46 min
Chinese Medicine Approach to Acne and Rosacea with Dr. Antonia Balfour Rational Wellness Podcast
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- Alternative Health
Dr. Antonia Balfour discusses a Chinese Medicine Approach to Acne and Rosacea with Dr. Ben Weitz.
[If you enjoy this podcast, please give us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, so more people will find The Rational Wellness Podcast. Also check out the video version on my WeitzChiro YouTube page.]
Podcast Highlights
1:42 Dr. Balfour, a Doctor of Chinese Medicine, recalls treating a patient with very severe eczema while she was a student at Yo San University in Los Angeles. She was only 18 or 19 years of age and she had skin lesions that would ooze and she could hardly leave her house. She saw what an important problem skin conditions are. Then Dr. Balfour developed Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP) and she lesions all over her body that would itch like crazy. She discovered an expert in the use of Chinese herbs for treating dermatological conditions, Mazin Al-Khafaji in England, so she went to study with him and this led her to specialize in the treatment of dermatology with acupuncture and Chinese herbs.
5:14 The Chinese medicine approach has many different ways of analyzing skin conditions and doesn’t just diagnose acne and put the patient on the acne formula. Dr. Balfour treats many patients with acne who have never heard of Chinese medicine treating their condition and many have been on birth control or Accutane and most have tried topicals from the conventional dermatologist and many become frustrated or depressed at the lack of results. In Chinese medicine you treat the whole person, the emotional aspects as well as the physical aspects, and there’s often an interplay between the two. In Chinese medicine you do analyze the skin but then you need to look at the whole person. When analyzing the skin, you see if they have redness and inflammation, which indicates “heat” in Chinese medicine. Then you want to look at the lesions and see if the background skin has a deep redness or if it is pale or just flesh colored and has no redness. If there’s a red ring around a pimple, that might indicate heat toxins. If they have a pimple that has fluid in it, that is different than a pimple with pus in it. These things might indicate that you should use different herbs. Dr. Balfour will also feel the pulse and ask about their diet and if they have any digestive symptoms.
9:35 Acne. Acne is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that is very often associated with hormonal shifts in males and females as well as with what we are eating. If you have been eating a diet of fast foods and develop acne and then adopt a clean, organic diet that is either meat free or only grass-fed beef or hormone free poultry and they may not see any change. These dietary factors are important but not enough to reverse their condition. By using the right herbs for them along with a healthier diet, they will make better results. Two of the main dietary factors that Dr. Balfour recommends avoiding for patients with acne are sugar and dairy. Dr. Balfour also mentioned that in Los Angeles a lot of people consume a lot of smoothies and pressed juice and celery juice, while Chinese medicine loves cooked foods and soups, since they are easier on the digestive tract.
14:08 Patients with acne will be treated differently depending upon the appearance of the acne with Chinese medicine. If the patient has pimples that are large and swollen, that is considered to be damp heat. If someone has very oily skin, that’s also damp heat. Dr. Balfour will typically make up a Chinese herbal formula with between 12 and 18 herbs. There are different herbs for chest or back acne versus face acne. If the patient has a deep, hard cyst, it’s a different pattern than just the damp and the heat, which means using different herbs.
19:25 Taking antibiotics is not a good idea for acnes becau...
Dr. Antonia Balfour discusses a Chinese Medicine Approach to Acne and Rosacea with Dr. Ben Weitz.
[If you enjoy this podcast, please give us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, so more people will find The Rational Wellness Podcast. Also check out the video version on my WeitzChiro YouTube page.]
Podcast Highlights
1:42 Dr. Balfour, a Doctor of Chinese Medicine, recalls treating a patient with very severe eczema while she was a student at Yo San University in Los Angeles. She was only 18 or 19 years of age and she had skin lesions that would ooze and she could hardly leave her house. She saw what an important problem skin conditions are. Then Dr. Balfour developed Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP) and she lesions all over her body that would itch like crazy. She discovered an expert in the use of Chinese herbs for treating dermatological conditions, Mazin Al-Khafaji in England, so she went to study with him and this led her to specialize in the treatment of dermatology with acupuncture and Chinese herbs.
5:14 The Chinese medicine approach has many different ways of analyzing skin conditions and doesn’t just diagnose acne and put the patient on the acne formula. Dr. Balfour treats many patients with acne who have never heard of Chinese medicine treating their condition and many have been on birth control or Accutane and most have tried topicals from the conventional dermatologist and many become frustrated or depressed at the lack of results. In Chinese medicine you treat the whole person, the emotional aspects as well as the physical aspects, and there’s often an interplay between the two. In Chinese medicine you do analyze the skin but then you need to look at the whole person. When analyzing the skin, you see if they have redness and inflammation, which indicates “heat” in Chinese medicine. Then you want to look at the lesions and see if the background skin has a deep redness or if it is pale or just flesh colored and has no redness. If there’s a red ring around a pimple, that might indicate heat toxins. If they have a pimple that has fluid in it, that is different than a pimple with pus in it. These things might indicate that you should use different herbs. Dr. Balfour will also feel the pulse and ask about their diet and if they have any digestive symptoms.
9:35 Acne. Acne is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that is very often associated with hormonal shifts in males and females as well as with what we are eating. If you have been eating a diet of fast foods and develop acne and then adopt a clean, organic diet that is either meat free or only grass-fed beef or hormone free poultry and they may not see any change. These dietary factors are important but not enough to reverse their condition. By using the right herbs for them along with a healthier diet, they will make better results. Two of the main dietary factors that Dr. Balfour recommends avoiding for patients with acne are sugar and dairy. Dr. Balfour also mentioned that in Los Angeles a lot of people consume a lot of smoothies and pressed juice and celery juice, while Chinese medicine loves cooked foods and soups, since they are easier on the digestive tract.
14:08 Patients with acne will be treated differently depending upon the appearance of the acne with Chinese medicine. If the patient has pimples that are large and swollen, that is considered to be damp heat. If someone has very oily skin, that’s also damp heat. Dr. Balfour will typically make up a Chinese herbal formula with between 12 and 18 herbs. There are different herbs for chest or back acne versus face acne. If the patient has a deep, hard cyst, it’s a different pattern than just the damp and the heat, which means using different herbs.
19:25 Taking antibiotics is not a good idea for acnes becau...
46 min