When it comes to skin conditions the most common ones seem to get all the attention; that being acne, eczema and psoriasis.
Today I wanted to talk about a skin condition that isn’t talked about but affects 20,000 Australians and New Zealanders, and that is Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematous, SLE).
Lupus is an auto-immune disease that affects the immune system and various organ systems by creating inflammation, tissue damage and pain in these areas.
One of the organs affected is the skin, which leads to the presentation of a butterfly rash over the cheeks, which is usually quite sensitive to the sun. Typically, treatment includes anti-inflammatories and immuno-suppresants both topically and orally (depending on the individual circumstance). Interestingly, women are more affected than men and the ages are mostly during the reproductive years 15 to 45.
When it comes to treating any form of Lupus, western medicine will usually prescribe immune suppressant drugs to protect the body from the over active immune system that is attacking itself.
For Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture the approach depends upon the patients situation. At times, you will focus on the side effects of the medications and allow the drugs to elicit their effect on the body uninterrupted while other cases call for Chinese Medicine to take a more proactive approach.
Despite the path chosen, herbal medicine and acupuncture is chosen to address the root causes of the symptoms and to address why in fact the immune system is over-acting. Some time ago I wrote a blog post on auto-immune disorders and their increased prevalence in society. In fact, there are now 155 listed auto-immune diseases and this number continues to grow.
Why are so many people afflicted with auto-immune disease(s) and what can we do about this?
First of all, let’s ask what is the immune system reacting to and how did it get into the blood stream?
Secondly, how do we get rid of the triggers in our blood stream and prevent them from entering again?
When we have addressed just these 2 areas, then we are on the road to improving health and managing a disease such as an auto-immune disease that has always believed to be a life sentence.
If you are interested to read my blog post on Auto-immune Diseases and how we can heal the body to bring it back to a state of wellness, simply click on this link: https://www.salubre.com.au/autoimmune-diseases-rise/
The world of auto-immune diseases takes on the persona of the body attacking itself. I would rather look at it from the perspective of the body protecting us from something we are not aware of.
When you look at your body as an intelligent system that is trying to protect you, then you will listen and tune into the symptoms and signs it generates to bring your awareness to an area of your health that needs something to change.
