What is Eczema?

Eczema is a skin condition that usually affects people who suffer from allergies. It is usually treated with corticosteroids and it often becomes a lifelong problem. I suffered from eczema as a child and teenager. I was treated for allergies with desensitizing injections. What a racket! If you want to be a doctor but you do not really want to practice medicine, then get into the desensitizing shot business. It really did not help me. I know if you have an immediate (IgE) type allergy it might help, but most of those patients are so heavily pharmaceutically treated that you don't what does or does not work. Most people who suffer from eczema have IgG4 or Delayed hypersensitivity type allergies, not IgE. I have treated eczema successfully for years in my practice. Initially I used the Elimination Diet to clean up the patients food supply because food can be a big factor in eczema. Then I learned Chinese medicine and started using acupuncture, Chinese herbs, Chinese dietary therapy and moxibustion. I had and continue to have great success in treating eczema this way. Moxibustion is the application of near infra-red to the skin by burning the herb artemesia or wormwood either in loose dried form or in a compact stick form. The herb prepared this way is called moxa. The moxa sticks are held approximately 1/2 inch away from the skin and used to heat an affected area. It increases blood circulation to the skin and that fits in nicely with the Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) explanation of eczema. In TCM, eczema is a condition where there is not enough blood to nourish the skin, so your therapies are meant to encourage blood circulation to the affected area.

Recently I have started using low-ph water sprayed upon the affected area.There is a handheld device used medically in Japan that is available here in the states. It works quicker and better than the TCM treatments and often works even though the patient does not make any dietary changes. To me it is almost cheating...smile.