Itching skin diseases are common dermatological conditions that significantly impact patients’ quality of life. In recent years, external therapies from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) have gained increasing attention for their simplicity, cost-effectiveness, minimal side effects, and notable therapeutic effects.
Fire Needle Therapy
Fire needle therapy combines the dual stimulation of acupuncture and moxibustion. It involves using specially designed needles heated to high temperatures to pierce specific acupoints or affected areas. This method has the effects of warming and unblocking meridians, dispersing cold and resolving blood stasis, and relieving wind and itching. It is widely used in various itching skin diseases such as eczema, urticaria, and nodular prurigo. Modern research indicates that the thermal stimulation from fire needle therapy can improve local blood circulation and reduce the chemotaxis of inflammatory factors, thereby achieving anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.
External Application of Chinese Medicinal Herbs
The external application of Chinese medicinal herbs involves the absorption of drug components through the skin to enhance local circulation and alleviate itching symptoms. Common methods include herbal fumigation and external washing. Herbal fumigation uses steam temperature to promote drug absorption, improve skin function and nutrition; external washing involves wiping or rinsing to clean the local skin and unblock the flow of qi and blood. These methods have shown significant effects in treating diseases like eczema and urticaria.
Acupuncture Therapy
Acupuncture therapy involves stimulating specific acupoints on the human body with metal needles to regulate the flow of qi and reduce the production of local inflammatory mediators. Acupuncture is widely used in the treatment of diseases such as eczema and herpes zoster, with the advantage of rapid onset. Acupuncture point selection follows three principles: selecting points along the meridian, selecting points based on syndrome differentiation, and selecting local points, to achieve the best therapeutic effect.
Cupping Therapy
Cupping therapy creates negative pressure through heat, causing local skin congestion and accelerating blood circulation to achieve the effects of unblocking meridians and harmonizing qi and blood. Cupping therapy is widely used in the treatment of diseases such as psoriasis and chronic urticaria, effectively relieving itching symptoms.
Special Acupoint Therapy
Special acupoint therapy includes acupoint injection, acupoint embedding, and acupoint patching. Acupoint injection combines traditional Chinese acupoint needling with Western local drug administration, utilizing the effects of acupoints and the pharmacological actions of drugs to prevent and treat diseases. Autologous blood serum desensitization therapy (autologous blood therapy) is widely used in chronic urticaria, eczema, and other itching skin diseases, stimulating the body’s non-specific immune response to reduce the body’s sensitivity.
Modern Research Support
Modern research provides scientific evidence for TCM external therapies. For example, topical application of matrine has been shown to inhibit Th2-type inflammatory responses in atopic dermatitis mouse models. Acupuncture regulates serum IgE levels, improving symptoms of chronic urticaria. These studies indicate that TCM external therapies not only have the advantages of traditional medicine but can also be combined with modern medicine to offer more effective treatment options for patients.
TCM external therapies have demonstrated unique advantages in the treatment of itching skin diseases. Their application should follow individualized principles, combined with modern medical diagnosis, to ensure safety and efficacy.
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