[Medical Tips] Psoriasis Medicated Bath Class

Expert of this issue: Jiang Yingjuan, deputy chief physician of the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Oriental Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine

The culture of Chinese medicine bathing has a long history. As early as in the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, there were records of water bath therapy. The Compendium of Materia Medica also records a variety of Chinese medicine bathing methods such as bathing and sitting bathing. In the treatment of psoriasis, Chinese medicine bathing combined with oral Chinese medicine can exert a greater therapeutic effect. In the recovery period of the disease, the use of medicinal bathing alone can not only continue to exert the efficacy of the drug, but also avoid the decline in patient compliance and the occurrence of adverse drug reactions caused by long-term oral Chinese medicine.

What is the principle of medicinal bath?

Traditional Chinese medicine baths use the principle of transdermal absorption. During the bath, the drug acts on the local skin lesions to produce a direct therapeutic effect. Its warm effect can open the pores and promote transdermal absorption of the drug. In addition, the warmth dilates the capillaries, accelerates the blood circulation of the whole body, and allows the absorbed drugs to quickly enter the blood circulation, producing a fundamental therapeutic effect. The combination of drugs and warm water stimulates the nerve endings and can also regulate the function of the nervous system, thereby improving the patient's insomnia, anxiety and other symptoms.

What are the specific methods of Chinese medicine bath?

First, pour the decocted liquid medicine into a wooden barrel or bathtub, add appropriate amount of warm water, the ratio of liquid medicine to water is about 3:10, and the water temperature is 35-40℃. Enter the wooden barrel or bathtub, usually sit down, soak the body and limbs in the liquid medicine for 15-20 minutes, wipe the water off the body with a towel after the medicinal bath, apply ointment to the affected area, apply moisturizer on the rest of the skin, and put on clothes.

What are the precautions for medicinal baths?

First, the temperature of the medicinal bath should be between 30 and 40°C. The water temperature should not be overheated to prevent burns, and the bath time should not exceed 30 minutes. Secondly, avoid strong scrubbing during the bath to avoid skin damage and infection or isomorphic reaction. In addition, the water level should not be too high during the bath, and it should not exceed the heart. Pay attention to keeping warm during bathing. The room temperature should not be lower than 20°C. Avoid cold and wind. Dry the skin immediately after bathing. It is not advisable to take a medicinal bath before or after meals, 1 hour after meals, or when you are too hungry or too full, or when you are extremely tired, drunk, or sweating profusely. Children, the elderly, or patients with heart, lung, brain and other diseases should not take a bath alone. They should be assisted by family members, and the bathing time should not be too long.

Under what circumstances is it not suitable to take a medicinal bath?

Psoriasis is not suitable for medicated baths during the acute progressive stage; people with large skin wounds are not suitable for medicated baths to prevent infection; patients with severe cardiopulmonary insufficiency, bleeding tendency or in the risk period of cerebrovascular accident are not suitable for medicated baths; pregnant and menstruating women are not suitable for medication; and people who are allergic to the drug ingredients in the medicated bath cannot take medicated baths.

How to choose Chinese medicine for medicinal bath?

The prescription for medicinal bath should also be based on the stage of the disease, the morphology of the skin lesions, and the patient's symptoms, and should be added or subtracted according to the symptoms. For example, if the rash is red in color, you can use Portulaca oleracea, raw Sanguisorba officinalis, Lithospermum officinale, wild chrysanthemum, isatis indigotica, Smilax glabra, and Cortex Moutan; if the skin lesions are dry and desquamated, you can add Gleditsia sinensis, Angelica sinensis, Clematis chinensis, Atractylodes macrocephala, and Artemisia argyi; if the skin lesions are thick, you can add peach kernel, safflower, Polygonum multiflorum, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Millettia reticulata, and Herba spatholobi; if the itching is severe, add Sophora flavescens, Dictamni cortex, Kochia scoparia, etc.; if scalp psoriasis is accompanied by Malassezia infection, you can add Cyperus rotundus, raw Platycladus orientalis, Stemona bulb, and Cnidium monnieri, etc.

The above introduces the specific method of Chinese medicine bath treatment for psoriasis, for reference by friends with psoriasis. Everyone is a different individual, with different stages of the disease, different forms of rashes, and different personal constitutions. In the clinical treatment process, we must also conduct overall dialectics based on our own characteristics and reasonably choose treatment methods to achieve satisfactory results.