A common skin condition, psoriasis occurs when cells quickly develop creating thick “plaques” on the elbows and other parts of the body. The plaques are usually enveloped with silvery scales. As a dermatology specialist and holistic practitioner, it is my belief that psoriasis can best be treated with Chinese herbs. Here are some reasons why I think Chinese herbs are the best treatment choice for psoriasis:

1. Chinese herbs are safe – If you have paid attention to TV ads for psoriasis drugs, you would notice a litany of side effects that can happen when you use them. Some of those effects can be scary, to say the least. These side effects have, in fact, been experienced by a lot of my patients and some of these side effects have been severe.

On the other hand Chinese herbal treatments have none, or at least, very few side effects. You may experience loose stools or stomach discomfort. And such mild symptoms don’t even last too long.

However, this is not say that “natural” and “herbal” will always translate to a safe treatment. If taken or used improperly, anything strong enough to heal you can also be harmful to you. It is important that the herbalist treating you has experience treating psoriasis and that the herbs he/she is using was purchased from a reputable Chinese drug store or pharmacy. You can ask the herbalist if the herbs do not have any fungicide or pesticide restudies or if they have been tested for quality. The quality of the herb is definitely something worth paying close attention to.

2. Treatment is customized – Treatment is often based on the magnitude of the psoriasis condition in western medicine. The more severe the condition is the stronger the medication will be prescribed. However, the seriousness of your psoriasis is just one among many factors taken into account In Chinese herbal medicine. This type of medicine is holistic in nature and therefore herbalists will look at your entire health profile. For them, important factors can include the appearance of the lesions, their itchiness, the parts of your body affected, your digestion, your appearance (do you look tired and old or vibrant or young?), and other factors involved such as stress, diet, smoking, or drinking.

Chinese medicine can identify the underlying patterns of imbalance of the psoriasis by observing the whole health picture of the patient. These patterns are specifically addressed by a specific customized herbal therapy, as these patterns evolve so too does the herbal treatment.

3. Herbs can be for topical and internal use – Psoriasis is manifested in the skin although it’s an autoimmune condition whose cause is really found within the body. To target the root of the condition, herbs taken internally are used. To treat the symptoms arising in the affected regions of the skin topical applications of herbal oils, salves, or creams are used. The most effective way to promote healing and attain longstanding results is by using a combo of topical and internal therapies.

4. Your internal imbalances can be addressed by a Chinese medicine practitioner. The appearance of your skin can tell a practitioner a lot about what is going on inside your body. Scarlet red lesions, for example may require certain types of herbs than lesions that are purplish in color. Different herbs may be necessary for white flaky scaling than those for thick yellow-brown scale. Specific herbs may be required for plaques on the knees and elbows than plaques on the scalp or in the armpits. Based on the appearance of your skin alone, an herbal dermatology specialist can identify the imbalances within your body.

Bear in mind that a lot of homeopaths, naturopaths, and herbalists are not experienced in the treatment of skin conditions. It’s very rare to find a holistic practitioner who has some kind of dermatology training. So, make sure you see a specialist regardless of how you choose to treat psoriasis. This specialist can spot the unique distinctions on your skin and know what to do about them.

Chinese herbs won’t work for everyone and there is no known cure for psoriases. Most of my clients experience striking outcomes with diligent treatment. The skin clears wholly with no further relapse for a lot of them. Hence, there exists a real great way treat your psoriasis without using potentially harmful medications.

It may seem a bizarre way to treat psoriasis with needles but for thousands of years, this actually has been the way the Chinese and other people in East Asia addressed this condition. Psoriasis is a rare condition in China; in the West it is a relatively major problem. Unfortunately, western medicine has still found no cure for this disease. But some of its sufferers have experienced a complete cure with acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture has the ability to alleviate the lesions and plagues caused by ths skin condition.

In Australia and the United States, two percent of the people suffer from severe psoriasis. Around 20% of the population has a mild to serious case of this condition. Furthermore, each year thousands of new psoriasis cases are reported. Modern science still hasn’t determined the real cause of psoriasis although it knows that the disease doesn’t just affect the skin’s upper layer. Scientists suspect that psoriasis has something to do with immune system malfunctioning that cause certain cells to become hyperactive resulting in the lesions and plagues psoriasis is known for.

Using sterile, clean, long, thin needles, acupuncturists insert them into certain points in the body known as acupoints in which underneath lies an energy vessel called a meridian. The procedure may or may not involve needling the affected area when trying to address the condition.

Unfortunately, there are have been just a few studies done about acupuncture treatment of psoriasis; that does mean that it does not work. The fact is, more and more doctors are recommending acupuncture for the treatment of psoriasis if pharmaceutical drugs fail.

For those wanting a quick fix to their problem, acupuncture is not for you. It might take several sessions to see whether acupuncture treatment for psoriasis works for you. One of the best things about acupuncture is that it has no side effects, although if you have a fear of needles, then the treatment can give you an anxiety attack and raise your blood pressure. If you have an aversion to needles, you might be happy to know that many practitioners are now using small probes and mild electrical pulses instead of needles. The process may be different but the results are the same.

So, if you have exhausted all conventional modes of treatment to help resolve your psoriasis, you might want to consider acupuncture. If you ask me, I would rather try the electric version of the treatment for the simple reason I don’t like the idea needles being stuck in my body.

In Chinese medicine, psoriasis is seen as a Blood Heat disorder. Conventional Western medicine considers this as a metaphor signifying that an inflammatory process is occurring in the bloodstream, exhibiting symptoms such as scaly, red, and itchy patches on the skin. The acupuncture points that are needled to treat psoriasis possess cooling qualities. Your acupuncturist knows exactly where these acupoints that help clear and cool blood are located. They can also be helpful if your psoriasis condition is exacerbated by spicy food, or hot weather.

Acupuncture Removes and Clears Toxins

The idea of toxins can also be applied to the metaphor of blood heat. Suggesting anything from allergic dermatitis to food allergies, from an unhealthy lifestyle and diet to plain toxicity, a blood heat diagnosis will entail the treatment of acupoints known for its detoxifying qualities that can be helpful in the treatment of psoriasis. People living in polluted environments as well as those with allergies and those living a toxic lifestyle need to discuss the process of detoxification with their acupuncturist.

Fortifying the Lungs

Traditional Chinese medicine sees the lung as similar to the skin. Both are considered to be external components of the body. This means that the lungs are affected by the outside world through the breathing process. The lungs like the skin have a huge surface area. These similarities make these two body organs closely related to each other. So, when the function of the respiratory system, is strong, it can lead to the healing of the skin from disorders such as psoriasis. From the viewpoint of Western medicine, the lungs have a tight association with the immune system, and so when lung function is strong, the immune system is also healthy and strong. If you have any problems with your lungs or have a family history of asthma, bronchitis, COPD, etc., you need to mention it to your acupuncturist.

The patterns causing psoriasis need to be treated in the right manner using modalities that have been proven to bring about great results. However, in order to get the best short-term treatment outcome, you need to treat the site where the psoriatic lesion itself is located. Through the sticking of needles perpendicularly around the lesion’s edges, from the healthy skin penetrating into the psoriasis, healing energy can be focused by your acupuncturist into the psoriasis itself. Besides that, the lesion can be directly inserted with needles that also directly target the disease. Contrary to popular belief, direct needle insertion in the psoriases is not painful. In fact patients who have undergone this procedure find it cooling and soothing providing immediate itching relief. You can request your acupuncturist for the same kind of procedure. There are areas in China where an acupuncture procedure involving liquefied herbs is injected into the body using hypodermic needles bringing about quick and dramatic results. In some states in the Union, this procedure is not yet legal. You need to ask your acupuncturist if this type of medical procedure can be performed in your state.

Can acupuncture help treat the disfiguring disease of psoriasis? Is psoriasis an inherited condition? Scientists are still searching the exact reason why psoriasis occurs although it looks as if most psoriasis sufferers possess a genetic predisposition to this condition.

Not all individuals with psoriasis manifest the silvery scales typical of psoriasis cases immediately. Some sufferers may initially show few and small pimples which can be the result of a skin injury such as a burn or cut.

Based on the observation of the associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Columbia University, Dr. Robert Walther, “There are instances when psoriasis starts out as a bunch of tiny pimples rather than the classical scaly patches of this disease. This frequently occurs when the psoriasis is triggered by a streptococcal infection like a sore throat,”

“In certain serious instances, the body may be vertically covered with a red bumpy rash or the patches can spread and run together,” Dr. Waither added.

Using acupuncture alone to treat psoriasis may not be effective enough to treat the symptoms although current studies have shown that acupuncture has some rates of success in treating this skin condition. Presently, many western medical practitioners are using acupuncture as an adjunct to conventional therapies. So if a person is suffering from skin irritations or allergies, he/she should talk about possibly combining a standard medical treatment with acupuncture.

Frankly speaking, acupuncture was not used as a treatment for psoriasis during ancient times the reason being that psoriasis cases back then was a rarity. However, as nature and science have been unsuccessful in finding a cure for psoriasis, some sufferers have reported being cured of their psoriasis with acupuncture. This treatment has helped them alleviate the lesions and plagues of psoriasis; so, this natural and unique form of therapy may be worth a try.

There around 2% of Americans suffering from severe psoriasis while about ¼ of the US population experience mild to extreme type of this skin problem. Besides that, thousands of new cases are discovered year causing psoriasis to become a worldwide dermatological problem. Modern science still does not know what actually causes it but psoriasis is known to not only affect the skin’s upper layer, it is also suspected to be associated with problems in the immune system that allow certain cells to turn hyperactive resulting in the lesions and plagues that are the classical symptoms of psoriasis.

During treatment, the acupuncturist utilizes long thin needles inserted into the body at acupuncture points that lie on top of a series of signal paths located just underneath the skin that correspond to a problem area. The needles may not necessarily be inserted into the region where the psoriasis symptoms develops when treating the condition. Signals will be channeled through certain acupuncture techniques in order to treat the symptoms as well as their underlying cause.

The number of research done on the effect of acupuncture in treating psoriasis is very few. This lack of study, of course, does not help validate acupuncture’s ability to treat psoriasis. Furthermore, since acupuncture works differently from person to person, it may not follow the conditions set by western medicine in testing the efficacy of a treatment   So, unfortunately, acupuncture studies are often considered cases of trial and error in an attempt to treat a condition.

You may need several sessions of acupuncture treatment to be able to cure your condition and so, if you’re in a hurry to cure your psoriasis, then acupuncture is not for you. One of the best things about this treatment is that there are no side effects unless you have a fear of needles that causes you anxiety or makes your blood pressure to shoot up. You should know that there are acupuncture techniques that use small probes and mild electric currents instead of needles. These less invasive techniques are as effective as the traditional acupuncture needling technique.

If you have used all kinds of treatments without success, then it’s time to give acupuncture a chance. It may be the only treatment you need to completely cure your psoriasis.