From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, acne, pimples, recurrent red swollen bumps, pus-filled pimples, and scars are directly related to the presence of blood heat and dampness toxins in the body, as well as lung and stomach heat. Sometimes, it can also cause constipation, mouth ulcers, bad breath, abdominal distension, and lung heat. These are all warnings from the "toxins" and "heat" in our body. Acne can be roughly divided into five types based on how the body toxins manifest.
1. Lung Heat Type Acne
1. Symptoms
Some pimples are inflamed, like millet grains, and feel slightly itchy and painful. They mostly appear around the nose, but can also be seen on the forehead, occasionally with blackheads. Symptoms may also include dry mouth and stools, yellow coating on the tongue, and red tongue.
2. Treatment methods
This type of acne is often caused by lung channel wind-heat, and it is advisable to use medication that clears the lungs and cools the blood.
3. Diet therapy (for one person)
(1) 8g honeysuckle vine, 25g chrysanthemum, 15g Isatis indigotica, 1 Chinese date. Boil the above ingredients in 3 bowls of water until reduced to 1 bowl, then drink it while hot.
(2) 10g silkworm cocoon, 20g Imperata cylindrica root, 12g Rehmannia root, 15g Poria cocos, 250g turtle shell. Boil them with an appropriate amount of water to make a soup and drink it.
(3) Make a tea using any of the following herbs: honeysuckle, chrysanthemum, mulberry leaf, or summer cypress.
Efficacy: Expels wind, disperses wind, clears heat, and detoxifies.
Note: During the period of active acne, try to avoid eating seafood such as shrimp and crab. Consuming these foods can easily disperse wind evil and worsen acne symptoms.
2. Heat Toxin Type Acne
1. Symptoms
Acne is red, swollen, and noticeably painful. Pressing them with your hands intensifies the pain. They are accompanied by symptoms such as fever, dry red tongue coating, and constipation. Heat toxin type acne is mainly caused by consuming warm and hot foods such as dog meat, mutton, beef, old hen, and red ginseng, which leads to the ascent of heat toxin and the onset of acne.
2. Treatment methods
This type of acne is caused by lung-transported heat inflammation and the invasion of external toxic pathogens. It is advisable to use methods that clear heat and detoxify.
3. Diet therapy
(1) 20g red thread (a herb from Lingnan), 150g lean meat. Boil them with an appropriate amount of water and drink the soup.
(2) 12g Coptis chinensis root, 150g skin and meat, 1 Chinese date. Boil them with an appropriate amount of water and drink the soup.
(3) 15g Isatis indigotica, 150g lean meat. Boil them with an appropriate amount of water and drink the soup.
(4) Eat 30g fresh Houttuynia cordata raw in a salad.
Efficacy: Clears heat and detoxifies.
Note: Avoid eating dry and hot foods. Eat less seafood and hot pot. Use 6g each of wild chrysanthemum, dandelion, Viola philippica, and Viola yedoensis, 15g honeysuckle. Boil them with water and drink to dispel heat.
3. Blood Heat Type Acne
1. Symptoms
Manifests as blackheads and whiteheads, mostly around the mouth and between the eyebrows. Facial flushing is obvious, body temperature is higher. Patients are prone to external wind-heat invasion. The tongue is red, the coating is yellow, and the pulse is string and rapid. Symptoms include dry throat and dry stools. This type of acne is mostly caused by emotional depression, stagnation of qi in the body, prolonged heat build-up, and heat stagnation in the blood.
2. Treatment methods
This type of acne is due to heat in the meridians and qi. It is advisable to use methods that cool the blood and clear heat.
3. Diet therapy
9-15g safflower, Chinese crown flower, Centipeda minima, rose, and wild chrysanthemum. Boil them with an appropriate amount of water and drink.
Efficacy: Cools the blood, activates blood circulation, and detoxifies.
Note: Suitable for blood-heat-induced rashes and upper body skin diseases caused by heat-toxin blocking the meridians.
4. Stomach Heat Type Acne
1. Symptoms
The face has inflamed pimples the size of millet grains, sometimes with blackheads. The pimples are mostly around the mouth, but can also be seen on the back and chest. They are often accompanied by dry mouth, increased appetite, dry tongue, and constipation. Stomach heat acne is mostly caused by irregular diet and excessive consumption of greasy foods, which leads to dryness and accumulation of the intestines and stomach, accumulation of heat in the middle burner, and stagnation in the facial skin.
2. Treatment methods
It is advisable to use methods that clear and purge the stomach and intestines.
3. Diet therapy
Combine the herbs Atractylodes, Cimicifuga, Chinese angelica, Rehmannia, Moutan, and gypsum for treatment.
Efficacy: Clears and purges stomach fire, cools the blood, and nourishes yin.
Note: The specific formulation and dosage of this diet therapy should be determined according to individual circumstances by consulting a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.
5. Damp Heat Type Acne
1. Symptoms
Frequent outbreaks of acne, in addition to papules and pustules, are mainly nodules and cysts. The skin is oily. There are also symptoms such as thick tongue coating, loss of appetite, and strong mouth odor. This type of acne is mostly caused by internal dampness and external pathogenic factors, which leads to the condensation of damp toxins, obstruction of the meridians, and disharmony of qi and blood. In addition, staying up late regularly and excessive mental stress can also cause this type of acne.
2. Treatment methods
For acne caused by dampness, toxin, and blood stasis, it is advisable to use methods that eliminate dampness and resolve stasis.
3. Diet therapy
(1) 15g Poria cocos, 250g turtle. Boil them with an appropriate amount of water and drink the soup.
(2) 20g Imperata cylindrica root, 10g Anemarrhena asphodeloides, 15g Dendrobium nobile. Add an appropriate amount of rock sugar and water, and boil to make a decoction. Drink it.
Efficacy: Clears heat, detoxifies, and eliminates dampness.
Note: Avoid squeezing pimples and pustules to prevent scarring. Also, ensure sufficient sleep.
