What eczema is
Eczema, or atopic dermatitis, is a skin barrier that lets moisture out and irritants in, with an immune response that overreacts to them. The result is itchy, red, dry patches, often in the creases of the elbows and knees, on the hands or the face. It often runs with hay fever and asthma, and it tends to flare and settle. Contact dermatitis is a reaction to something touching the skin. Moisturizers, topical steroids and newer creams, and for some people injections or tablets, are the dermatology path.
Weeping or cracking
The classical reading starts with whether the skin is wet or dry. A flare that is red, hot, weeping and crusting, intensely itchy and worse in heat, is damp-heat soaking the skin. Eczema that oozes a little, comes with a sluggish appetite, bloating and soft stools, and flares when eating is irregular, sits on a Spleen that cannot transform damp. Skin that has thickened, cracks, flakes and itches most at night, worse in dry weather, is blood too thin to nourish it, a pattern of long-standing cases. Many people move between these over a year.
How we work with it
Herbs do much of the work, and the formula changes as the skin moves between wet and dry. For a Spleen-damp picture, a practitioner might consider Eliminate Dampness with Calm the Stomach and Poria Five (Chú Shī Wèi Líng Tāng, 除濕胃苓湯); for a dry, thickened, itchy phase, a blood-nourishing formula instead. Acupuncture at points for itch, damp and the gut is added, with moxibustion for a cold, weak center.
Diet comes from the pattern. Damp-heat flares usually ease with less alcohol, spicy, fried and sugary food; a weak center needs warm, cooked, regular meals; dry skin needs blood-building foods. See dietary therapy.
We keep track with you of itch, sleep and where the patches are, and change the formula as they change.
Formulas here illustrate how pattern diagnosis shapes treatment. They are not recommendations; a practitioner selects and adjusts formulas for the individual.
Questions people ask
Can acupuncture help eczema?
Acupuncture is studied as supportive care for itch and eczema, and research is ongoing. For most people herbs do the larger share of the work, with acupuncture alongside, and both are added to your dermatologist's care.
Should I stop my steroid cream?
No. Topical steroids, other creams and any injections or tablets your dermatologist prescribes stay as prescribed. Any change is a conversation with your dermatologist, and we check every formula against what you use.
Do you treat children with eczema?
Ask us about your child's age and situation when you book. Children's eczema is always managed with their pediatrician or dermatologist, and herbs for children are prescribed with extra care.
When does eczema need urgent care?
Spreading redness, pus, fever, or clusters of painful blisters or punched-out sores on eczema can mean infection, and some of these need care the same day. See your physician or urgent care right away.
This is general wellness information, not medical advice.
