Why Chinese Medicine is A More Effective Way of Treating Dry Skin than Commercial Skin Creams

A lot of people tend to have dry skin during the months of winter (some actually have dry skin all year round). The skin can be tender, burning, itchy, scaly, or uncomfortable to the touch when it becomes dry. The bad news is that most skin creams available in the market are filled with toxic chemicals that tend to seep into the blood stream. The good news is that there are extremely effective and safe natural tips and alternative treatments you can try that can turn you try dry skin into a healthy and beautiful looking one:

1. Get a humidifier – A humidifier can dramatically not only help treat skin but also help relieve dry cough, dry eyes, or a scratchy or dry throat.
2. Eat foods rich in healthy fats – The transport of fluids into your skin and body tissues is greatly enhanced by eating a lot of foods rich in healthy fats. Foods rich in healthy fats include flaxseed oil, grape seed oil, avocado, and nut butters
3. Use low-chemical, high-fat soap or real soap
4. Apply Olive Oil on your skin – Dry skin can be easily and naturally treated when you apply olive oil to the affected areas of your skin.
5. Use Chinese Herbs – Herbs taken internally can help nourish the skin by increasing fluid production in the body for severe types of dry skin. Working on the same principle as acupuncture, Chinese Herbs work can restore balance to your body’s energy systems to help treat the manifestations and underlying causes of your dry skin.
6. Get acupuncture – Dry skin is an indication of a certain imbalance in the body. Acupuncture can help rectify the imbalance, either by aiding the body to efficiently convey fluids to the tissues or nourish the systems that normalize moisture in the body. Dry skin can come about due to the rise of certain pathologies, from the standpoint of Traditional Chinese Medicine standpoint. For example, weakness of Lung energy or Lung dryness can be the underlying cause of dry skin. A problem with the Kidney essence may be the root pathological issue why the face suffers from dry skin. Dry skin along a specific energy pathway or channel is an indication of an imbalance in that channel. When dry skin is accompanied by a burning sensation or if it turns red, it may be due to pathogenic heat in the channels. A blood energy weakness in the body can also lead to dry skin. One of the functions of Blood energy is to cool and moisten the tissues. It is up to your acupuncturist in Tarzana to determine the cause of your dry skin and treat it accordingly.
7. Eat moistening foods – Dry cough, dry throat, dry mucus membranes, dry skin, and other types of dryness in the body in any season can be resolved by consuming moistening foods such as: barley malt, honey, sesame seed, pine nut, almond, seaweed, loquat, persimmon, apple, pear, millet, and spinach.
8. Drink adequate amounts of fluids – Dehydration is simply the one of the most common causes of dry skin and so drinking a lot fluids each day is one of the most commonsensical ways of treating dry skin. So, if you are not drinking enough water every day, adequate amount of fluids cannot be transported effectively to your skin and body tissues. Limit or avoid drinking caffeinated beverages as they actually boost urine output and leave your body more depleted. To increase absorption in your body, you can add lime or lemon to your water. Drinking pear juice is also good since pear can help moisten the body’s Lung energy of the body, which in Traditional Chinese Medical theory, controls the skin.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Approaches to Dry Skin

Hereditary, psychological or allergic factors are usually the causes of dry skin, according to Western Medicine. Dermatologists will use a magnifying glass to examine the skin and may extract specimens for microscopic study. A biopsy of superficial lymph nodes and blood tests may be done on the patient to help rule out other conditions that affect the skin.

The treatment approach of Western Medicine doctors to itchy, dry skin is to advise patients to stay away from substances that might be causing the problem. Doctors may recommend oils or lotions to be applied to the dry areas of the skin in order to moisturize the skin and to take iron supplements. If the skin turns dry due to an infection, antibiotics are the usual prescribed modes of treatment. Some medications like antihistamines and steroids may also be prescribed to help manage the pain and itching. Hospitalization may be necessary if the condition turns severe in order to exclude reaction to any strong irritant and to better help address symptoms.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the lungs are the organ systems responsible for the skin. The skin pores and lungs need to respire together when one is inhaling. When the skin is soft and healthy, it means that the lungs are taking in quality moisture. When steam coming from the large intestine evaporates, the lungs receive the vapor then send it to the skin. This is the reason why a healthy moisturized skin is soft. Practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Pembroke Pines state that if the lungs have too much mucus or if the temperature of the small intestine is too low, the skin cannot receive enough water vapor which leads to an itchy and dry skin. Using steroids can cause a lot of side effects including the closing of the skin pores. If the pores are shut, it can’t receive water which causes the skin to dry up.

To treat itchy and dry skin, Chinese herbal formulas are used by Traditional Chinese Medicine in order to raise the internal temperature in the small intestine and to clear any mucus or residue in the lungs. When the respiratory tract has been cleared, it leads to the resolution of the dry skin and to the prevention of any future recurrences. You also need to exercise to allow the body to perspire. Be sure not to immediately enter into an air conditioned room after you’ve exercised because it will shut the skin pores and trap the sweat that’s trying to come out. The body needs to cool down in a natural way.

Few Helpful Recommendations to Overcome Dry Skin

Most of us get dry skin during the cold months of winter. There are others who may suffer from it all year round. Dry skin can lead to sensations of tenderness, burning, itchiness, scaling or discomfort upon touch. The most common treatment for this condition is skin creams that, sad to say, are loaded with toxic substances that may work their way into a person’s blood stream. The good news, though, is that natural alternatives are available that can help treat dry skin in a safe and effective way. Listed below are few tips to help your overcome and prevent the onset of dry skin

1. Chinese Herbs

Chinese herbs are especially useful in resolving severe types of dry skin. They can help nourish the skin by boosting fluid production in the body. Chinese Herbs help restore balance in the body by regulating the functions of the organ systems to resolve the manifestations of dry skin.

2. Get acupuncture

Dry skin is a sign of an internal imbalance. Like Chinese herbs, acupuncture helps restore balance in the body by supplying the organ systems with adequate energy and blood to help rectify the imbalance. It can also aid the body by conveying fluids to the tissues in a more efficient manner. Dry skin can come about from several possible pathologies. It can be caused by a weakness of the Lung Qi or by dryness in the Lung, to cite a few examples. Skin dryness on the face can be a pathological indication of an energetic imbalance, specifically, a Kidney essence condition. Dry skin that is accompanied by a burning sensation or a reddish skin can mean that there is an excess of heat in the meridians. It may also be due to a deficiency in blood energy that causes cold deficiency and poor moisture of the body. It is the job of the acupuncturist to determine what exactly is causing your dry skin problem and treat it accordingly.

3. Consume more moistening foods

Dry skin, in particular and dry body (dry cough, dry throat, dry mucus membranes, and dry skin), in general, can easily be resolved by eating moistening foods. They may include barley malt, honey, sesame seed, pine nut, almond, seaweed, loquat, persimmon, apple, pear, millet, barley, and spinach.

4. Drink adequate amounts of fluids every day.

This is the easiest way to treat or prevent the drying of your body and skin. Obviously if your body does not get the right amounts of water it needs, the tissues suffer because fluids cannot be transported to them. Lessen the amount of caffeine you consume as caffeine tends to increase your urine output leaving your body depleted. Lemon added to the water you drink can improve your body’s water absorption. Pear juice has a moistening quality and so can improve the Lung Qi in your body. This Qi controls the functions of the skin.

Ivelisse DeJongh is a Miami acupuncturist and the medical director at DeJongh Acupuncture Clinic.