I remember meeting Danny and his mom for their initial consultation seven months ago. Danny's mother desperately asked for help with tears in her eyes. I felt pain in my heart when I saw Danny's severely damaged, painful-looking skin. Danny had rubbed his face until he bled. He was crying in pain, and he had difficulty sleeping at night. I could see his mother's fatigue staying awake many tearful nights trying to comfort him. I strongly believe that Traditional Chinese Medicine could help his condition. Still, speedy healing was my first goal to relieve pain for the entire family. Here is the story of Danny's eczema healing journey.

According to his mother, Danny's eczema began shortly after birth, worsening when he was three months old. Rashes and blisters appeared on his forehead and cheeks, then spread to his arms and legs. After several visits with dermatologists, his mother tried many ointments—some with and some without steroids—that provided temporary relief for two days at most. His skin got worse day by day, peeled and bled. He was prescribed antibiotics to prevent secondary infections, but the drugs worsened his eczema. His mother took Danny to the E.R. several times and consulted many dermatologists. His symptoms worsened, so as a last hope, Danny's mother brought him to Tao of Wellness to try Traditional Chinese Medicine for the first time in her life.

Traditional Chinese medicine has a great deal to offer for children suffering from eczema. These photographs of six-month-old baby Danny were taken during his initial consultation. The rash was worst on his face, arms, and legs. His blisters were itchy with crusted, thickened plaques over his entire body.

Danny's skin condition is called eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis. It is a common, chronic ailment that affects children and adults. Eczema is characterized by chronically dry, itchy, and scaly skin. The skin can become red, itchy, swollen, oozing, and weeping.

In Western Medicine, eczema is understood as a genetically predisposed combination of a defective skin barrier, microbial imbalance, immune dysregulation, and an increased inflammatory response due to causes such as environmental toxicity, allergies, diet, sweating, stress, and temperature. People with atopic dermatitis are also at risk of developing food allergies, hay fever, and asthma.

Read on to learn about the treatment protocol for Danny.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) understands eczema as the interaction between the body and the environment. Underlying weakness in the body's energy (Qi) and blood can allow external pathogenic factors such as wind, dampness, and heat to invade, causing itchiness, inflammation, and dry, red skin. Stress also lowers the immune system, and the overconsumption of greasy, rich, sweet, spicy foods, caffeine, and alcohol can also weaken the digestive system and lead to eczema or trigger flare-ups.

For Danny, no one in his family had eczema except for his father for a short time as an infant, but it disappeared quickly. His mother, 2-year-old sister, and father had healthy skin.

As a six-month-old, Danny's immune system was not fully developed. Tao of Wellness has developed oral herbal tinctures, free of alcohol and preservatives, available only through our clinics. Danny was given the digestion tincture to strengthen his digestive system as we recognize that gut health is key to balancing his natural immunity. He was given the skin tincture to reduce his skin's heat, itchiness, and oozing as well as the allergy tincture to reduce allergic reactions. Proprietary topical herbal creams, free of steroids, were also prescribed to moisturize and soothe Danny's inflamed skin.

And because an infant's nutrition comes primarily from their mother's breast milk, we recommended that his mother begin an anti-inflammatory and antihistamine detox diet of green leafy vegetables. We also took her off dairy, processed, greasy and spicy foods.

*Danny after one month with four weekly sessions.*

For little Danny, besides the specially-formulated tinctures, we also provided gentle "tears-free" pediatric acupuncture treatment. His mother reported that Danny scratched less and slept better from the first day of acupuncture.

Studies show that physiologically, acupuncture reduces itching by changing the itch response in the brain. Acupuncture may also reduce itch by decreasing the activation of basophils, white blood cells involved in the inflammatory reactions in eczema.

*Danny after seven weeks of acupuncture treatments.*

Danny's skin has improved dramatically in the last six months, and his itchiness and inflammation are under control. However, his eczema will mildly flare when he catches a cold or has an allergic reaction from exploring new foods. We have stayed in touch with Danny's mother via email communications and monthly acupuncture sessions at our clinic.

We've recently tapered Danny to a maintenance regiment of bi-monthly acupuncture treatment and follow-ups. Danny's healing journey is not yet complete, but his mother's joyful smile is back with no more tears and guilt, and Danny and his family have more smiles and sound sleep.

In sharing these photos and story, we hope to provide you and your loved ones with natural and viable approaches to treating the root of eczema and discouraging self-blame. At Tao of Wellness, our team of practitioners are ready to help you and your children restore their skin health with happy smiles as a bonus. We are available via office visits or telemedicine if you are not local to Southern California.

*This most recent photo was taken five months after Danny's initial treatment. He currently gets acupuncture treatment once every two months.*

A Note from Dr. Mao

Danny's story is all too familiar at Tao of Wellness, as our team of doctors have successfully treated hundreds of toddlers suffering from eczema with Chinese medicine when conventional medical treatments have failed. It's an approach that employs an antihistamine diet and nutrition, proprietary herbal tinctures and creams, and gentle pediatric acupuncture to modulate the body's immunity as opposed to suppressing the patient's immune function to achieve healing and remission.

We have developed oral herbal tinctures, free of alcohol and preservatives, available only for patients in our clinics. We typically give the digestion tincture to strengthen a patient's digestive system as we recognize that gut health is key to balancing the body's natural immunity. Patients are also given the skin tincture to reduce skin inflammation that shows up as heat, itchiness, and oozing as well as the allergy tincture to reduce allergic reactions. Proprietary topical herbal creams, free of steroids, used along with moisturizing Day and Night creams made from pearl powder are often prescribed to moisturize and soothe a patient's inflamed skin.

Danny’s Eczema Healing Journey

A Note from Dr. Mao