Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a common skin disease affecting up to 3% of the population. Onset is usually before the age of 20, but all age groups are affected. The severity of this condition can vary from 1 or 2 lesions to a body-wide spread, from a benign cosmetic source of annoyance to a physically disabling and disfiguring affliction.
Psoriasis is a common, chronic and recurrent skin disease characterised by rounded circumscribed dry erythematous, scaling patches of various sizes, covered by multiplayer greyish white or silvery white scales which appear repeatedly on the erythema. Two of the chief features of psoriasis are its tendency to recur and persist. In terms of TCM, psoriasis is considered to be due to invasion of pathogenic wind which incubates in Yin and Blood, or stagnation of Qi and blood. These transform into heat. Wing and Heat struggle in the skin. There are three main types of psoriasis according to TCM 1) Flaming of Heat at Qi and Blood channels with Wind. Symptoms: Erythema and scales appear continuously, expanding and spreading throughout the skin. The lesions are flushed and swollen. The scales are easily shed when scratched. Itching is sometimes intense. Restlessness, thirst, bitter taste in the mouth, sore throat, constipation, The tongue is red or dark red with a thin yellow or white coating, rapid, taut or slippery pulse. Treatment principle: Clear heat, resolve toxins and expel wind. 2) Blood-heat and Blood-stasis Symptoms: The lesions are moist and macules a purple red covered by scales with	new lesions appearing sporadically. Slippery pulse, red tongue with yellow coating. Treatment principle: Remove pathogenic heat, regulate Qi and resolve toxins. 3) Noxious-heat and blood-stasis. Symptoms: Large thickened psoriatic plaques, stubborn lesions, dryness in the mouth, constipation, purple red tongue with a yellow and greasy coating, deep-slippery and forceful pulse Treatment principle: Clear heat and promote diuresis, remove blood stasis and resolve toxins. Herbal medicine treatment for psoriasis focuses on creating formulas according to different types of psoriasis. . For example: Formulas employ herbs Tian Hua Fen to nourish Yin, clear Heat, and relieve thirst. Herbs such as Xi Yang Shen and Dan Shen may be added to formulas as well to tonify the Qi and prevent Blood Stasis. The main ready-to-use herbal products are: YIN XIE CHONG JI, FU FANG QING DAI JIAO NANG, PI FU BING XUE DU WAN. For external use: LIU WU XI YE . Acupuncture treatment focuses on removing Qi stagnation and other disharmony.