Acupuncture Treatment for Psoriasis

PsoriasisPsoriasis is a very common skin condition and is a chronic skin disease of scaling and inflammation. It affects 2 to 2.6 percent of the United States population, or between 5.8 and 7.5 million people. Anyone can develop psoriasis, but the onset is mostly seen in 15 to 35 year old and is not contagious. Psoriasis is commonly passed down through families, so if your parents or grandparents had psoriasis, you might develop it too. Psoriasis mostly occurs on the outside of the elbows and knees, the trunk, and also the scalp, but psoriasis can affect any part of the body

This chronic skin condition can be triggered by a number of internal and external factors.

  • Bacteria or viral infections, like strep throat
  • Dry skin
  • Skin damage, including cuts, burns, and insect bites
  • Some medications, like antimalarial drugs, beta-blockers, and lithium
  • Stress
  • Too much or too little sunlight
  • Over-consumption of alcohol

Scientists don’t know the exact cause of psoriasis. They believe it’s the body’s immune system attacking the skin cells. The type of immune cell that is active is called a T-lymphocyte. The presence of these cells causes other immune responses, which leads to a more rapid than normal turnover of healthy skin cells. Rather than skin cells changing over in weeks, they change over in days.

Psoriasis is tricky to treat and affects every individual differently.  Traditional treatments include topical creams and/or oral medications – but these treatments don’t always relieve Psoriasis.  So many people are seeking out alternative therapies to get their symptoms under control. Some patients have been able to find relief using supplements, herbs, special diets, or acupuncture.

In 1992, National Institutes of Health (NIH) did a study with 61 cases of psoriasis with acupuncture. All of the patients had failed to respond to  western medical treatments. They received an average of about nine sessions of acupuncture treatments, ranging from one to 15 treatments. Almost one third of them had eleven to thirteen acupuncture treatments. With the acupuncture treatment, about one-half of the 61 patients had complete or almost completely cleared of their skin lesions. About a quarter of them had about two thirds of their skin lesions cleared. Eight of them had one third of their skin lesions cleared. Nine patients had minimal or no improvement. The NIH study indicates that acupuncture is effective for treating psoriasis.

Alternative treatments that are safe and natural and can help temporarily reduce symptoms of psoriasis are:

Herbal Remedies

  • Aloe Vera: The gel from this cactus plant can be used generously on your skin to reduce redness and scaling caused by psoriasis. Aloe Vera can be found in almost any grocery or health store.
  • Tea Tree Oil: Tea tree oil is thought to have antiseptic properties. It can sooth irritated skin or scalp and can be applied daily.
  • Turmeric: Turmeric has strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Because of this, turmeric has been found to reduce psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis flares. Turmeric can be found in pill form as well as powder form to be added to food.
  • Dead Sea Salts: Soaking in a bath with Dead Sea salts or Epsom salts can remove scaly skin and reduce itching. It is recommended that you use warm water and stay in the tub for 15 minutes.

Home Remedies:

  • Soak a towel in cold milk and apply to affected area to relieve itching.
  • Add ½ cup ground oatmeal into a warm bath.
  • Rub the affected area with the inner side of a banana peel.
  • Apply Aloe Vera gel to affected area.
  • Slice 15 water chestnuts and soak in 3 oz. of rice vinegar crush and store in a sealed jar. Apply the paste to affected area and cover with gauze. Change daily.

Acupuncture can calm down the overacting immune system and stop it from attacking your skin cells. Depending on severity of the Psoriasis, regular treatments from 2 to 9 months will reduce the number of flare-ups. But you must commit to the treatments, if you stop the treatments before we resolve the symptoms, the condition will reoccur.

For people with psoriasis, suffering from painful symptoms like itching, burning, flaking and red skin is not pleasant.  Acupuncture can treats psoriasis.  No one should have to suffer with skin problems like psoriasis. Call  today 253-252-7195 or send us email and get relief from the itching and burning of psoriasis.

Sources:
https://www.psoriasis.org/about-psoriasis
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1357925

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