Eczema

Extremely uncomfortable skin condition marked by visible inflammation, pustules, itching, and misery. Often brought about by stress and kept going by other lifestyle factors. Any one thing getting out of balance such as too much worry, alcohol, or anger could lead to a skin flare-up that may seem to have a mind of it’s own.

The first step in dealing with eczema is often a visit to the dermatologist for a diagnosis. They will prescribe a cream, probably a steroid or something similar. Over time steroids cause thinning of the skin and dependence. It takes a hot minute to see that this isn’t the most appealing or sustainable plan, especially if it’s an ongoing issue that is affecting you for months at a time or tends to come back up (as is often the case with auto-immune conditions). You may want to focus on addressing the root cause, right? Yes! We will get to that in a minute.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine we call the root cause, the root and the manifestations are the branch. The itching, redness, and dryness or whatever the combination - is very visible on the skin, it may actually be embarrassing. With eczema treating the root cause first it the most important thing to the acupuncturist is to get the patient out of pain and discomfort. This may be done by topical herbal treatments applied to the skin. The system is calmed with acupuncture, toxins released with cupping, and lifestyle factors addressed. It’s a highly effective and holistic approach that heals the skin from the outside in and inside out.

The skin is sometimes thought of as the canvass of the body, that skin issues are showing imbalances deeper below. Other bodily systems might be involved, people with eczema often have allergies too, for example. So to summarize, when coming for treatment for eczema you will likely see improvements in other important areas of your health!