Diagnostic Essentials for Eczema in Chinese medicine:
1. Acute Eczema
Skin rashes can occur in any parts of the body and frequently on the face, behind the ear, on the dorsum of the hand, breast, scrotum, medial aspect of the elbow,leg and foot or on the skin of the whole body, manifested by multiple forms, erythema, papules, papular vesicle,blisters, effusion, erosion, crust, etc. In complication with infection, there can be pustules, pustular crust and purulent effusion, indistinctive border of skin rash, serious pruritus, easy recurrence and chronic tendency.
2. Subacute Eczema
Skin rashes are mainly manifested by small papules,scale and crust, accompanied by slight infiltration or slight effusion, and serious pruritus.
3. Chronic Eczem
It can be developed from acute and suhacute eczema and can also be started with chronic condition. The skin rashes are manifested by infiltration, thickness, dryness, coarseness, and scale, and lichenoid change in different degrees in some cases, pigmentation mixed with scratched marks and bloody crusts, rhagades in the joints of the hand and foot, and serious pruritus. There can be also acute attack in chronic eczema.
4. Specific Patterns of Eczema
There are self-sensitive eczema, infectious eczematous dermatitis, eczema nummulare, infantile eczema, and eczema fissure, etc.
Three syndromes of eczem categorized in TCM diagnosis
Syndrome of Infiltration of Dampness and Heat
Syndrome of Accumulation of Dampness due to Spleen Deficiency
Syndrome of Blood Deficiency and Wind-Dryness