Acne is one of the most common problems for young people, especially during adolescence. Boys suffer with acne more than girls, but occasionally the complaint persists beyond the teenage years.

Western medicine considers acne a hormone imbalance. However Chinese Medicine regards acne as a problem of damp heat which is brought about either by overeating hot and damp foods, or as the result of the digestive system being unbalanced. This means that the spleen and stomach are not functioning adequately and occasionally the trouble can be traced to the lungs.

Teenage acne usually clears up by itself, but those who have a problem with it should avoid deep-fried food like fish and chips or crisps, or hot food like chili and curry. They should drink very little alcohol, and cut down on chocolate. Severe cases of chronic acne can be treated with antibiotics by a Western doctor, but if it persists, a Chinese Medicine doctor will investigate the action of the spleen and stomach and use purging herbs such as rhubarb to open the bowels. A Chinese Medicine practitioner will also give herbs to purify the blood and will recommend a special diet. It is better not to put too many external preparations on the spots. Smothering them in oils and lotions will only make matters worse.

There are many different types of this eczema, which in Chinese Medicine is associated with the lungs, stomach, heart and blood. One type of eczema is caused according to Chinese Medicine, by damp heat, where the skin is weeping and there is a discharge with a sensation of heat and itchiness. In Chinese Medicine theory another kind of eczema is caused by heat in the blood, where dryness, redness and itchiness are the symptoms and the third kind, is caused by wind, and is an allergy where the skin erupts.

Chinese Medicine treatment for the different types of eczema is given accordingly. Oriental wormwood or Chinese gentian, peony root and rehmannia are used for the eczema caused by wind. Schizonepeta and ledebouriella root are often chosen for other types of eczema.

There are other more complicated forms of eczema. A Chinese Medicine practitioner will diagnose these and treat accordingly. Eczema usually responds well to Chinese Medicine, although it should be stressed that it does not work in every case. Chinese Herbal tea, or herbal remedies in pill form can be prescribed, but because eczema cases can vary so much from patient to patient, it is advisable to have a personal consultation with a Chinese Medicine practitioner. There could never be one prescription for all eczema patients.

Psoriasis is a non-contagious disorder which affects the skin and joints. It commonly causes red scaly patches to appear on the skin. The scaly patches caused by psoriasis, called psoriatic plaques, are areas of inflammation and excessive skin production. Skin rapidly accumulates at these sites and takes on a silvery-white appearance.hinese Chinese Herbal Medicine treatments for this distressing skin condition are undergoing clinical trials at several hospitals and the outlook is extremely encouraging. The raised, red scaly patches can appear anywhere on the body, but most often affect the knees or elbows. The cause is unknown and it is uncommon before the age of ten. Psoriasis usually affects both sides of the body and often makes the nails on fingers and toes become thickened and pitted. Psoriasis responds well to treatment by individual Chinese Medicine practitioners, although they emphasise that some cases are very stubborn. Relatively mild cases can respond in two or three months. Serious cases of psoriasis take much longer, and a cure cannot be guaranteed. It is often due to a blood heat syndrome.

Shingles blisters usually heal quite quickly, but the nerve pain can go on for months. If the facial nerve is affected, the face may be temporarily paralysed, and if the optic nerve is affected, the cornea can be seriously damaged, endangering the sight. See a doctor as soon as possible if shingles affects the area near the eyes.

Vitiligo usually invades the face, neck, limbs, belly, waist, and back, often makes an advance fast in the spring and summer. Generally the suffering area showed without soreness and itch, but with individual cases there shows a feeling of itching that always forebodes a tendency of the suffering going on with expansion.

In TCM principle, the pathogenetic factors of vitiligo are mainly due to heat in the blood or bodily heat, invasion with exogenous wind or damp, which invade into the skin resulting in disorder of the topical qi (vital energy) and blood, and blockage with the channels and vessels; the blood can not nourish the skin leading to qi-stagnation and hair-orifices blockaded, so that vitiligo is suffered from; and a trauma is prone to get complicated in vitiligo too.

Currently the major remedies in treating vitiligo are: ultraviolet irradiation, isolation of pigment, subcutaneous injection, etc. However, the most remedies just merely alleviated the symptoms of the illness but didn't effect a permanent cure, once stopped the treatment, a relapse might occur again. And some medicines matched with hormones which might achieve an effectiveness in short term of treatment, but it wouldn't bring a radical cure of the disease. We consider if you want to treat the ailment more effectively, should rely on the medical measures of traditional Chinese medicine to regulate the Qi and blood medical measures of traditional Chinese medicine to regulate the Qi an blood of the body, clear away the heat, activate the blood circulation, dredge the channels and vessels in order to support the healthy energy and strengthen the body resistance.