Psoriasis is a kind of chronic erythroderma desquamativum. Its clinical characteristics include erythematous scaly lesion and serious itching. This disease is chronic and can recur. It mostly occurs in young or middle-aged people.

Main Points of Diagnosis
1. Skin Lesion
The papulae are flat and smooth at first, then rapidly develop not erythemata in different shapes, with clear demarcations and covered with many layers of silver white scales. There appears a layer of fat-like lustrous film on removing the scales. This is called film phenomenon. If the film is wiped off, cribriform bleeding will appear.
2. The course of this disease has three stages:
Active stage: The scales on erythemata appear continuously, expand, coalesce and spread throughout the skin of the body. The patient feels serious itching.
Resting stage: Skin lesion has stopped extending. The condition is fairly stable. Itching has weakened gradually and finally disappeared.
Regressive stage: The scales on erythema reduce gradually and then disappear completely. The pigmentation will be left and itching will be milder and then disappear completely.
3. The course of this disease is chronic. The patient himself can recover from it, but it may easily relapse. The attack of this disease is influenced by weather. It is mild in summer and serious in winter.
4. It is often accompanied with arthritis, impetigo. If the treatment is improper, erythroderma psoritaticum map be present.
Differentiation and Treatment of Common Syndromes
1. Internal Treatment
1) Wind-Heat Type
Symptoms and Signs: Serious itching, red papule, scaly erythematous lesion with red halo around them, red tongue, with thin and yellow fur, and taut and rapid pulse.
Therapeutic Principle: Clearing away pathogenic heat to remove toxin materials, cooling the blood and dispersing pathogenic wind.
Recipe: Lonicera and Smilax Glabra Decoction
honeysuckle flower
smilax glabra rhizome
sophora flower-bud
dried rehmannia root
red peony root
red sage root
scutellaria root
anemarrhena rhizome
arnebia or lithosperm root
bupleurum root
cicada slough
dried body of black-tail snake
All the above herbs are to be decocted in water for oral administration.
2) Blood Stasis Type
Main Symptoms and Signs: The scales on erythema or the erythema with silver scales on the skin may not subside. Itching is mild or not obvious.
Recipe: Decoction for Promoting Blood Circulation and Expelling Pathogenic Wind
red peony root
red sage root
peach kernel
safflower
Chinese angelica root
ligusticum rhizome
dried body of scorpion
pangolin scale
cicada slough
tribulus fruit
All the above herbs are to be decocted in water for oral administration.
3. Blood Dryness Type
Main Symptoms and Signs: Brown patches or pigmentation with fine furfures on the affected part of skin.
Recipe: Decoction of Chinese Angelica Root
dried rehmannia root
white peony root
multiflower knotweed root
Chinese angelica root
ligusticum rhizome
schizonepeta
ledebouriella root
tribulus fruit
astragalus root
licorice root
All the above herbs are decocted in water for oral use.
For those with greasy fur on the tongue, add 9 grams of atractylodes rhizome, 9 grams of dittany bark, 15 grams of capillary artemisia herb. For those who have serious itching, add 9 grams each of dried whole scorpion, and honeylocust spine. If the erythema can not subside, add 9 grams each of dried ground beetle, rhubarb, turmeric rhizome, burreed rhizome, zedoary turmeric rhizome.
2. External Treatment
1) Therapy of Soaking Bath in Herbal Lotion
Recipe:
alum
pepertree pricklyash peel
wild chrysanthemum flower
mirabilite
All the above ingredients are to be decocted in water for a soaking bath in hot water. The bath should last 30-60 minutes each time, once a day.
2) Operative Therapy of the External Ear
Sterilize the cartilage crest above the orifice of the external auditory meatus first with 75% alcohol, make two shallow incisions with the tip of the knife on the epidermis and dermis to let a little amount of blood ooze out, then spread some Compound Powder of Black Pepper on the wound, cover them with sterilized dressing and knead for one minute, and then use adhesive plaster for fixation. This method can be done once a week. Curative effects can be seen after 2-3 times of treatment.
Recipe: Compound Powder of Black Pepper
fruit of black pepper
pangolin scale
The above ingredients are to be ground into fine powder and mixed toget
Dr. Ming's TCM Medical Center,
Hua Xi Xiao Yuan, Hutian Developing Area,
Huaihua city, Hunan province
China