Dermatitis

In Western medicine, dermatitis is commonly described as a general skin inflammation. At the same time, clinical dermatology broadens this definition to encompass a range of skin conditions with similar clinical manifestations and reaction patterns (Bolognia et al., "Dermatology," 3rd Edition, 2012). On the other hand, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) identifies dermatitis within the framework of a disharmony pattern termed "Phlegm fluids in the limbs." This pattern is often associated with additional symptoms such as irritability, general body pain, and a sensation of heaviness (Lu, C., & Fan, A., "Phlegm fluids in the limbs," Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2014). The pathology is thought to involve superficial edema, attributed to Yang deficiency in essential organs like the spleen, lungs, or kidneys, which results in fluids constraining Yang Qi (Maciocia, G., "The Foundations of Chinese Medicine," 3rd Edition, 2015). Thus, both Western and TCM perspectives offer unique yet complementary insights into understanding dermatitis.