A 43-Year-Old’s Journey to Clear Skin with TCM for Chronic Eczema 43岁女性通过中医治疗慢性湿疹恢复健康之旅

Case Report

Ms. L, a 43-year-old woman, had battled chronic eczema for over a decade, with persistent red, scaly, and itchy patches on her legs and feet. Despite years of conventional treatments, including topical steroids, her condition worsened, leaving her skin fragile and prone to flare-ups—a challenge she later recognized as “steroid addiction” or withdrawal syndrome. Frustrated and seeking alternatives, she turned to our TCM clinic, where she began a regimen of herbal medicine tailored to her condition.

At her first visit, Ms. L’s eczema was significant redness, scaling, and crusting, with visible patches of irritated, inflamed areas. There’s a slight increase in redness and scaling, looks more inflamed and irritated after 3 months treatment. The severity score drops slightly (though not specified in the graph), suggesting early response to the TCM treatment, but the condition remains active. Thereafter Improvements are more noticeable on month 7, with reduced redness and scaling, though some areas still show crusting and dryness. The skin tone is beginning to normalize, and the severity score continues to decline, indicating a gradual healing process. There is an other flares on month 10, Some areas appear reddish, residual scaling and redness persist. The severity score reflects ongoing progress, along with continuing TCM medication, the significant improvement is evident, with most redness and scaling diminished gradually. The skin looks smoother and less irritated, though faint patches of discoloration or dryness remain. The severity score continues to decrease, suggesting the treatment is effectively managing the eczema. at the month 22, The skin looks healthy and smooth, with no visible signs of eczema. The severity score reaches 0.0, indicating full resolution of active eczema symptoms. With additional 2 months follow-up, The skin remains clear and healthy, with no recurrence of eczema. her legs and feet were smooth and healthy, free of eczema for the first time in years.

Ms. L’s journey underscores the potential of TCM to address chronic eczema, particularly in cases complicated by steroid dependency, offering her not just physical relief but renewed confidence in her skin’s health.

 

Discussion

  1. Effectiveness of TCM Treatment:
    The progression demonstrates a remarkable response to TCM herbal medicine, with a steady reduction in eczema severity over 26 months. The treatment appears to address both acute inflammation and chronic skin barrier dysfunction, leading to sustained remission.
  2. Gradual Healing:
    The improvement is gradual but consistent, which is typical for chronic conditions like eczema, especially when transitioning from long-term steroid use (as suggested by the context of “steroid addiction” or withdrawal syndrome). This suggests the TCM approach prioritizes long-term healing over rapid, potentially symptomatic relief.
  3. Potential Challenges:
    The initial months show persistent symptoms, which may reflect the body adjusting to the withdrawal of steroids (if previously used) or the time needed for TCM to take effect. Patients undergoing such transitions often face a “rebound effect,” but this case shows successful management over time.
  4. Long-Term Outcome:
    By 26 months, the skin’s complete recovery highlights the potential of TCM for chronic eczema, particularly in cases resistant to conventional treatments. However, maintenance or follow-up care might still be necessary to prevent recurrence.

Privacy

In situations where the disease information had already been made publicly available (as evidenced by prior articles), genuine names of individuals have been utilized. Conversely, in instances where there was no pre-existing public disclosure or at the explicit request of patients for privacy, pseudonyms have been employed. Furthermore, identities have been deliberately obscured, and certain contextual details and diagnoses have been modified to hinder any attempts at identification. It is essential to emphasize that the patients and encounters described in this work are authentic, and their consent for publication was duly obtained. As responsible authors, we earnestly implore all our readers to honor the privacy and confidentiality of these individuals. Additionally, certain scenarios, assessments, and clinical interventions have been altered to safeguard the anonymity of both patients and healthcare providers.