Can acupuncture help Psorisis? I am so tired of using steroid creams that cause a cycle of better to worse that I have just given up on any form of treatment. In reading up on the subject I do not see this skin condition as being one people seek acupuncture treatment. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance for your help! Tom
Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.
Hello Tom,
The short answer to your question is yes. Psoriasis is strongly related to the immune system and acupuncture can regulate and strengthen a persons immunity. There have been a few clinical trials looking at acupuncture as a treatment for psoriasis. The results so far have been mixed, however, there is enough positive evidence surrounding the effects to make acupuncture a viable alternative. This is especially so for people who have not responded to other treatments.
Acupuncture is a safe and effective medicine with essentially no side effects, so it is always worth considering treatment when other interventions have failed. The strength of Chinese Medicine is in its underlying theory and the way that it understands the body and signs and symptoms separate from the "disease". This allows for a very specific and tailored treatment.
In our clinic we have good results with psoriasis. Our treatments are focused on strenghtening the persons immunity and from a chinese perspective influencing their sweat glands/pores and blood.
My recommendation would be to try acupuncture for a series of 6-10 treatments and see what type of results you get. How many treatments you may need is impossible to say, especially without knowing your full medical history and current issues, however after the first few treatments you should begin to feel some sort of shift to let you know that there are changes happening.
I wish you the best and am looking forward to hearing about your experiences with acupuncture if you do try it.