Healing from chronic skin disease can feel like a miracle when it happens. More so if one had already tried so many methods to overcome it, but nothing seemed to really work out. The creams tried for psoriasis worked a bit initially, but then stopped, leaving more fear of their potential side effects than anything. Eliminating the foods that the expensive blood test said were nasty ‘allergens’ created more paranoia as to what one can actually eat, whereas the eczema itself remained the same, or perhaps even worsened. Even the herbal remedy bought from the health food store, promising acne free skin, lead to nothing but diarrhoea! But then suddenly, a different strategy is tried and a miracle happens – the problem disappears. So what’s with that? What is this secret to healthy skin?
One patient told me several years ago, “I am still psoriasis free – not even one spot thanks to you, Mr. Miracle worker!’ But am I really a miracle worker? Did I somehow wave my arms in the air and make the river nile part before us? Certainly a nice gesture, and certainly a welcome compliment, but the reality is that the results this patient experienced were as a result of many years of hard study and clinical practice, an attempt on my part to follow in the footsteps of the many great physicians who paved the way before me. Chinese medicine dermatology is one of the oldest specialities in the world, dating back to at least 300bc. The collected wisdom of many thousands of years of clinical practice helped guide me in the decisions I made to help this patient, and everyone else I see. In reality, the miracle this patient experienced was calculated, the result of a medical system applied and seen true.
For me, there really is no ‘secret’ to healthy skin. There is no mysterious food to eat.. or not eat (although it can helps sometimes). There is no rare herb, found only on the top of Mount Everest, that will cure every and all diseases. Nor is there any chant or mantra or prayer that will suddenly make your rosacea go away. There are just basic principles that need to be considered when approaching any health problem, particularly when it comes to skin disease. I call these principles the ‘Three pillars of clinical success’:
- The Patient
- The Doctor
- The Treatment
Patient: Successful treatment is, in part, related to the condition itself, as there are some diseases/ problems that are easier to treat than others, and even some that are simply not treatable at all (or not treatable using the current method being used). An experienced doctor will often understand this and will say so when offering advice. On the other hand, success is also related to the willingness of the patient to comply with treatment, which may mean modifying negative lifestyle habits and, of course, actually ingesting any medicine that a doctor may have prescribed (if one doesn’t try, then how does one know if it works or not?). The famous 17th century Chinese physician Xu Dachung warns us, however, that the tendency to blame the patient for an unsuccessful treatment is too high and that the doctor should look to their own skills first – a point for which I totally agree.
Doctor: The doctor must have sufficient training in the area of health that is of concern. They must be familiar with the condition/ disease being treated and, preferably, have lots of actual hands-on experience with its treatment. This often means being able to properly diagnose a particular disease, say psoriasis from basil cell carcinoma, or at least know when something looks weird enough to refer onto someone else for another opinion. In Chinese medicine it is then also important to understand why the particular disease is manifesting in the patient before them, as not everybody will manifest psoriasis or eczema or acne (or any other problem) in exactly the same way. We are all individuals, after-all, and so the doctor must take this into account when diagnosing and prescribing a treatment. The art of Chinese medicine lies in the ability for the practitioner to figure out what the imbalances contributing to ill-health are, and then to create an individualized treatment plan to restore health. The doctor’s theories must match reality. They must lead to the desired alleviation of the patient’s suffering, a feat made more plausible when the doctor is honest of their skill set and experience, having the courage to learn more when faced with challenges unfamiliar.
Treatment: The treatment has to match the problem needing help. It has to match the patient. It has to have a history of success, whether it be from good quality published research or, as is a foundational aspect of Chinese medicine’s long history, through the case studies of other practicing physicians. How did I know that herbal medicine would be best for my patient above, the one who experienced a miracle? I know this because I had seen my teacher display his own work, showing me that herbal medicine had been very effective in relieving many other patient’s psoriasis. Herbal medicines for psoriasis had been shown, to me as a doctor, to be effective, which was the first step of understanding a proper treatment strategy – ie. that the treatment matched the problem that I was wanting to treat. The second, very important, aspect here is that the herbal medicines used are of good quality. That they are fresh, are of the correct species, are at the proper dosage, and are cooked properly so as to ensure that all the necessary medicines are extracted from them. I regularly read on professional online forums of doctors finding that their treatment was unsuccessful for their patient. The doctor’s diagnosis seems correct, the disease is known to be treatable with the chosen treatment, the choice of herbs seems relevant, the patient is very compliant with their treatment, but yet no result. One possible reason could be that the herbs used were inferior, of bad quality, old, oxidized, or at dosages way too low, thus representing a waste of time, and money, really.
Of course at the end of the day, many people still do not get better. Not everyone is able to overcome their psoriasis, or eczema or acne, or whatever else that bothers them, even when all the above pillars seem to line up. Nature is not always so predictable and we must never hold on too rigidly to any one idea/ philosophy. However, the odds of success, of experiencing a miracle, will be greatly enhanced if one takes these pillars to heart whenever they embark on a journey to enhance their own well being. What is the responsibility of the patient seeking help? Is their condition even treatable? How experienced and knowledgable is the doctor? Have they actually seen people with similar problems repeatably improve? How proper is the medicine? Is it of good quality?
Wishing you the best of health,
Dr. Trevor Erikson
Copyright © 2019 Dr. Trevor Erikson