TCM Eczema Singapore

Tangs Clinical TCM (唐氏中医) is a Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic in Singapore focused on chronic and immune-mediated skin conditions, including eczema (atopic dermatitis). We treat eczema with herbal formulas prescribed by pattern differentiation, together with our own topical preparations, and adjust the prescription at every review.

What Is Eczema?

Eczema, most commonly atopic dermatitis, is a chronic inflammatory skin condition. Genetics play a large part, and it often runs in families. Skin-barrier defects, immune dysfunction and environmental triggers contribute to an overactive inflammatory response in the skin.

Common signs include:

• Dry, rough skin
• Itching, often worse at night
• Red or darkened rashes
• Small bumps or blisters
• Weeping, oozing or crusting
• Flaky or scaly patches
• Swelling
• Thickened, leathery skin

How TCM Understands Eczema

In TCM, eczema is described through patterns rather than one cause. Wind is associated with itch that comes and goes; dampness with weeping, oozing and blisters; heat with redness and flare-ups; and deficiency of the Spleen, blood or Yin with dryness, thickening and slow recovery. The same person often shows a different mix of patterns at different stages — during an acute flare, as it settles, and in long-standing dry, thickened skin.

This is why we do not match one formula to one diagnosis. The same condition can present differently from person to person and from stage to stage, and different conditions that share an underlying pattern may be treated with the same formula — the classical principle of “same disease, different treatments; different diseases, same treatment.”

How We Treat Eczema at Tangs Clinical TCM

Oral formulas prescribed by pattern

Our oral formulas are experience-based prescriptions developed in our clinic. They are chosen according to your constitution and pattern at each visit, not by the name of the condition. A formula from our Derma-Zema range may be used, but so may formulas from our other ranges if your pattern calls for them — the range names reflect where each formula was first developed, not the only condition it is used for.

Topical preparations for weeping and inflamed skin

Acute surface signs — redness, weeping and erosion, often described in TCM as damp-heat — are managed with our topical preparations rather than with stronger oral herbs. Your physician selects the preparation according to whether the skin is dry, inflamed or weepy, and explains how and when to apply it.

Two or three formulas, ranked by weight

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.

Adapted to Singapore’s climate

Our oral formulas do not use bitter-cold herbs, which in TCM theory can weaken the Spleen. In Singapore, the contrast between outdoor heat and cold air-conditioned interiors — along with iced drinks — often produces a pattern TCM describes as “heat outside, cold inside”. Protecting the Spleen and Stomach while the skin is treated from the outside is central to our approach, which aligns with the Orthodox School of External Medicine (Zhengzong Pai) of the Ming-dynasty physician Chen Shigong.

Reviewed and adjusted at every visit

At each review, your physician reassesses your skin and general health and adjusts the formulas and doses. Your prescription changes as your eczema changes, rather than staying the same from start to finish.

Eczema Case Records From Our Clinic

We document selected cases with dated photographs taken over the full course of care. Each record describes one patient; it is not a prediction of how anyone else will respond.

• Chronic atopic dermatitis — 70-month clinical follow-up
• Eczema behind the knees — 30-month photo record, with fluctuating improvement
• Biopsy-confirmed chronic atopic dermatitis — 20-month course without steroids
• Chronic neck eczema — 18-month photographic record
• Chronic eczema — 14-month case perspective
• Steroid-dependent chronic palmar (hand) eczema — case report

Individual responses to treatment vary.

Diet and Daily Care

Diet is discussed at every consultation and adjusted to your pattern. General guidance we often give:

• Limit spicy, deep-fried, very oily and very sweet foods, and alcohol.
• Avoid iced drinks and cold foods, which in TCM terms weaken the Spleen and add to “cold inside”.
• Note foods that seem to trigger your flares and bring the list to your consultation.
• Keep the skin moisturised, avoid very hot showers, and choose soft, breathable fabrics.
• In air-conditioned rooms, avoid sitting directly in cold airflow for long periods.

If you are using other medication
Please do not stop or change any prescribed medication without speaking to your doctor. Seek medical care promptly if your skin becomes infected, very painful, or worsens rapidly. Individual responses to treatment vary.

Book a Consultation

WhatsApp +65 8870 0555 | Call +65 6333 4066