Eczema is characterised by redness of the skin, itching, crusting & scaling, and blisters filled with liquid.

Within the theory of Chinese medicine, these symptoms are a mixture of 'Heat', 'Damp' and 'Wind'.

Heat

Excessive heat in the body can cause redness and inflammation in the skin. This heat can come from many sources such as; too much alcohol, too much hot spicy food, emotional turmoil, unmanaged stress, digestive problems during infancy, or even heat passed from the mother during pregnancy. There are other sources of heat, but these are the main ones.

Damp

Damp is basically an over-accumulation of body fluids. In the case of eczema, fluids are accumulating in the skin and cause unsightly blisters. Fluids accumulate for many results, however the root is often related to the digestive system - the Spleen in Chinese medicine. If our diet consists of food items which are difficult to digest then the digestive system becomes weakened. If the Spleen (digestive system) is weakened then it has difficulty in separating the 'clear' from the 'unclear', and a ‘muddiness’ or ‘turbidity’ develops in the body which can manifest itself in different ways. In the case of eczema there is fluid retention in the skin.

Wind

Chinese medicine is full of metaphors that describe the signs & symptoms of illnesses, and also help us to understand how diseases can progress. Wind moves from place to place and can appear suddenly and then disappear. Eczema that is characterised by severe itching has a strong 'Wind ' component to it. This type of eczema may also move around the body and go through phases of remission and flare-ups.

There are many causes of eczema and some of them have already been identified. Something that I have not mentioned yet is allergy. The idea of allergies never used to be included in Traditional Chinese concepts of medicine. This is because allergies are relatively modern. More recent Traditional Chinese textbooks include allergies as a cause of eczema. Allergic eczema is often associated with asthma and has a strong familial incidence. This type of eczema develops very earlier on in life and is often associated with premature birth and caesarean sections.

Eczema can be difficult to treat, depending on the severity and underlying causes. Eczema that developed at a very young age and is associated with asthma, is one of the most difficult to treat and would require long-term treatment. Eczema that developed later on in life is easier to treat.

Success of treatment would depend on many factors such as; the severity of the eczema, when it started, how it has been managed (i.e. previous and current medication), and how possible it is to avoid things which are known to make it worse. Acupuncture is very helpful in treating eczema since it is able to clear heat from the body, help resolve 'Damp' which has accumulated in the skin, and most importantly, it treats the underlying roots and imbalances in the body that has enabled eczema to develop.