Start here

Three ways in

Pick the route that matches why you are here. Each one starts with a gallery, and every page inside it links onward.

If you already know the term you want, search the library by condition, pattern, herb, formula, point, pinyin or Chinese character.

Comparisons

Some entries are easiest to learn side by side: two formulas for itchy skin, two points used together, two heat patterns that look different on the skin. These comparison pages set out what the library records for each and how the signs separate them.

• Dang Gui Yin Zi vs Xiao Feng San: Blood deficiency with Wind against Wind-Heat with Dampness.
• Quchi (LI-11) vs Xuehai (SP-10): two of the most used skin points, one clearing Heat and the other working on the Blood.
• Damp-Heat vs Blood-Heat: weeping redness against deep redness with bleeding.

How the chain works

The organising idea is a chain. A skin sign leads to a pattern, the pattern points to treatment principles, and the principles select herbs, a formula and acupoints. The chain runs in reverse too: a formula page shows the patterns and conditions it is used for, and a pattern page shows where it appears on the skin. Moving along the links is the intended way to read the site.

A worked example, starting from the eczema page:

1. 1. The skin sign

   Eczema: itchy, dry, cracked or weeping patches. The condition page separates the common presentations and lists the patterns associated with each.

   Read the eczema page

2. 2. The pattern

   Damp-Heat invading the Spleen: the pattern the tradition reads behind a weeping, inflamed picture, with its own signs, tongue and pulse description.

   Read the Damp-Heat pattern

3. 3. The herb

   Huang Qin: a bitter-cold herb that clears Heat and dries Dampness, named among the herbs for this pattern. Its page covers properties, dose forms and cautions.

   Read the Huang Qin page

4. 4. The formula

   Long Dan Xie Gan Tang: a classical formula listed on the eczema page for the Damp-Heat presentation, with its composition, preparation and safety notes on its own page.

   Read the Long Dan Xie Gan Tang page

5. 5. The point

   Quchi LI-11: a standard point for clearing Heat from the surface in itchy, inflamed skin, with its location and needling notes.

   Read the Quchi LI-11 page

You do not have to follow the chain in order. Every page links to its neighbours, and the galleries are the best place to browse when you only have a symptom in mind.

How to read a page

Detail pages follow a consistent order so that different conditions can be compared. On a condition page you will find:

• Understanding: what the visible skin picture is and how the tradition reads it.
• Patterns: the TCM patterns associated with the condition, with their signs and treatment notes.
• Treatment: principles, herbs, formulas and acupoints, each linked to its own page.
• Safety: cautions, urgent signs, and how the approach sits alongside conventional care.
• Evidence and citations: the classical sources held in the reference, and a plain statement of how strong the modern evidence is.
• Questions: short answers to the questions readers ask most often.

Herb, formula, pattern and acupoint pages follow the same logic in their own terms: identity and summary at the top, then the detail, the links, and the safety notes. Chinese terms are given with pinyin where it helps, and British spelling is used throughout. Acupoints with a recorded skin use are linked from the pattern and condition pages; points whose relevance is indirect are gathered in acupoints with an indirect skin rationale.

Three practical habits help. Read the safety section before the treatment section, because the safe path is often the one that decides whether a self-directed approach is sensible at all. Follow the pattern links rather than memorising a formula for a disease name: the site is built to show that the same condition can sit under several patterns. And use the A to Z pages when you want a flat list to scan or print.

What this site is and is not

It is an educational reference. It records how a tradition reads and treats skin conditions, with the classical citations and the conventional view kept alongside each other. It is written to be read and compared, not to sell anything.

It is not medical advice, a diagnosis or a prescription. The pattern self-check does not diagnose, and no page here can examine your skin. If a problem is spreading, painful, blistering, bleeding, or comes with fever or feeling unwell, read When a skin problem needs urgent care and speak to a clinician. Nothing on this site should delay that.

Where the material is uncertain, the pages say so: the evidence summaries describe the strength of the modern literature and do not promise that a formula will work for you. Terms that need unpacking are collected in the glossary, and individual topics can be found through search.

Where to go next