I compared the efficacy of conventional therapies with Kampo therapies for atopic dermatitis, one of the typical chronic dermatoses. Causes and factors of deterioration of atopic dermatitis are divided into constitutional allergies and non allergic that in external stimuli invasion due to abnormality of epidermal defensive function against outside.
Acute dermatitis arises from activation of Th 2 cells followed by production of cytokines IL 4, IL 5, IL 13 involving IgE anitibody and Eosinophile in type I allergic reaction. Chronic dermatitis arises from activation of Th 1 cells followed by production of IL 2, IFNγ in type IV allergic reaction.
In constitutional allergy, dehydration due to epidermal shortage of ceramide and humidity make abnormalities of epidermal defensive function (against outside) leading to vulnaerability to external stimulus followed by prompt aggravation of dermatitis.
As, pathogenic dampness and heat exist under epidermis and in dermis in dermatitis, We use herbs diuretic or draining dampness and dispelling heat to remove pathogenic dampness and heat. Sometimes with further combination of herbs tonifying Yin.

In Kampo medicine, chronic dermatitis is considered to be associated with unstable interaction among Ki, Ketsu and Sui. Urticaria is resistant to standard treatments in modern western medicine, so we applied a Kampo approach to improve imbalance among Ki, Ketsu and Sui. In this paper, we report three cases of chronic urticaria treated with Kampo medicines, i.e., main prescriptions with goshakusan for urticaria with anemia, keishikaryukotsuboreito for urticaria with stress, and bukuryoshigyakuto for cold urticaria with stress. We examined changes in palmoplantar sweating in response to the treatments to evaluate improvement in the circulation of Ki.The importance of Ki, Ketsu and Sui in chronic diseases was emphasized by Nangai Yoshimasu and Gonzan Goto as early as the Edo period. Urticaria is regarded as being due to disturbances of Ketsu and Sui that are often caused by systemic Ki disorders. Therefore, we consider that it is important to improve Ki stagnation in “spleen”, “lung” and “kidney” in the treatment of urticaria.
Urticaria ; Medicine, Kampo ; Systemic ; Dermatologic ; Therapeutic procedure

As mental stress has a great impact on the symptoms of atopic dermatitis, we administered Qi-related prescriptions to 6 patients with atopic dermatitis. Not only were mental and autonomic imbalances, but also skin conditions were improved in all six. We examined changes in palmoplantar sweating and a self-rating depression scale to evaluate the effectiveness of the Qi-related prescriptions. The Qi-related prescriptions were used in combination with standard treatments as follows : keishikaryukotsuboreito in Case 1, shigyakusan in Cases 2 and 3, yokukansankachimpihange and keishikaryukotsuboreito in Case 4, shigyakusan and keishikaryukotsuboreito in Case 5, and saikokeisikankyoto in Case 6. It appears to be important to treat Qi-disorders, along with skin disorders, in patients with atopic dermatitis.
Dermatitis, Atopic ; Qi ; Psychophysiologic Disorders ; Cases ; symptoms <1>

Medicine, Kampo ; Dermatitis, Atopic

Objective : To examine how to treat patients suffering from electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) combined with multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) with herbal medicines. Methods : The patient was diagnosed as having blood stagnation (血瘀), yang deficiency (陽虚) and spleen qi deficiency (脾気虚) based on the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory. Hoyokangoto which had been applied to patients with hemiplegia for a long time in China, was prescribed with cinnamon and processed aconite root. For her persistent diarrhea, ogikenchuto was administered. Results : Headache, sense of exhaustion, insomnia, and various symptoms debasing her quality of life (QOL) were shortly decreased, which made her lead a normal life. Discussion : The administration of hoyokangoto combined with cinnamon and processed aconite root added qi (気), removed blood stagnation and accelerated blood circulation and collateral channels, implying that elimination is the first (先瀉). The administration of ogikenchuto for diarrhea (spleen qi deficiency) means that tonic is the second (後補), which improved her symptoms of EHS combined with MCS. Herbal medicines may be one of the choices for treating degraded QOL of patients with EHS and/or MCS.