Acupuncture for Psoriasis

How Chinese medicine understands psoriasis

In Chinese medicine, psoriasis is read as a pattern inside the body that shows in the skin. The plaques are the sign. What they look like, and how they change over time, helps tell which pattern is in the lead.

The common patterns are:

• Heat in the Blood. New or spreading plaques that are bright red, with scale that sheds easily and fine bleeding points underneath. Often flares with stress, infection or heat. This is the pattern most often linked with active psoriasis.
• Blood dryness. Plaques that have been there a long time, paler red, thin and very dry, with lots of fine scale and cracking. In Chinese medicine this is seen as long-standing heat drying the Blood so it no longer nourishes the skin.
• Blood stasis. Thick, dark red or purplish plaques that are hard to shift and change slowly.
• Damp-heat. Plaques in skin folds or on the palms and soles, sometimes with pustules or a moist, sticky scale.

Most people move between these over the years. A flare after a sore throat looks different from the same person’s stubborn winter plaques, so the treatment is adjusted as the skin changes.

What treatment involves

For psoriasis, Chinese medicine leans on Chinese herbal medicine. A formula is taken every day between visits, which suits a condition that runs for years. Formulas are written for you, dispensed at the clinic in Keswick and adjusted as your skin changes. Herbs are an extra cost on top of the visit.

Your first visit includes a lot of questions: when the psoriasis started, where it shows, what sets off a flare, your joints, your sleep, stress and digestion, and every treatment you use now. I also look at your tongue and take your pulse. The first visit is 75 minutes, including the diagnosis and first treatment; follow-ups are 60 minutes.

Acupuncture can be added, especially when stress drives your flares or when itch and joint aches are part of the picture. Needles are placed away from plaques and broken skin.

Psoriasis is a long-term condition, and it tends to wax and wane on its own. Treatment aims to support your skin and how you feel, alongside your doctor’s or dermatologist’s care. Plan on 5–10 treatments to judge progress.

Between visits

• Moisturize thickly and often, especially after bathing, with a plain, fragrance-free cream or ointment.
• Soften scale gently. Soak in lukewarm water and let scale lift on its own; do not pick or scrub it off.
• Protect your skin from cuts, scrapes and sunburn, which can start new plaques in some people.
• Limit alcohol and stop smoking if you can; both are linked with flares.
• Get short, sensible sun exposure in summer if your doctor agrees, and avoid burning.

When to see your doctor first

See your doctor before starting treatment, or promptly if you are already coming in, if:

• Your skin is red and inflamed over most of your body, or you feel feverish, chilled or unwell with it. This can be a serious flare and needs urgent care.
• You develop widespread pus-filled bumps, especially with fever.
• Your joints are swollen, stiff in the morning or painful, or a whole finger or toe swells. Psoriatic arthritis is best treated early.
• You have never been diagnosed and are not sure the rash is psoriasis.
• The skin looks infected: spreading redness, heat, pain or yellow crusts.
• Psoriasis is affecting your mood, sleep or work.