The most stubborn eczema Chinese medicine prescription

Eczema is an inflammatory skin condition whose main symptom is unbearable itching. It is usually the result of the combined action of internal and external factors. It usually recurs and is difficult to cure. When it recurs multiple times, it will develop into stubborn eczema. As the course of the disease becomes longer, itching becomes unavoidable, making people physically and mentally exhausted. Here are some Chinese herbal recipes for treating the most stubborn eczema, which can slowly regulate the body and thus treat eczema.

1. Heat-clearing and dampness-removing soup

10g each of gentian, scutellaria, moutan bark, red tuckahoe, oriental water plantain, radix polygoni multiflori, and sophora flavescens, 15g of plantain, 30g each of liuyi powder (wrapped and decocted), and raw rehmannia. For those with excessive heat, add 15g of Imperata root and 30g of Gypsum (wrapped and decocted); for those with excessive dampness, add 10g each of Coix seed and Smilax glabra; for those with severe itching, add 30g of Dictamni bark; for those with dry stools, add 6g of Rhubarb. Take 1 dose daily, once in the morning and once in the evening, 1 hour before meals. At the same time, cooperate with the following external treatment methods: For those with erosion and exudation, use 3% boric acid solution for open cold wet compresses, 30 minutes each time, 2 to 3 times a day, and apply zinc oxide oil during the intervals between wet compresses; for those without erosion and exudation, apply calamine lotion 3 to 5 times a day. Take the medicine together for 2 weeks. If acute eczema is diagnosed as damp-heat syndrome by traditional Chinese medicine, oral administration of Qingre Chushi Decoction, which is mainly for clearing heat and removing dampness, combined with external use of Western medicine, can achieve better clinical efficacy compared with the pure Western medicine treatment group, especially in alleviating symptoms (erythema, exudation, etc.). The Qingrechushi Decoction is composed of Longdan Xiegan Decoction and Bixie Shenshi Decoction with modifications. In the prescription, gentian and scutellaria clear heat and eliminate dampness, raw rehmannia and moutan bark cool blood and clear heat, red tuckahoe, Bixie and Alisma strengthen the spleen and eliminate dampness. Plantago and Liuyi powder eliminate dampness and clear heat, while Sophora flavescens eliminates dampness and relieves itching. The combination of these medicines has the effects of clearing away heat, cooling blood, removing dampness and relieving itching, and hits the pathogenesis of acute eczema damp-heat syndrome. In addition, modern pharmacological research has confirmed that the herbs in the prescription, such as gentian, scutellaria, moutan bark, rehmannia root, and licorice, all have certain anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects. The key to clinical application is to make accurate differentiation and make appropriate additions and subtractions according to specific circumstances.

2. Shuling Dehumidifying Decoction

Stir-fried Atractylodes macrocephala 10g, Atractylodes lancea 15g, Poria cocos 15g, Alisma orientalis 10g, Polyporus umbellatus 10g. Coix seed 20g, Magnolia officinalis 10g, Tangerine peel 10g, Talcum 18g, Kochia scoparia 15g, Dictamni peel 15g, and Licorice root 3g. If the dampness is concentrated in the lower part of the body, add Phellodendron chinense and Rhizoma Cynoglossi; if the itching is severe, add Agkistrodon acutus and Tribulus terrestris; if the skin lesions become dark over time, add Salvia miltiorrhiza and Angelica sinensis. Take 1 dose daily, decoct in water until it becomes 300ml, take in the morning and evening.

This prescription is mainly used for patients with subacute and chronic eczema. The disease is prolonged, either because of spleen deficiency or long-term retention of dampness. Excessive use of bitter and cold medicines damages the spleen. Therefore, there are also symptoms of spleen deficiency such as poor appetite, fatigue, abdominal distension and loose stools, pale and fat tongue, white or greasy tongue coating, which belong to the syndrome of spleen deficiency and dampness accumulation. The treatment should take into account both the symptoms and the root cause, treating both the root cause of "spleen deficiency" and the symptoms of "excessive dampness". In Shuling Chushi Decoction, Atractylodes macrocephala replenishes Qi, strengthens the spleen, and eliminates dampness, while Atractylodes macrocephala eliminates spleen dampness and raises clear yang, and Poria cocos assists spleen function, promotes diuresis and eliminates dampness. The three medicines are used together to achieve the effects of strengthening the spleen, drying dampness, and promoting diuresis, and they are the main medicines. According to the principle that “treating dampness without promoting urination is not the right treatment”, Alisma orientalis, Polyporus umbellatus and Coix seed are selected to assist the main medicine in strengthening the spleen and promoting diuresis, giving the evil a way out; Tangerine peel and Magnolia officinalis regulate Qi and harmonize the middle and lower Qi, eliminate fullness and help move the spleen and dampness. The Qi-regulating medicine is combined in the dehumidifying agent, which is based on the principle that “when Qi is transformed, dampness is also transformed”. The five medicines are collectively referred to as assistant medicines. Talc removes dampness and promotes diuresis, while Kochia scoparia and Dictamni cortex can relieve itching together. The three medicines act as adjuvants. Licorice can both strengthen the spleen and replenish Qi and harmonize various medicines, and is a guiding medicine. The whole formula contains Pingwei powder (Atractylodes lancea, dried tangerine peel, Magnolia officinalis, and liquorice) to eliminate dampness in the middle burner, Siling powder (Poria cocos, Polyporus umbellatus, Alisma orientalis, and Atractylodes macrocephala) to treat short urination and loose stools, and Liuyi powder (talc and liquorice) to promote urination. Therefore, the whole formula can strengthen the spleen, dry dampness, unblock the three burners, transform the qi of the bladder, and prevent dampness from coming out.