Our skin, the surface layer of the entire organism is often an excellent and reliable indicator of health on the inside. Skin disorders are very common and usually result from an underlying health complaint. The cause may originate from a variety of places including stress, poor digestion or an impaired organ, due perhaps to a misalignment of the spine. Everything in our bodies is connected and blemishes, spots and itching on skin sometimes serve as a barometer for our general health.
As opposed to treating the symptoms (eg. acne), directly, practitioners at Well4ever will establish the reason for the disorder and go about treating this directly, which will in turn improve your skin and any other symptoms caused by the root of the health issue. Some treatments that may help include acupuncture, osteopathy, homeopathy and chiropractic.
A couple of common skin disorders include psoriasis, eczema and acne.
Psoriasis
Psoriasis causes some areas of the skin (often around hinge joints, such as the elbows and knees) to become flaky and red. Conventional medicine has not been able to fully explain the process resulting in psoriasis but understands it to be related to the immune system. It occurs when the body creates new skin cells exceedingly quickly.
A practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine or chiropractic also recognises it to be an error in the reproduction of cells, but will look deeper to seek out the root of the problem. The acupuncturist may discover an excess of yang to be part of the problem and work to cool down and disperse the heat and break down the plaque. The chiropractic may find a misaligned joint that is preventing the necessary blood supply to nerves in the gut that consequently becomes unable to eliminate toxins, forcing them through the the skin instead. A counsellor on the other hand, may find the cause to lie in a certain pattern of thinking that generates negativity and stress, leading to physical problems.
Eczema
Eczema, also called atopic dermatitis is a chronic skin disorder most common among children (about one fifth of children in the UK experience it), but also present in some adults. but can be present in adults. It manifests as dry, itchy, red and cracked patches of skin, often in the folds of the skin (behind the ears, on the inner elbow and so on). The cause is unknown in terms of a Western medical framework, but eczema can be relieved by establishing and treating underlying imbalances.
Acne
Most people in the West will be affected by some degree of acne, which is a skin condition that manifests itself as differently-sized spots appearing on the face, back, chest and rarely, on other areas of the body. Again, acne is interpreted by natural health practitioners as a warning sign that something is out of balance within the body – for instance, acne is far more common during puberty – which is when hormone levels are changing relatively drastically. Western-style medicine tends to treat acne with external ointments, or in some severe cases, antibiotics. This targets the symptom only and leaves the underlying cause unaddressed, allowing it to continue to cause problems even when the outside signs have (temporarily) disappeared.