Atopy that repeatedly improves and worsens needs fundamental treatment. Skin symptoms in many different forms, in both adults and children, are always distressing. Atopic symptoms that had been quiet for a while can easily recur, often suddenly troubling us.
It is known that the frequency of atopic dermatitis tends to gradually decrease with age, but cases are increasing among pediatrics, adolescents, and, recently, even adults. Many people continue to experience chronic dermatitis with repeated improvement and worsening.
Atopy that repeatedly improves and worsens needs fundamental treatment. Skin symptoms in many different forms, in both adults and children, are always distressing. Atopic symptoms that had been quiet for a while can easily recur, often suddenly troubling us. It is known that the frequency of atopic dermatitis tends to gradually decrease with age, but cases are increasing among pediatrics, adolescents, and, recently, even adults. Many people continue to experience chronic dermatitis with repeated improvement and worsening. Atopy mainly appears in the creases of the arms and legs, the neck, and the face, and is an intractable skin condition that falls under chronic dermatitis, characterized by erythematous papules and oozing wounds accompanied by severe itching.
It shows a very sensitive response to external irritants or allergy-triggering substances, and is said to be greatly influenced by genetic factors and environmental factors, such as living environment, food, and stress. However, the exact cause has not yet been clearly identified. The prognosis varies depending on the patient’s skin condition, triggering factors, whether allergic diseases are present, and whether bacterial infection is present. Although symptoms may tend to ease over time as a person reaches adulthood, some patients who had atopic dermatitis in infancy or early childhood may later develop other allergic diseases, such as asthma or rhinitis, in addition to atopic dermatitis.
When something appears on the skin or skin lesions develop, people commonly visit a conventional dermatology clinic. In most cases, after diagnosing atopy, hospitals prescribe antihistamines, steroid ointments, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications, and similar treatments to reduce itching and symptoms. However, while these may reduce the immediate visible symptoms, they cannot necessarily be considered the process of treating atopic dermatitis itself. At Kyunghee Ryu Korean Medicine Clinic, our goal is to help patients reduce their dependence on conventional medications through Korean medicine treatment and lifestyle correction, build the self-healing capacity to overcome the condition on their own, and become freer from atopy and intractable skin conditions.
For repeatedly recurring atopy, it is important to identify the cause Chronic skin conditions cannot be viewed as a problem of the skin alone. They are expressed as skin symptoms due to other causes occurring inside the body. In actual treatment of skin conditions, it is necessary to approach them and establish a treatment plan from a broader, more comprehensive perspective, rather than simply looking at the skin alone.
The advantage of atopy treatment at Kyunghee Ryu Korean Medicine Clinic is that we set a fundamental Korean medicine treatment direction to help prevent recurrence without relying on steroid medications. We provide Korean medicine treatment in various ways, including herbal medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion treatment, pharmacopuncture, bloodletting therapy, phototherapy, external herbal preparations, and dietary and lifestyle management, and these may show notable effects for intractable skin conditions with unknown causes.
(1) Through immunity, the skin can help overcome skin conditions on its own.
Infections or inflammation caused by the inflow of harmful external substances can affect not only the affected area but also the body’s own recovery capacity, and this is related to the body’s overall immunity. In other words, when skin immunity declines, the skin’s self-healing capacity to protect our body from harmful external substances also decreases. When immunity is low, symptoms tend to last longer and recovery is slower. The same applies when eczema develops due to internal inflammation or waste products caused by reduced immunity. In Korean medicine, immunity is connected not only to the power that protects our body from harmful external substances, but also to the balance of the functions of the five viscera and six bowels, as well as the circulation of qi and blood. Our goal is to raise immunity by strengthening the spleen and stomach, or by enhancing the body’s self-healing capacity so it can overcome these skin symptoms.
(2) Chronic inflammation can be toxic to the skin.
Even when inflammation markers on blood tests are normal, many people with various intractable skin conditions may have latent inflammation inside the body. Skin inflammation cannot be viewed simply as a problem of the skin barrier alone. The health status reflected by skin inflammation, which can also be considered a measure of overall health, may first be seen as a problem of the skin itself. Beyond that, because it may also affect blood circulation, lymphatic circulation, hormonal and metabolic status, digestion, and gut health including the large intestine, we ultimately need to assess the condition of the whole body, and through this, we aim to reduce inflammation through treatment.
(3) Waste products in the body can be toxic to the skin.
Unless a person has had a major illness or surgery, waste products in the body most often arise from food. Waste products accumulate due to improper eating habits. If they are eliminated appropriately, they are not a problem, but when elimination is not smooth, the accumulated waste products can trigger skin inflammation. Managing this is therefore an essential point in treating skin conditions, and our goal is to improve blood circulation through detoxification and help eliminate accumulated waste products from the body.
Are you relying only on temporary medication treatment for atopy? First, when atopy is suspected and a person visits a dermatologist or internist, they are usually prescribed antihistamines to reduce itching and steroids to relieve symptoms, and these are often taken by mouth. Of course, it is true that they can help reduce itching in the moment. However, because these medications are intended to ease immediate symptoms rather than provide fundamental treatment, symptoms often recur when the medication is stopped. With repeated use, tolerance may develop, and the same medication may no longer be effective.
In particular, long-term exposure to steroid medications can weaken skin tissue and may be accompanied by secondary infections, such as bacterial or viral infections, which can cause the affected area to spread, so caution is needed. The concern is that symptoms may gradually worsen, with wounds forming more easily, taking longer than before to heal, and oozing. During this process, itching often becomes severe, leading to scratching, which can make the condition worse. Especially when oozing wounds or oozing scabs settle in the creases of the arms and legs or around the neck, they are often itchy, so people scratch frequently. Scratching causes wounds and widens the affected area. Many people visit our Korean medicine clinic saying that it was not this severe before, but recently, even applying steroid ointment does not reduce the symptoms much.
For these patients, fundamental treatment for atopic dermatitis is needed while reducing steroid dependence, that is, undergoing steroid withdrawal. The longer the exposure to steroids, the more treatment time may be needed. Steroid withdrawal literally means gradually reducing dependence on steroids while helping the skin develop its own self-healing capacity so that oozing scabs and oozing wounds can heal well and new skin can grow well. This is the role of Korean medicine treatment for atopic dermatitis.
Therefore, at Kyunghee Ryu Korean Medicine Clinic, even if we take a different path, we begin by identifying the underlying causes of atopy and focusing on each individual patient. Our goal is to help the skin develop its own self-healing capacity, not only improving the condition but also preventing recurrence. In addition to personalized dietary and lifestyle management for factors that may contribute to each person’s condition, we work to strengthen skin immunity, reduce inflammation, and support the proper elimination of waste products that have accumulated in the body, so that treatment can take a more fundamental approach.