Atopic dermatitis is a refractory, chronic, inflammatory skin disease with a wide variety of symptoms seen, characterized by severe pruritus with pruritus, mossiness and scarring of the skin.
The disease can occur at any age, mostly before the age of 1 year. Skin lesions first appear on the cheeks, forehead, and scalp, occurring symmetrically, and are predominantly exudative, with some often spreading to the trunk and extremities. The lesions begin as erythematous, dry, papular or scaly lesions that may fuse into patches above the skin. Most infants recover by about 2 weeks of age. In infancy, atopic dermatitis presents in much the same way as eczema, distinguished by the presence or absence of inherited allergies. In numerous clinical studies, it has been found that children and their family members tend to be more sensitive to certain allergens than normal. In childhood, it is often seen to evolve continuously during infancy or to reoccur between the ages of 6 and 10 years after the prognosis of eczema in infancy. The lesions are mainly papular and mossy, and their distribution is mainly in the elbow and N fossa, which is called “four bends of wind” in Chinese medicine.
As autumn has passed and dryness is the order of the day, the human body is prone to itchy, dry skin and other discomforts due to changes in temperature and humidity, especially in children, whose delicate skin is particularly affected by the change of seasons. The skin of the face, trunk and elbows and knees becomes reddish, often scratching and scarring due to itching, which not only affects appearance, but also learning, life, friendships, and even emotions and sleep, and their parents have trouble sleeping and eating.
According to the stage of inflammation can be divided into acute stage, subacute stage and chronic stage.
Acute phase: The skin is characterized by itchy papules and blisters on an erythematous basis, often accompanied by extensive scratching and severe exudation and erosion.
Subacute phase: The skin is characterized by erythema, scratches and scales, and the itching is less severe than in the acute phase, often with bacterial infection secondary to scratching.
Chronic phase: characterized by thickened skin patches, hyperpigmentation, mossy changes and fibrotic papules with dry skin.
The etiology and pathogenesis of the disease are complex and have not been fully elucidated yet. Current research suggests that the disease belongs to the category of allergic skin reactions, hence the term “atopic dermatitis marathon”, which means that the characteristic clinical manifestations of allergic reactions appear successively at a specific age and persist for many years. As the child grows, certain symptoms may predominate, while others diminish or disappear altogether. Usually atopic dermatitis and food allergy in children are the first symptoms, which gradually progress to allergic rhinitis and eventually to asthma.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, children often have a surplus of heart and a deficiency of spleen. The cause of this disease is a deficiency of congenital endowment and an imbalance of nourishment, which leads to a deficiency of spleen and dampness, and dampness offends the skin. Because the etiology of spleen deficiency and heart fire is consistent throughout, the dampness is sticky and lingering, so it is easy to have recurrent attacks. In the acute and subacute phases, the heart fire is hyperactive, so emphasis should be placed on clearing the heart fire, while in the chronic phase, emphasis should be placed on strengthening the spleen and dispelling dampness.
If your child is unfortunately suffering from atopic dermatitis, he or she should seek medical attention and be treated with oral medication and topical medication under the guidance of a physician.
Since the onset of atopic dermatitis is closely related to diet, environment and lifestyle, the daily care of the child is extremely important.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Treatment – Medicine Line Moxibustion.
Medicine thread point moxibustion is a treatment method that uses ramie thread soaked in strong medicine, ignited and then directly burned on certain points or parts of the patient’s body to treat and prevent diseases. The therapy is tapped from folklore and has been studied and improved to be effective for atopic dermatitis, urticaria, eczema, herpes zoster, psoriasis and other skin diseases, itching, lumps, pain, impotence, numbness, chills, fever and other symptoms, especially for the special treatment of pediatric atopic dermatitis in Chinese medicine.
Mechanism of action】The medicinal effect of strong medicine, transdermal absorption of active ingredients, warmth and heat stimulation, meridian conduction, balance of qi and blood, regulation of immunity, through the dragon road fire road qi, etc., are the basis for the medicine line point moxibustion therapy to play the role of internal and external treatment; it has the effect of dispelling wind and relieving itch, anti-inflammatory and pain, eliminating swelling and dispersing knots, activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis, etc. After moxibustion, the powder has the effect of astringent and stopping bleeding on the broken skin and promoting wound healing.
Operation method
1, acupuncture points: use the eight dorsal points (Lung Yu double, Heart Yu double, Spleen Yu double, Kidney Yu double), Tian Ying points (itchy or broken skin), etc.
2.Holding the thread: hold one end of the thread with the index finger and thumb, exposing 1-2 cm of the thread.
3, ignition: the end of the exposed thread is about to be lit on a lamp fire, if there is a flame that must be extinguished, only a charcoal spark at the end of the thread is required.
4, the application of moxibustion: the end of the line with a spark to the acupuncture point, in line with the wrist and thumb flexion movements, multiple rapid point moxibustion until the spark extinguished, a press of fire that is up for a strong, the patient has a slight burning or itchy feeling for the degree, the remaining powder does not need to ask away. Generally one point moxibustion one strong, according to the size of the skin lesion of the Tian Ying point can be added 1-2 strong.
Note]
1, holding the fire end of the wire must be exposed to the end of the wire, slightly longer than the end of the thumb can be, too long inconvenience ignition, too short easy to burn the operator’s finger;.
2, the operation must master the fire, the application of moxibustion to the tip of the wire when the most vigorous as a good opportunity to press, do not flat press, to make the spark point.
3, when applying moxibustion, pay attention to the lightness of the technique, generally light to light (light technique to light disease), heavy to heavy (heavy technique to heavy disease), or fast to light (fast technique to light disease), slow to heavy (slow technique to heavy disease) as the principle.
4, local burning or itching after moxibustion, do not scratch with your hands to avoid infection.
5, moxibustion should be set before the body position, generally in a sitting or lying position is appropriate.
6, moxibustion is prohibited for the eyes, the actual heat is used with caution.
Parent-child massage.
Pediatric massage not only has the effect of conditioning the body of the child, and through physical contact, to enhance the feelings between parents and children, mastering the appropriate techniques, for the physical and mental growth of children without harm.
1, preparation: wind, the patient in a sitting or lying position, the whole body (including the lesion area and non-lesion area) after the application of emollients, complemented by massage techniques.
2, basic techniques.
(1) episodes: clear the Tianhe water, knead the middle epigastrium, and stroke the back along the bladder meridian on both sides.
(2) chronic period: abdominal massage, chiropractic, rubbing the foot three miles.
(3) Add and subtract with symptoms: for red rash and obvious oozing, strengthen clearing Tianheshui; for dry skin, rubbing Sanyinjiao; for obvious itching, rubbing Quchi, rubbing Fengchi and Sanyinjiao; for poor night sleep, ape peach picking; for loose stools, rubbing umbilicus and strengthening abdominal massage; for dry stools, rubbing Tianshu. Each technique is operated for 3-5 minutes. 1 every other day, 10 times for a course of treatment.
3.Cautions.
(1) because the massage to fully expose the skin, please pay attention to warmth, can be covered with a layer of cloth sheet, the space in the cloth sheet for operation.
(2) before massage, be sure to apply emollients. Preferably before bedtime or after the routine application of emollients, must avoid direct friction skin, such as skin lesions, please suspend the operation of the skin lesions.
(3) children’s skin and flesh is delicate, the action should be gentle and rhythmic, in order to the child’s comfort.
Daily diet.
1, in the acute and subacute period should avoid stimulating food or “hair”, such as seafood, beef and mutton, carp, rooster, duck, goose, durian, mango, mushrooms, etc., fried, fried, spicy, high-protein foods are easy to accumulate fire and heat, aggravating the disease. In addition, excessive consumption of cold, fatty, sweet and greasy products, or cold drinks can easily damage the spleen and stomach, and children with weak spleen and stomach symptoms should also be carefully selected. During the attack period, the child’s sensitivity to food should be carefully identified and sensitive food should be discharged when the condition is severe.
It is recommended that the mother’s diet should be light and varied, avoiding too spicy and cold products; when adding complementary foods to the infant, the amount should be small and slowly increased, and the variety of complementary foods should be increased one by one, advocating a small amount of multi-meal diet.
3, in terms of dietary therapy, it is recommended to add ingredients to the diet to strengthen the spleen and clear the heart fire for dietary therapy, such as fresh yam, potatoes, white lentils, red beans, lotus meat (no core), winter melon, barley, amaranth, mung beans, lily, etc. Here are two more recommended Chinese medicine diet recipes.
Yam congee.
Ingredients: 100g of fresh yam, 5 ties of lampblack grass, 100g of round-grained rice.
Directions: Wash and peel the fresh yam, cut into small pieces and set aside, wash the japonica rice and put it into a pot, add the right amount of water and bring it to a boil, add the fresh yam and lantern grass, cook and serve.
Dosage: Once a day, it can be used as breakfast or main meal.
Effects: Yam nourishes the spleen and nourishes the stomach, lantern grass clears the heart fire, japonica rice strengthens the spleen and harmonizes the middle, it can strengthen the spleen and stomach, dispel dampness and heat, suitable for children in chronic period.
Shengdi Yinhua Light Bamboo Leaves Lean Pork Soup
Ingredients: 30g each of raw earth and silver flower, 15g of light bamboo leaves, 5g of antelope horn bone, one piece of peel, 180g of lean pork, salt to taste.
Directions: Wash the above herbs and ingredients separately and set aside, add an appropriate amount of water to a casserole, fry the antelope horn bone for 15 minutes with high heat, then add all the above herbs and ingredients, switch to medium heat and boil for about 1 hour, add salt to taste.
Dosage: Drink soup with meals, 1-2 times a day.
Effect: Expel wind and cool blood, clear heat and dampness, suitable for children during seizures.
Daily care.
1, careful choice of clothing, wearing loose, breathable cotton products is appropriate, avoid wearing too tight, rough or woolen clothes, because excessive friction of the skin will aggravate the disease; in addition, need to choose the appropriate clothing for the child according to the weather changes, to avoid excessive temperature differences to the disease repeated.
2. Cut nails regularly, avoid scratching and rubbing the skin, and educate older children about skin care. The more you scratch, the more you itch, the more you scratch, often becoming a vicious cycle.
3, pay attention to moisturizing, apply emollients or moisturizers. Moisturizers are generally used immediately after bathing, depending on the situation 1-2 times a day, if the condition is serious can increase the number of times used, on the one hand, can reduce the itching of the skin, in addition to achieve the role of skin protection. When using also avoid applying too thick, only a thin layer can be. When choosing a moisturizer, you should avoid allergic ingredients, while irritating topical chemical agents should be avoided.
4, choose mild, non-irritating bath products, bathing water temperature should not be too hot or too cold, should also avoid excessive bathing.
5, pay attention to the child’s emotional conditioning, to relieve the child’s stress and negative emotions, but also to avoid excessive care and affect their personality development.
Daily environment.
1, the room temperature is maintained at about 25 ℃, humidity is maintained at 50-60%, pay attention to the ventilation of the house.
2, do not use carpets, hanging curtains and other furniture that can easily accumulate dust, pay attention to keep the home clean, should not have pets, reduce house dust, insect mites, animal hair, fungi and other allergens stimulation, prohibit smoking, avoid using air fresheners, insecticides, perfumes and other irritating odor items.
3, less access to crowded public places; when you go out, you should also avoid contact with pollen, animal hair and other allergens.