Neurodermatitis is a kind of chronic skin disease with pruritic inflammation. It is characterized by episodes of itching and lichenification on the skin. The disease has a chronic course with frequent relapses. There is no tendency to seep. It can be divided into local and disseminated types.

Main Points of Diagnosis
1. Local neurodermatitis
1) At first, the patient feels intermittent itching on the affected part of the skin, then round clusters or polyangled pink papulae covered with scanty fine scales appear.
2) The skin will become thick, dry and rough at the advanced stage as a result of scratching and lichenoid skin lesion will be formed It looks like the skin of a cow's neck.
3) Paroxysmal itching will be present.
4) The course of the sickness is chronic, This disease attacks and relapses frequently. It often occurs on the neck, elbow, knee and sacrum or cocryx and is serious in summer and mild in winter.
2. Neurodermatitis disseminata
1) At first, the skin becomes diffusely red and clusters of papules appear on it. The lichenification appears on the affected part of the skin at the advanced stage, too.
2) Paroxysmal itching will be present.
3) The skin lesion is rather large and can spread over to the whole body, especially on the trunk and extensor side of limbs.
Differentiation and Treatment of Common Syndromes
1. Internal Treatment
1) Wind-Heat Type
Main Symptoms and Signs: There is a sensation of paroxysmal itching on the affected part. The skin is reddish and crowds of papulae appear on it. The tongue is red and the pulse is taut and rapid.
therapeutic Principle: Removing heat from the blood to promote blood circulation, and clearing away pathogenic heat and expelling pathogenic wind.
recipe: Decoction of Dittany Bark
dried rehmannia root
red peony root
red sage root
honeysuckle flower
dittany bark
Chinese angelica root
scutellaria root
cicada slough
atractylodes rhizome
shizonepeta
ledebouriella root
All the above herbs are to be decocted in water for oral administration.
2) Wind-Dryness Type
Main Symptoms and Signs: There is a sensation of paroxysmal itching. The skin is thick, rough, and dry with fine and broken scurf, accompanied with irritability, insomnia with thin fur on the tongue and lack of saliva and thready pulse.
Therapeutic Principle: Enriching the blood and moistening the dryness, and promoting blood circulation and expelling pathogenic wind.
Recipe: Powder of Four Main Herbs for Expelling Pathogenic Wind
dried rehmannia root
Chinese angelica root
red peony root
ligusticum rhizome
schizonepeta
ledebouriella root
dittany bark
notopterygium root or rhizome
peppermint
cicada slough
bupleurum root
Chinese date
All the above herbs are to be decocted in water for oral administration.
2. External Treatment
1) Use Itching-Stopping Lotion to wash the affected part.
2) Put Red Powder on the affected part, and then scrub the affected part by hands for five minutes, three times a day. Be sure to wash your hands after treating.
Dr. Ming's TCM Medical Center,
Hua Xi Xiao Yuan, Hutian Developing Area,
Huaihua city, Hunan province
China