About 16 million Americans suffer from eczema, a skin disease that is marked by distinguishing symptoms of red, scaly and dry patches of skin that are extremely itchy. Medications are the standard conventional modalities for eczema and they are designed merely to relieve the itchiness and inflammation. Corticosteroids are the most commonly used drugs to treat eczema; however it has certain adverse side effects that may include weight gain, osteoporosis, hypertension, gastrointestinal problems, glaucoma, and cataracts. Eczema sufferers seeking a safe and natural solution to their problem should try out the very effective Chinese herbs and acupuncture treatment for eczema.
The effectiveness of acupuncture in treating eczema was put to the test in a German study. This study had 30 participants all of whom had eczema problems. They were immediately treated with medications following exposure to pollen and dust mite allergens. However, the allergens only worsened causing flare ups in these participants. The aim of the study was to help relieve the participant’s itching. There were different test conditions given to all the subjects with the first test being a treatment involving “point-specific” acupuncture. Targeted acupoints were needled in order to soothe the itchy skin. The points specifically needled were called the Hsuehai and Quchi acupoints. The next treatment given was known as the “placebo-point” therapy. This type of treatment needled acupoints that were not known to resolve itchy skin. The last test was zero treatment following exposure to the allergen.
The results of the study went this way: all the 30 subjects experienced reduced levels of itchiness after being given the point-specific acupuncture therapy. The placebo acupuncture had lesser positive results while the no treatment procedure produced basically zero results. Besides these outcomes, interesting evidences revealed that when the subjects were exposed a second time to the allergen, the point-specific acupuncture helped these subjects experience lesser severe flare-ups. These outcomes indicated that a sustained improvement can be achieved after just one session of point-specific acupuncture therapy. The study’s administrators concluded that the needling of the right acupoints can lead to a significant lowering in type I hypersensitivity itch in people suffering from atopic eczema.
Another similar study performed in Palestine studied the potency of acupuncture combined with the use of Chinese herbs for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, the most common type of eczema. The study involved subjects ranging between the ages of 13 to 49 all of whom were suffering from atopic dermatitis. All subjects were treated with a combo of acupuncture and herbs thrice a day for twelve weeks. After the end of three, six, nine, and twelve weeks, each patient was evaluated. The evaluation consistently showed an improvement of their condition by an average of 39%. These findings confirmed that a combination of Chinese herbs and acupuncture can produce benefits for atopic dermatitis sufferers.
These findings have given eczema patients an option to try out less harmful modalities to the ones offered by pharmaceutical companies. Eczema patients can now make an informed decision on what treatment approach they can use based on the findings of the above mentioned studies that support the use of natural therapies like Chinese herbs and acupuncture for the treatment in Overland Park of their condition.
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