Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) emphasizes that a non-allergic and healthy body often depends on a balanced liver. The liver, the yin organ, controls the tendons, keeps qi moving through the body and stores blood. Its partner is the gallbladder, which stores and secretes bile, protects the nervous system from over-reaction, and helps stabilize emissions. When the liver is contained (more Yang) from drinking Yang (heating) or overloading the body with toxins, the function of the gallbladder is also difficult, and the symptoms of allergies can manifest.
One day, on a hike, 39-year-old software engineer Stan accidentally contacted poison ivy. He did not know about this until two days later, when he broke out in a rash, accompanied by uncomfortable itching (allergic contact dermatitis).
Stan tried to alleviate the symptoms by taking an over-the-counter antihistamine, Beneadril. This lessened itching, but the rash continued to worsen. By the time he sent the acupuncture of Louis Golshehrer from Los Angeles, California, six days after irradiation, he was heavy, red, and had raised blisters all over his body, especially on his stomach, hips and groin.
Dr. Golshehr discovered that Stan had a history of severe allergies, as well as signs of an imbalance in the liver, which showed up on an emotional level as random angry flashes. According to the TCM, this indicates "hyperactivity of the hepatic yang," explains Dr. Golshehr, or the liver, whose energy, or "fire", is so excessively active (yang) that creates problems through the body and mind. Poison ivy is also a manifestation of too much heat, says Dr. Golshegre, and boils is considered an infection of poison in the organs. ”
The first step was to remove heat from Stan’s system to eliminate toxic manifestation. Dr. Golshehr used acupuncture to redirect qi-imbalance and allow poisons to drain from his system. In addition, he gave Chinese herbs Bupleurum schizonepeta (commonly used to treat hives) and gypsum gypsum (calcium sulfate) to help disperse heat and remove toxins from his system. Stan also moistened fibrous gypsum powder with water to make a paste and apply it topically to cool the damage. Another TCM remedy that rebalances the liver is a combination of Tang-Kuei and Gardenia herbs (3 g, three times a day, between meals).
“I recommended that Stan drink soft drinks and eat ice cream to cool his body temperature,” says Dr. Golszegre. "When you have blisters, it indicates too much heat on the surface of the body, and it is best to cool the system with something cold." Applying ice to the skin can also be beneficial for the symptoms of poison ivy.
Since poison ivy is often delayed by several weeks, Stan was very happy to find that 48 hours after his visit to Dr. Golsher, all traces of his allergic contact dermatitis disappeared.
