ACNE VULGARIS

Clinical Manifestations
  • Open and closed pustules and cysts
  • Worse in males
  • Mild soreness, pain and itching
  • The lesions occur mainly on the face, neck, upper chest upper back and shoulders
  • Comedones are common
  • Open comedones are known as blackheads
  • Closed comedones are called whiteheads
  • Over time the papules may become inflamed
  • Severe cases may present deeply inflamed nodules and pus-filled cysts
  • Preteens often present with comedones as the first lesions
  • Younger teens may have inflammatory lesions in the middle of the face, extending outward as the patient ages
  • Women in their thirties and forties often present with papular lesions around the chin and mouth
Treatment Principle
Herb Formulas
  • Gui Shen Wan
  • Topical:
    1. Dian Dao San
    2. Jin Huang Gao
    3. Qu Ban Gao
    4. Rosacea Paste #1
    5. Decoct 30g each, Galla Rhois Chinensis Wu Bei Zi, Fr. Chebulae He Zi  and Cx. Phellodendri Huang Bai in 4 cups of water until the water boils. Strain the decocted herbs, and wash the affected area two times a day.
    6. Grind 30g Sm. Armeniacae Xing Ren  into a powder and mix with egg whites to form a paste. Apply to the affected area before bedtime.
  • Chinese Patent Medicines:
    San She Jie Yang Wan
    Huang Lian Jie Du Pian
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Dizziness
  • Red, sore eyes
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Nasal congestion and infection
  • Thick, sticky nasal discharge and saliva
  • Bitter taste in the mouth
  • Dry mouth
  • Focal distention in the chest and diaphragm
  • Stifling sensation in the chest and diaphragm
  • Manic behavior
  • Carbuncles
  • Heat rash
  • Headache
  • Acne
  • Chills
  • High fever
  • Restlessness
  • Urticaria
  • Sore throat
  • Swelling of the throat
  • Coughing
  • Reddish urine
  • Dyspnea
  • Vertigo
  • Severe aversion to Cold
  • Skin rashes
  • Skin ruptures or ulcers
  • Tense abdomen
  • Shoulder stiffness
  • Numb extremities
  • Fatigue
  • Constipation
  • Dysuria with reddish urine
  • Dark, rough urination
  • Obesity
  • Fullness of the abdomen
  • Fullness of the epigastrium
  • Heaviness in the head
  • T: Red
  • C: White or Yellow and greasy
  • P: Flooding and rapid or Wiry and slippery or Floating, smooth and rapid or Floating, slippery, rapid and wiry or Floating, slippery, rapid and overflowing
Treatment Principle
  • Disperse Wind
  • Release the Exterior
  • Drain Heat
  • Unblock the bowels
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Alternating chills and fever (chills predominate) or
  • Chills without fever
  • Sensation of irritability in the chest
  • Sweating from the head
  • Fatigue
  • Gastrointestinal weakness
  • Heavy head
  • Neuralgia
  • Epigastric distension
  • Lower abdominal pain
  • Tension around pubic bone
  • Periumbilical pain
  • Urinary difficulty
  • T: Moist
  • C: White and slippery
  • P: Superficial and wiry
Treatment Principle
  • Disperse Clumping
  • Harmonize the Shao Yang
  • Warm the Interior
  • Dispel Cold
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Suppuration with severe chills
  • Fever
  • Headache
  • Muscle spasms
  • Inflammation
  • Swelling
  • Pain
  • Anhidrosis
  • Pain and stiffness of the head and neck
  • Stuffy nose
  • Swollen, blood shot eyes
  • Sores that are red, swollen and painful
  • Generalized body aches and pain
  • Thirst or no thirst
  • T: Normal
  • C: Thin white
  • P: Floating or Floating and rapid
Treatment Principle
  • Induce sweat
  • Release the Exterior
  • Dispel Wind
  • Alleviate pain
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • The condition is chronic
  • Worse in the summer
  • Excessive secretions
  • Crustiness
  • Lesions in the genital area
  • Generalized body aches and pains
  • Irritability
  • Heavy sensation in the shoulder and back
  • Discomfort or a constricted sensation in the area of the chest and diaphragm
  • Multiple sores, carbuncles furuncles or abscesses
  • Redness
  • Itching
  • Persistent swelling
  • Chest pain
  • Fever
  • Thirst
  • Aching and painful extremities
  • Aching and painful joints
  • Unbearable swelling and pain of the lower extremities
  • Shoulder stiffness
  • T: Normal
  • C: Greasy and slightly yellow
  • P: Wiry and rapid or Soft and moderate or Soft, superficial and slow or Slippery and rapid or Deep and tight
Treatment Principle
  • Resolve Dampness
  • Clear Heat
  • Disperse Wind
  • Stop pain
  • Activate the Blood
  • Tonify Qi and Blood
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Blackheads and whiteheads that are papular and slightly itchy
  • Most common on the forehead and adjacent to the nose
  • Dry mouth
  • Dry throat
  • Thirst
  • Sore throat
  • Chest pain
  • Headache
  • General malaise
  • Restlessness
  • Constipation
  • Dry stools
  • Dark-colored, scanty urine
  • Red swelling or erosion in the nostrils
  • T: Red
  • C: Thin and yellow
  • P: Wiry or Rapid or Floating and rapid or Floating and slippery
Treatment Principle
  • Clear Heat
  • Disperse the Lungs
  • Stop bleeding
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Red pimples with Heat and pain in the local area
  • The lesions tend to appear on the face, shoulders, chest and back
  • Red complexion
  • The lesions are hot and maybe painful
  • Pus eruptions
  • Redness of the bulb of the nose
  • The redness blanches upon pressure
  • Red papules, tubercles and acne and inflammatory infiltration around them
  • Whiteheads or blackheads
  • May be itching
  • Dry nose
  • Dry mouth
  • Burning sensation
  • Constipation
  • Dry stool
  • T: Red or Red tip
  • C: Thin and yellow
  • P: Wiry and slippery or Slippery and rapid or Floating and rapid
Treatment Principle
  • Cools the Blood
  • Eliminates Dampness
  • Invigorates the Blood
  • Clears Lung Heat
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Dizziness
  • Red, sore eyes
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Nasal congestion
  • Thick, sticky nasal discharge and saliva
  • Bitter taste in the mouth
  • Dry mouth
  • Focal distention in the chest and diaphragm
  • Stifling sensation in the chest and diaphragm
  • Manic behavior
  • Carbuncles
  • Heat rash
  • Headache
  • Sore throat
  • Skin ruptures or ulcers
  • Tense abdomen
  • Shoulder stiffness
  • Numb extremities
  • Fatigue
  • Constipation
  • Dysuria with reddish urine
  • Dark, rough urination
  • Obesity
  • Heaviness in the head
  • T: Red
  • C: White or yellow, greasy
  • P: Flooding and rapid or Wiry and slippery or Floating, smooth and rapid
Treatment Principle
  • Disperse Wind
  • Release the Exterior
  • Drain Heat
  • Unblock the bowels
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Dull red complexion
  • Deep eruptions
  • Nodules
  • Slow healing acne which leaves scarring
  • Oily skin
  • Maybe profuse Phlegm
  • Maybe loose stools
  • T: Thick
  • C: Slimy and white
  • P: Slippery or Moderate
Treatment Principle
  • Tonify the Spleen
  • Eliminate Dampness
  • soften hardness
  • Transform Phlegm
  • Scatter nodulation
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Papular whiteheads and blackheads
  • Most common around the mouth, chest and upper back
  • The face is prone to oiliness
  • Dryness with burning pain in the nose
  • Possible epistaxis
  • Dry mouth and throat
  • Thirst with a desire for cold drinks
  • Swift digestion with rapid hungering
  • Acid regurgitation
  • Bad breath
  • Clamoring Stomach
  • Constipation with dry stools
  • Short voiding of dark urine
  • T: Red
  • C: Yellow and sticky
  • P: Slippery and rapid or Deep, slippery and forceful
Treatment Principle
  • Clear and drain Stomach Heat
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Red lesions with nodular papules
  • Especially located along the course of the Yang Ming channels.
  • Strong appetite
  • Oily skin
  • Hungers easily
  • Bad breath
  • Thirst with a desire for cold drinks
  • Dry, bound stools
  • Short, scanty urine
  • Dark urine
  • T: Red
  • C: Greasy and yellow
  • P: Slippery and rapid
Treatment Principle
  • Clear Heat
  • Eliminate Dampness from the Stomach and Intestines
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Abdominal distention and pain
  • Gas
  • Borborygmus
  • Diarrhea
  • Distention and pain in the sides or flanks
  • Suffocating sensation in the chest
  • Tendency to sigh
  • Melancholy
  • Depression
  • Irritability
  • Inappropriate anger
  • Irregular menses
  • Dysmenorrhea
  • Breast distention and pain before and during menses
  • T: Pink
  • C: White and greasy
  • P: Slippery and wiry
Treatment Principle
  • Soothe the Liver
  • Invigorate the Spleen
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Alternating fever and chills
  • Fullness in the chest and hypochondrium (with or without pain)
  • Bitter taste in mouth
  • Nausea
  • Continuous vomiting
  • Hard focal distension in the epigastrium
  • Fullness and pain in the epigastrium
  • Burning diarrhea or no bowel movement
  • Despondency
  • Slight fidgeting
  • Slight irritability
  • Headache
  • Constipation or discharge of fluids rectally
  • Tinnitus
  • Diminished hearing
  • Diminished vision
  • Red eyes
  • Manic behavior
  • Asthma
  • Mental instability
  • T: Normal or red
  • C: Yellow or Thick and yellow
  • P: Wiry and forceful or Wiry tight and forceful
Treatment Principle
  • Harmonizes and Disperses the Shao Yang
  • Drains Internal Heat Retention
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Abdominal mass which is localized and hard
  • Continuous cramping pain in the abdomen
  • Pain is not severe
  • Pain is relieved by pressure
  • Edema of the feet
  • Urinary difficulty
  • Slight edema (primarily of the lower limbs)
  • Symptoms generally occur during pregnancy
  • Pale face
  • Fatigue
  • Heaviness of head
  • Lassitude
  • Lower abdominal pain
  • Dizziness
  • Tinnitus
  • Lumbago
  • Edema
  • Abdominal pain with edema during pregnancy due to Blood Deficiency and abnormal water circulation
  • Oliguria
  • Palpitations
  • Cold feet
  • Extreme coldness of the hands and feet
  • Vertigo
  • Weakness and numbness of lower back and legs during pregnancy or postpartum
  • Mal position of the fetus
  • Dysmenorrhea
  • Irregular menstruation
  • Right upper quadrant pain
  • Hepatomegaly
  • Anemia
  • Lack of energy
  • Sore back
  • Thirst with no desire to drink
  • T: Pale or pink maybe petechiae on margin
  • C: Thin or Greasy white
  • P: Deep and weak or Soft, floating, small and slow or Wiry and small or Wiry and rough
Treatment Principle
  • Nourish Liver Blood
  • Soften the Liver
  • Spread Liver Qi
  • Strengthen the Spleen
  • Resolve Dampness
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Small, light red papules spread diffusely
  • Often primarily on the forehead
  • Flushed, red face, especially in the afternoon or early evening
  • Dry skin
  • Dry lips
  • A thin body
  • Possible premenstrual acne in females
  • A tendency to vexation and agitation
  • Possible late menarche
  • Scanty or delayed menstruation
  • T: Red or Red tip
  • C: Little or None
  • P: Thready, wiry and rapid
Treatment Principle
  • Nourish the Kidneys
  • Enrich Yin
  • Clear Heat
  • Cool the Blood
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • The eruption is dry
  • Pallor
  • Broken skin
  • Dry skin
  • Sometimes bleeding and pain
  • Worse in cold weather
  • Better during the summer
  • T: Pale or pink
  • C: Thin white
  • P: Thin, or Weak and taut or Deep
Treatment Principle
 
  • Nourish Blood
  • Dispel Wind
  • Moisten Dryness
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Papules affect the areas around the nose and mouth and between the eyebrows
  • Facial flush
  • Premenstrual women often an increase in lesions
  • Red, itchy eyes
  • Red pimples on face, neck, armpits and external genitalia
  • Suppuration
  • Earache
  • Swelling, inflammation and infection of the ears and nose
  • Abdominal rigidity
  • Dry stools
  • Constipation
  • Yellow urine
  • Dark brown discoloration of the skin
  • Perspiration and an oiling feeling on the palms and soles
  • Abdominal tension
  • Maybe otitis
  • Rhinitis
  • T: Deep red, dry or purple red or Red tip
    C: Thin or None
    P:  Rapid or thready and rapid or thready and feeble or Tight or Thready, slippery and rapid
Treatment Principle
  • Dispel Wind
  • Disperse Stagnation
  • Clear Heat
  • Remove Toxins
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • The lesions last for a long time
  • The lesions are mostly on the face, neck and mandibular regions
  • Purple scars
  • Papules pustules and nodules are like beans
  • Irregular menstruation with clots
  • T: Red with echymosis or Purple with echymosis or maculae
  • C: White
  • P: Choppy or Wiry
Treatment Principle
  • Invigorate the Blood
  • Relieve Stasis
  • Soften nodules
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Red swollen eruptions with a shiny oily complexion
  • The lesions occur mainly on the face, neck, upper chest upper back and shoulders
  • Comedones are common
  • Papules and pustules are seen
  • The skin is oily, shining and greasy
  • Nodules
  • Itchiness
  • Pain
  • Constipation
  • Decreased appetite
  • Dry stool
  • Short, dark, yellow urine
  • T: Red
  • C: Greasy
  • P: Rapid and rolling
Treatment Principle
  • Clear Heat
  • Relieve Dampness
  • Cool the Blood
  • Detoxify
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Deep, inflamed nodules and pus-filled cysts on an erythematous base
  • The face, chest and back are generally involved
  • Oily skin
  • The residual scarring is generally pitted
  • Headache
  • A sensation of Heat throughout the body
  • T: Purple
  • C: Yellow or White
  • P: Slow or Deep and choppy
Treatment Principle
  • Eliminate Dampness
  • Relieve toxicity
  • Invigorate the Blood
  • Dispel Stasis
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Acne
  • Repeated relapse
  • The rash is mainly nodes, cysts and scars
  • Dizziness
  • Vertigo
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Insomnia
  • Dream-disturbed sleep with unusual dreams
  • Palpitations
  • Anxiety
  • Profuse white foamy sputum
  • Restlessness
  • Timidity
  • Indecisiveness
  • Indeterminate gnawing hunger
  • Seizures accompanied by copious sputum
  • Chest distention
  • Expectoration of yellow Phlegm
  • Bitter taste in the mouth
  • Chills and fever
  • Abdominal distention
  • Frequent dark, scanty urine
  • Irritability
  • Depression
  • Slight thirst
  • Anorexia after serious illness
  • T: Pink or Red tip
  • C: Yellow and greasy
  • P: Slippery and rapid or Wiry and rapid
Treatment Principle
  • Regulate Qi
  • Transform Phlegm
  • Harmonize the Stomach
  • Clear Heat
Herb Formulas
Points
  • General points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Acne
  • Pustules on an erythematous base
  • Local inflammation with pus
  • Deep-rooted, hard and painful boils
  • Larger, more inflamed, angrier and more pus-filled lesions
  • Erythema
  • Swelling
  • Lesions on the chest and upper back
  • Residual scarring usually occurs after healing
  • Heat
  • Carbuncles
  • Furuncles
  • Fever and chills
  • Pain
  • Dry stools
  • Constipation
  • Scanty, yellow urine
  • T: Red
  • C: Yellow or Yellow and dry or Yellow and greasy
  • P: Rapid or Wiry, slippery and rapid
Treatment Principle
  • Clear Heat
  • Purge Fire
  • Relieve toxicity
  • Cool the Blood
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Associated with menstruation
Treatment Principle
  • Harmonize the Chong and Ren
Herb Formulas
Points
Clinical Manifestations
  • Acute lower abdominal pain
  • Incontinence of urine
  • Night fevers
  • Delirious speech
  • Irritability
  • Restlessness
  • Thirst
  • May be mania (severe)
  • Dysmenorrhea
  • Amenorrhea
  • Hard stool
  • Dark red complexion
  • Headache
  • Vertigo
  • Tinnitus
  • Insomnia
  • Palpitations
  • Constipation
  • Frequent urination
  • Emotional instability
  • Chills in the waist and feet
  • Tremors
  • Excruciating abdominal pain with cold
  • Black stool
  • May be chills and fever
  • Hemoptysis
  • Hematuria
  • Red eyes
  • Pain and distention of the head
  • Toothache
  • Irregular menstruation
  • Lochioschesis
  • Severe wheezing
  • Distention of the chest
  • T: Red and dry
  • C: Yellow
  • P: Deep and forceful or Choppy
Treatment Principle
  • Drain Heat
  • Break up Blood Stasis
Herb Formulas
Points