For patients whose skin has not responded well to western eczema treatments or who have had negative side effects, traditional Chinese medicine offers a viable alternative. TCM practitioners believe that eczema is not an isolated issue but rather a sign of a deeper problem.
In TCM, eczema in its atopic dermatitis form is likely caused by
- Deficiencies in your spleen and liver
- A lack of yin in your body
- Pathogenic factors of dampness, heat and wind
In particular, deficiencies in your spleen is a major culprit for the outbreak of eczema. The spleen is responsible for converting your body’s nutrients into qi (vital energy) and blood. However, when it can be weakened by fatigue, stress and an unbalanced diet. At this point, TCM practitioners believe that instead of having nutrients transformed into qi and blood, they instead form dampness.
The consequence of having constant internal production of dampness is internal heat emerging. When both internal dampness and heat are accumulated, they start to circulate to your head. In turn, symptoms such as redness, itchiness, dry skin and the oozing of fluid start to emerge around your face.
When your skin’s defense is down, external pathogenic factors such as heat, dryness, dampness and wind can freely invade your body, thus giving rise to a full blown eczema. Depending on your environment, different pathogens will unbalance your body and thus different conditions will emerge.