Psoriasis

Acupuncture with Chinese herb for psoriasis

Psoriasis is an easily recurrent chronic inflammation of skin disease. Main symptoms of psoriasis include skin damage such as red papules or plaques, which are covered with silvery white scales and can occur in any part, but with the extremities and the scalp being the most common. In most cases of psoriasis there is a burning or hot sensation, and persistent and intolerant itching on patches area of the skin. It’s long-lasting and stubborn, often accompany with insomnia and emotional problems such as stress, anxiety and depression. In some cases, psoriasis arthritis are accompanied with painful sensation and stiffness or swelling on joints of entire body. Clinical experience showed acupuncture combine with Chinese herb can give benefits to psoriasis with the above conditions.

Acupuncture for psoriasis arthritis pain: Acupuncture has a positive effective on psoriasis arthritis with ache or painful sensation with stiffness of the joints on limbs, back and neck, some cases with joints swelling. For those cases, the effect of acupuncture is very fast, and long lasting benefits need to numbness of treatment.

Acupuncture with Chinese herb cream topical use can help the psoriasis with skin burning or hot sensation and skin itching. We have designed the Chinese herb cream specific for skin conditions such as burning or hot sensation, itching and dryness. Using Chinese herb cream topical apply liberally and frequently on plaques of skin after acupuncture treatment, patients reported that its effect is fast, can reduced itching, burning and hot sensation of skin.

Acupuncture combine with oral Chinese herb is necessary for cases of psoriasis with long-term symptoms and easily recurrent. These cases always frequently company with fatigue, coldness of body, chronic pain with stiffness on the joints. Their symptoms get worse on the cold condition or winter season. Usually, the result of benefits was showed after 2 to 3 months of a course treatment with acupuncture combine with oral Chinese herb. Some cases can even consolidate for many years without recurrence after a numbness treatments.

Case of acupuncture with Chinese herb for psoriasis

A 67 year old male came to the clinic for help for his psoriasis with red patches of the skin for 30 years, accompanied by painful sensation on his limbs for 10 years and back pain for 2 years. He had been diagnosed psoriasis arthritis. He presented with red patches of skin over lower legs, elbows, arms, shoulders and middle back, there are 3x2cm to 5×3 cm of size of the patches. He frequently felt burning, itching and hot sensation on his skin of the red patches area, and it worsened in night times. He also suffered pain on his arms, elbows, hands and fingers, and lower back and hips, and painful sensation on his knees, lower legs, ankles and feet. These conditions got worse on winter days, cold condition, and sometimes walking on outside. He also reported always feeling coldness of body, fatigue and weakness, stiffness of the joints in morning. Examination showed that his tongue presented a pale red color, with teeth marks on the side of tongue bod, and creak ling on the center of tongue, with thin white coating. His pulse was thin, weak and wiry. His pain got worse with hand pressure on elbows, hands, fingers, lower back, knees, ankles and feet.

By Chinese medicine standards, his condition is yang qi deficiency in spleen and kidney, with blood stagnation as main problems, company with deficiency fire on the skin. The treatment principle is to strengthen and warm yang qi in spleen and kidney, invigorate blood to relief pain, and dispel fire and stop itching.

The treatment acupuncture points included SP6, ST36, E-STM; ST37, 34, SP11, KI3, LV3, GB37, LI4, 5, 11, SI3, SJ3, 4, 6, DU20, Yintang, RN6, 12, acupuncture stimulation for 45 minutes. These were applied once a week for acupuncture treatment. The Chinese herb formula included Huang Qi, Dang Shen, Sheng Jiang, Gui Zhi, Gan Cao, Da Zao, Xian Mao, Xian Ling Pi, Tu Si Zi, Bai Shao, Dang Gui, Chuan Xiong, Dan Shen and Hu Zhang. It is 50g power of an herb Rx for one week, to be taken orally 3 times a day, 2g per time, mix with about 2 to 3 oz warm water. The Chinese herb cream topical use on red patches of skin with itching, burning, hot sensation area, to be applied 3 to 5 times a day follow the direction.

The treatment for subsequent visits modified some points of acupuncture protocol and herbs in the herbal formula according to the patient’s progression. After a few months of treatment, his condition improved with regards to the pain on joint. The majority of his skin conditions also improved. After more the a few months of treatment, his skin conditions significantly improved, and became normal after 1 year. His skin conditions keep normal without recurrence and pain free, even winter day with he came back once 3 to 4 weeks for acupuncture treatment, and refill his Chinese herbal formula and Chinese herb cream. Please see below pictures during 3 years before and after treatment of the acupuncture and Chinese herb for psoriasis.