Complementary and Alternative Healing University
Psoriasis
Psoriasis is skin disease characterized by recurring reddish patches covered with silvery scales.
Causes of Psoriasis
Cure for Psoriasis
Chinese Herb Therapy and its Toxicity
Modern Drug (Western drugs) Therapy and its Toxicity
Ultra Violet Therapy
Causes of Psoriasis
Causes of psoriasis have not been completely understood. The following facts have been observed:
I. Auto-immune system dysfunction: (1). the ratio of T-helper to T-suppressor lymphocytes (TH/TS) is abnormal. (2). Immune function of the body fluid overactive: IGE and IGA are high and IGM is low.
II. Streptococcus infection: Clearing streptococcus infection has help to relieve psoriasis because the toxin of the bacteria causes the diseased cells to speed up division.
III. Metabolism dysfunction: ration of cAMP and cGMP is abnormal. The diseased skin of psoriasis patients is low in cAMP, which is an epidermal chalone, which inhibits the cells of the skin division.
Traditional Chinese herb medicine and certain qigong can balance the ratio of cAMP and cGMP. Currently Western drugs lack the satisfactory therapy to solve this issue.
There are hundreds of treatment methods for psoriasis. Currently there is no satisfactory western medicine for treatment of psoriasis. Individually prescribed Chinese herbal medicine are more effective. (Acupuncture is not commonly used in China for psoriasis).
Since Traditional Chinese herb medicine is more effective for skin problem, many Westerners seek Chinese herb therapy for psoriasis; but it is difficult to locate knowledgeable Traditional Chinese herb practitioners, especially in the West.
Sometimes psoriasis can be miss diagnosed as fungus infection and vice versa.
Cure for Psoriasis
At present true psoriasis has no effective complete cure.
Some claim certain therapies are effective cures. This can be a miss conception and some skeptics even think the claims can be fraudulent. The truth is that the cycle of psoriasis comes in stages:
1. first it progresses and
2. then it goes into remission and
3. then it goes into subsiding.
Then it will be back again.
If a person uses certain therapy and it happens that it is immediately prior to the remission and subsiding stage, the patient or the practitioner may think the therapy is working. In fact the disease is running its course.
Chinese Herb and its Toxicity
Usually Chinese herb medicine (not the manufactured "herb" which might have mixed with western drugs) is much safer than modern drugs although there were cases of fatalities reported in Britain after using herbal medicine. Under normal usage, the toxicity those herb used in those prescription is mild and should not have caused death. The death incidence could be caused by extreme allergic reactions of the individuals.
Chinese Herb Therapy
Since 1966 psoriasis has been officially called "yin xiao bing" 銀 痟 病 in China. "Yin xiao bing" literally means "silver particles sickness". Most Chinese people call it "niu pi xian"牛 皮 癬 which literally means "cow hide fungus". But, niu pi xian mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine classics is not yin xiao bing which is psoriasis. There are many highly respectable publications in Chinese still use the term niu pi xian for psoriasis. This can be confusing for the general public, even for the medical people who read Chinese.
The Chinese herb therapy can be classified into 3 categories: heat (re), blood stasis (yu, sludge), and dry (zao)
I. Clearing Heat Methods
1. rid of heat and cool the blood method
This method is for the progressing stage.
Symptoms : New bright red particle like or blotches of rashes. The surface is covered with white flakes and under them there are bleeding small particles. Itchiness, restlessness, dislike of heat, yellow urine, constipation, red tongue with thin moss, strong tight (stringy) pulse.
Prescription: tu fu ling 30 g, huai hua 30 g, sheng di 30 g, mao gen 30 g, zhi cao 15 g, gan cao 6 g.
Adjustment of formula:
(1) constipation is bad, add da huang 10 g.
(2) New rashes, particle like, bright red, not much particles (flakes), dry tongue and mouth, swollen tonsils, add jin yin hua, da qing ye, ban lan gen 15 g each.
(3) When rashes become larger with more flakes, especially on the upper limbs and upper torso and on the scalp , add wind ridding herbs like jing jie, fang feng, niu bang zi 10 g each, chan yi 6 g. If the problem is mainly on the scalp and when the usual herbs for ridding of wind are not effective, try to use insects or snake type of herbs like wu gong or wu she.
銀 痟 病
1. 清 熱 涼 血 法 ﹕ 銀 痟 病 進 行 期 ， 新 疹 出 現 ， 色 鮮 紅 ， 點 滴 或 班 狀 ， 表 面 覆 蓋 白 色 鱗 痟 ， 基 底 有 出 血 小 點 ， 痒 ， 心 煩 ， 怕 熱 ， 尿 黃 赤 ， 便 秘 ， 舌 紅 苔 薄 ， 脈 弦 有 力 。
處 方 ﹕ 土 茯 苓 30 克 ， 槐 花 30克 ， 生 地 30克 ， 茅 根 30克 ， 紫 草 15克 ， 甘 草 6克 。
加 減 ﹕
(1) 便 秘 甚 者 加 大 黃 10克 。
(2) 皮 疹 初 起 ， 呈 點 滴 狀 ， 疹 色 鮮 紅 ， 鱗 痟 少 ， 口 乾 舌 燥 ， 扁 桃 腺 腫 大 者 ， 加 銀 花 ， 大 青 葉 ， 板 藍 根 各 15克 。
(3)皮 疹 由 點 滴 狀 丘 疹 散 大 ， 變 為 斑 塊 ， 表 面 鱗 痟 較 多 ， 以 上 肢 或 軀 幹 上 部 為 甚 ， 尤 有 分 布 頭 皮 者 ， 加 去 風 的 荊 芥 ， 防 風 ， 牛 蒡 子 各 10克， 蟬 衣 6克 。 (4) 如 頭 皮 為 銀 痟 病 好 發 部 位 ， 用 一 般 驅 風 藥 無 效 時 ， 試 加 蟲 類 驅 風 藥 如 蜈 蚣 ， 烏 蛇 之 類 。
2. 清 肝 膽 濕 熱 法
來 源 ﹕ 俞 熄 純 。
2. clearing liver and gall damp heat method
II. Improve blood circulation
III. Tonifying the blood
Note: Chinese herbal medicine is a completely a different branch of Traditional Chinese medicine. Traditionally it is practised by specially trained Chinese herb doctors and not by acupuncturists. In America Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture were grouped together by some of the law making bodies to save administrative expenses. A licensed acupuncturist in America is not necessary a trained herbalist.
Modern Drug (Western drugs) Therapy and its Toxicity
During the sixties, the Western drug aminopterin had caused many cases of death in China.
During the seventies, bimolane (AT-1727) was being used. Reports in China mentioned that it had caused more than 200 cases of death.
Psoralen: an chemical ingredient of the herb bu gu zhi
Methosxypsoralen
Steroids: Using oral applications or injections steroids can cause full moon face, whole body water retention, osteoporosis, weight gain, bleeding ulcers, memory loss, diabetes, and worsening of lung TB.
Aminopterin and ethylenediamine tetraaccetylimide can cause decrease of white cell count, thus lowering the immune system, and even cause leukemia.
Retinoic acid (Retin-A, Vitamin A Acid) has caused many cases of deformed fetuses.
Prolong usage of methotrexate can cause cirrhosis of the liver.
Ultra Violet Therapy
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