132 entries
Skin conditions
How the tradition reads each skin picture: the visible signs, the patterns behind them, the herbs and formulas used, and the conventional medical view kept alongside.
Popular condition pages
TCM Skin Compendium · KNOWLEDGE LIBRARY
Skin conditions through Chinese medicine
Explore skin conditions through traditional Chinese medicine.
Browse connected guides to skin conditions, TCM patterns, Chinese herbs, classical formulas, and acupoints.
Browse by category
Five connected areas of the library. Skin conditions are the natural entry point; each one links onward to the patterns, herbs, formulas, and acupoints used in its treatment.
87 entries
TCM patterns
The diagnostic pictures a practitioner looks for, with the signs, tongue and pulse that identify them and the skin conditions where they appear.
203 entries
Chinese herbs
Nature, taste, channels, actions, dosage and safety, plus the formulas each herb appears in and the skin conditions it serves.
117 entries
Classical formulas
Composition with the role of every ingredient, the pattern each formula addresses, and the skin conditions it is used for.
73 entries
Acupoints
Point location, needling and safety notes, and the skin conditions and patterns each point is used with.
- Conditions
- 132
- Patterns
- 87
- Herbs
- 203
- Formulas
- 117
- Acupoints
- 73
A reference library, cross-linked and cited.
How to use this compendium
The library is built for educational browsing. Follow the links in order to see how a skin presentation, a pattern, and a treatment connect in TCM theory.
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Explore a skin condition
Start from the visible skin picture, such as eczema or psoriasis, and read how it is described traditionally alongside the conventional medical view.
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Understand the associated TCM patterns
Each condition page names the patterns it is linked to. Pattern pages set out the signs, tongue and pulse that distinguish one picture from another.
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Follow the links to herbs, formulas, and acupoints
Continue from a pattern into the herbs and classical formulas used in that context, and the acupoints recorded for the related presentation.
Reading the chain is the point: a skin problem, the pattern behind it, and the treatment recorded for that pattern are presented as one connected explanation, not as separate lists.
About this compendium
The TCM Skin Compendium is an educational reference library organised around the skin rather than general internal medicine. Conditions, patterns, herbs, formulas, and acupoints are included where they appear in the traditional treatment of skin problems, and each page is written independently and linked to the related entries.
Explanatory text is paraphrased, while standard TCM terminology, action names, herb and formula names, and classical citations are retained. Where a classical text is quoted, its title is given with the passage. Pages also separate traditional explanation from conventional medical context, so the two are not conflated.
The library is cross-linked throughout. A skin condition names its patterns; a pattern names the conditions and formulas linked to it; a formula lists its ingredients and the pattern it addresses; a herb lists its formulas and the conditions it serves. Links point to pages written and reviewed for this library, not to external sources.
New: skin pattern self-check
Which patterns does your skin picture resemble?
Answer the questions a practitioner would ask about the skin and the body around it. About three minutes, nothing stored, and every result links back to the pattern pages.