Our Approach: Classical Chinese Dermatology for Immune-Mediated Skin Conditions
Tangs Clinical TCM provides Traditional Chinese Medicine care for immune-mediated and chronic inflammatory skin conditions, using herbal formulas prescribed by pattern differentiation and reviewed as your skin changes.
Conditions We See
Many chronic skin conditions involve the immune system. In some, it mistakenly targets the body’s own skin; in others, it overreacts to substances that are normally harmless. Conditions we commonly see include:
- Psoriasis
- Eczema (atopic dermatitis)
- Vitiligo
- Lichen planus
- Palmoplantar pustulosis
- Chronic urticaria (hives)
- Contact dermatitis
- vasculitis
- morphea/scleroderma
- pemphigoid
- pemphigus
Common signs include rashes, redness, itching, scaly or rough patches, blisters, weeping, and raised red, white or pus-filled bumps.
A Prescribing System Built on Classical Dermatology
Our prescribing system draws on the pathology and classical treatment methods of traditional Chinese dermatology. It combines classical treatment principles — harmonising Ying and Wei (nutritive and defensive qi), nourishing Yin, dispelling wind and dampness, and tonifying the Liver and Kidney — into experience-based formulas refined in clinical practice since 1980.
The system is designed for immune-mediated and chronic inflammatory skin conditions, including autoimmune and autoinflammatory conditions, and allergic (mast-cell-driven) conditions such as chronic urticaria.
Internal and External Treatment, Each with Its Own Role
Our approach aligns with the Orthodox School of External Medicine (Zhengzong Pai), named after the Ming-dynasty physician Chen Shigong’s Orthodox Manual of External Medicine (1617). Like that school, we place weight on protecting the Spleen and Stomach, supporting the body’s own defences, and treating the inside and the outside together.
- Oral formulas: prescribed according to your constitution and pattern. They do not use bitter-cold herbs, which in TCM theory can weaken the Spleen. This also reflects Singapore’s climate: the contrast between outdoor heat and cold air-conditioned interiors often produces a pattern TCM describes as “heat outside, cold inside”.
- Topical preparations: acute surface signs such as redness, weeping and erosion — often described in TCM as damp-heat — are managed with our topical preparations, which aim to clear heat and dry dampness at the skin surface.
The oral and topical treatments work together, each with a distinct role, toward one overall treatment goal.
Prescribed by Pattern, Not by Diagnosis Label
We do not assign a fixed formula to a diagnosis. The same condition can present differently from person to person and from stage to stage, so the formula changes with it; different conditions that share the same underlying pattern may be treated with the same formula. This is the classical principle of “same disease, different treatments; different diseases, same treatment.“
Treatment recommendations are individualised according to your presentation, medical history and response to care.
A Treatment Plan That Changes With You
When a presentation is complex, we may prescribe two or three formulas together. As in a classical prescription, where herbs take chief, deputy and assistant/envoy roles, combined formulas are ranked by weight into principal, supporting and assisting formulas.
At each review, our physician reassesses your skin and general health and adjusts the formulas and doses, so your prescription changes as your condition changes. Our TCM physicians draw on research evidence and clinical experience, and put your well-being and preferences first when planning care.
What Our Medicines Do Not Contain
TANGS medicines are proprietary herbal formulations prepared without:
- Corticosteroids
- Immunosuppressants
- Animal products
- Additives
- Preservatives
Herbal treatment is prescribed according to your individual condition and monitored for suitability during longer-term use.
If you are using other medication
Please do not stop or change any prescribed medication without speaking to your doctor, and tell our physician about all medicines you use. Different treatment approaches may be used in conventional care depending on the diagnosis and severity of disease; please discuss the benefits, risks and suitability of any medication with qualified healthcare professionals. Individual responses to treatment vary.
