic, disorder, which is exactly how Chinese medicine has diagnosed and treated this for thousands of years. It also shows how “what is on the outside, reflects what is on the inside”. Chinese medicine uses pattern differentiation to categorize different health disorders, for which it then uses to determine the correct treatment. Many diseases will ultimately share the same pattern and thus can be treated simultaneously. Patterns that both psoriasis and the above mentioned pregnancy disorders  all share are ones like blood heat and blood stasis, which point to the main problem being one of the vascular system and blood circulation.

This is interesting, and really of no surprise, because when psoriatic lesions are looked at through a microscope the blood vessels appearing underneath are often times very dark, distended, and tortuous. It is now known that pregnancy risks are increased if the small blood vessels that form to unite the uterus with the placenta are not smooth and of good health. One only needs to use their imagination to understand what may be happening to these uterine blood vessels in women with psoriasis, by understanding how the blood vessels are forming underneath each psoriatic lesion. Psoriasis has also been linked to other disorders which involve the blood circulation, including non-pregnancy related hypertension, heart attack, and type 2 diabetes.

Much of the reason for the poor blood vessel health is due to imbalances in the immune system, with consequential inflammation. To treat both psoriasis and miscarriage, Chinese medicine uses well crafted herbal medicine to cool the blood and quicken it’s flow. By doing so, inflammation is reduced,  the immune system is modulated, the skin improves, and  pregnancy related disorders are hopefully prevented.

Dr Trevor Erikson

 

Acne, infertility, and recurrent pregnancy loss

In my clinical practice, at Acubalance wellness centre, I have the privilege of treating many different people’s skin, reproductive disorder, and/ or the combination of both.  I have now grown to see, through both clinical experience and modern research, that the causative factors behind a woman’s hormonal acne, may also be the reason that she has been unsuccessful in either becoming pregnant and/ or keeping a pregnancy to full term.

Dr Jerylinn Prior, a well known endocrinology professor and researcher, once said at a public lecture that the presence of acne and/ or excessive hair growth in a woman is a good enough indicator that she has excessive androgens, the so called male hormones, and that a blood test is not necessary.  Androgens, and specifically testosterone, is what triggers the sebaceous glands in the skin to express sebum and, when in excess, leads to plugging of the gland with acne being the end result. Excessive production of androgens, a state called hyperandrogenemia, has been linked to a variety of reproductive problems including infertility, anovulation, and recurrent pregnancy loss.

Excessive testosterone in the ovary prevents a growing follicle from ovulating, which thus becomes stuck so to speak. This type of scenario of high androgens and lack of ovulation is common in poly-cystic ovarian syndrome, which is one of the most common causes of infertility (Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility, pg. 469).
Studies have shown that high androgens are directly linked to recurrent pregnancy loss, and can even be a better indicator of future pregnancy losses, than advanced maternal age (Human Reproduction 2008 23(4):797-802).

Higher androgens have been linked to not only higher incidences of miscarriage, but also to an inability for an embryo to even implant in the first place. This is most likely due to a direct correlation between high androgen levels, which leads to higher concentrations of endometrial androgen receptor sites, and decreased levels of an important endometrial receptivity bio-marker called αvβ3 integrin. Basically studies have shown that higher androgen levels decrease the uteruses ability to grasp and hold onto a growing embryo, making the uterus less receptive (Biol Reprod. 2002 Feb;66(2):297-304.)

Higher androgen levels have also been linked to decreased endometrial blood flow, which could be another reason for the lack of either embryo implantation and/ or miscarriage (Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Sep;34(3):326-34).

Basically, many can see from the above thinking that acne, which can indicate higher androgens levels, can be a diagnostic clue linking problem skin to reproductive issues. Because Chinese medicine takes all factors of ones health into consideration, the link between the skin and reproduction is not so far stretched. A typical treatment in Chinese medicine will focus on both the look of a woman’s acne plus the history of any menstrual irregularities, history of pregnancy losses, and even ones overall health. I would say from my own, and colleagues, experience that the end result is very good. Women taking Chinese medical treatment end up with clearer skin, regular ovulatory cycles, and even full term pregnancy.

Dr Trevor Erikson

Chinese medicine helps mom realize her dream after 4 miscarriages.

“I began seeing Trevor in July 2009 after nearly 3 years of trying to have a baby. We went through 4 miscarriages- 3 miscarriages using Clomid and 1 miscarriage after 2 cycles of injectables. The stress of monthly doctor’s visits, blood tests, temperature taking, etc. had me so depressed and really changed the person I was.

Even worse, the introduction of all the hormone injections and coming off the pill after years of use caused my skin to break out in terrible cystic acne. I was depressed about my body failing as a woman to carry a baby to term, and also depressed about how I looked. I decided to try acupuncture just as a break from the medical visits and to relax my body.

I was at first skeptical that Trevor could help my skin and my fertility issues, but he changed my mind very quickly! Within one month of chinese herbs and acupuncture, my acne significantly improved. And the next month I was pregnant naturally!!! I could not believe it after so many years and medical interventions I used. I now have a beautiful 4 month old baby boy and I could not be happier.

I cannot thank Trevor and all the team at Acubalance enough. I will definitely be going back to Acubalance when we decide to try for another baby. They are miracle workers and everyone there is wonderful. The office is so relaxing and full of good energy – it was a welcome change from the offices full of depressed and stressed women at the fertility clinics I used to visit. Christina is so helpful and pre-books all your appointments for ease, and the office hours are great as they really make an effort to fit you in whether it’s early morning or after work.

I cannot say enough great things about Trevor and everyone I met at Acubalance. Thank you so much for changing my life.”

-Tricia