Perioral dermatitis

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

Our dermatitis treatment section has some of the more commonly used herbal formulas, points, etc. That said, you don’t choose a formula because you have dermatitis (or generally any other western condition), you choose them by your diagnosis in Chinese Medicine terms of the underlying causes (see “how to choose a formula” and “treating the cause and not the symptoms”).

In general terms dermatitis is the end result, the obvious reaction part, of something starting deeper - most often in the digestive system, more particularly inflammation in the colon. This is particularly so for perioral dermatitis - although there are, of course, other possibilities. Besides acupuncture and possibly herbal medicine, dietary change is often a critical component of resolving this - generally removing dairy, sugar, possibly gluten and switching towards a more whole foods/plant based diet.

Finding this deeper cause is why seeing a practitioner is important. Choosing a formula because it says it is useful for dermatitis, unless by sheer chance, will be generally not be helpful. Suffice it to say that this is generally fairly easy to resolve with properly applied Chinese Medicine, so I would recommend you find a practitioner locally to work with.