Sunday, December 15, 2013
Traditional Chinese Medicine Treats Acne
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been around for more than 2000 years and is effective at treating several skin conditions including acne. Acne is a skin condition that affects approximately 60% of the American population. Although the cause of acne is unknown, genetic predisposition and hormonal changes are believed to be related to the cause of acne skin conditions. Acne is more prevalent in males and can be aggravated by sweating, oral contraceptives, poor skin hygiene, cosmetics, face creams, exercise, and lack of sunlight. Traditional Chinese philosophy believes that an imbalance in the body, mind or spirit can cause physical symptoms of disease. The TCM believes that an excess of internal heat and dampness causes acne and the symptoms of acne. To alleviate acne you must clear the heat and drain the dampness from the body.
Heat can be caused by different sources such as our over consumption of stimulating foods, hormonal changes, physical activity, inability for blood to clean toxins, agitated thoughts, hot weather, or imbalance of qi. Heat can appear as inflammation, over stimulation, and hyperactivity and is reflected on the skin through rashes, pimples, infections, and redness. Dampness is excess water in the tissues of the body. Dampness can be caused by water accumulation in the digestive tract, excess oil, fatty, cold or raw foods, irregular eating habits, insufficient sweating, damp environment, and insufficient heat. Bacteria, fungus and viruses thrive in excessively damp environments even in the body. Dampness can be reflected through the skin as swelling, cysts, pimples, pus, and fluid discharge.
A traditional Chinese herbalist should be consulted when determining which Chinese herbal supplements to take to clear up your acne.
Although there are minimal side effects, you will not see the results you want by indulging in every Chinese herb on the market. Specific concoctions of herbs will work for certain people. An herbalist will determine which concoction of herbs is right for each individual person and their specific symptoms. TCM can use leaves, flowers, fruit, bark, minerals and roots from plants in their acne treatments. There are several different ways to take herbs in decoctions or teas, powders, tinctures, pills, syrups, and plasters. Here are some specific herbs that have been used in TCM for thousands of years to treat acne. If you experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or a skin rash after taking herbal supplements, stop taking them immediately and consult your herbalist.
Cai Feng Zhen Zhu an Chuang Wan/ Margarite Acne Pills: This is an excellent remedy to clear up acne. This product comes ina pill form and is used to clear heat, expel toxins, cool the blood, and regenerate skin cells. Some of its ingredients include Pearl, Honeysuckle Flower, Dandelion Herb, Glehniz Root, Chinese Foxglove Root, Ningpo Figwort Root, Chinese Rhubarb Root and Lucid Gannoderma Sclerotium.
Jin Yin Hua/ Honeysuckle- Can be used in conjunction with chrysanthemum and dandelion to clear excess heat in the blood and stomach. It is a great detoxifier and increases perspiration. It can be consumed as an infusion or applied externally to the skin.
Dandelion Root- Is a blood cleanser which stimulates liver function to cleanse the body. Dandelion root should be drunk in a tea by mixing 2-3 teaspoons of dried dandelion to 1 cup of water. Dandelion leaves can also be eaten in a salad, which aid in digestion but only 2 leaves should be eaten daily.
Dahurian Angelica- Reduces swelling and expels dampness from the body. Should be drunk in a tea by mixing 1 ounce of dried root into 1 pint of water or can be consumed as 1/2 teaspoon diluted in 1 cup water. This root can also be combined with Chrysanthemum and drank.
Skullcap- Clears heat as well as damp heat. Drank as a tea. Combine 1 ounce dried root to 1 pint of water.
Burdock Root- Cleans the blood by detoxifying the body. Acts as an anti-inflammatory. Should be applied topically.
Spica Prunellae/ Prunella Spike- Common herb found in TCM. Boil 1 ounce of dried herb in 1 pint of water. Add honey and drink daily.
Other herbs used in TCM to treat acne include neem, chaste tree berry, chamomile, sarsaparilla, milk thistle, yellow dock, Echinacea root, loquat leaf, rehmania root, moutan bark, forsythia fruit, peach kernel, safflower, Stellaria Root, Purslane, and peppermint.
Graduated with a BA in exercise science and have worked in the medical field since. My focus is alternative medicine however all aspects of health interest me. Check out my health website! Everyday Health, Live your Life to the fullest! http://www.universalhealthinfo.com/TCM_Treats_Acne.html
Traditional Chinese Medicine Treats Acne
9 Causes of Skin Inflammation
Here are 9 possible causes of skin inflammation. Inflammed skin is what usually happens when skin is exposed to the following causes. Then let’s look at How to Treat Skin Inflammation.
1. Irritants Cause
This category includes exposure to allergens such as plants and chemicals. The artificial preservatives and other ingredients found in cosmetics or skincare products are sometimes to blame. Cleansers and detergents are common irritants. So is shaving and the products used before or after shaving.
Bugs and parasites can cause irritation or infection. Overexposure to the sun can be classified as both an irritant and an injury if sunburn occurs.
Tanning beds can cause irritation because of the intense UV radiation and because of the cleansers used to disinfect them between clients. Failure to clean the tanning beds properly can allow illnesses to be transmitted from one client to another.
2. Illness Cause
Fever is a symptom of inflammation. Thus, any illness that is accompanied by a fever can trigger the skin’s inflammatory response. Some of the illnesses that affect the body inside and out include measles and chickenpox.
3. Infection Cause
Some infections are limited to the skin’s surface or the outermost layers. Fungus like jock itch and athlete’s foot are examples. Parasites such as lice cause intense itching and skin inflammation damage. Warts are actually visible signs of viral infections. Other viruses can attack only the skin’s surface, too.
4. Injury Cause
Sun and razor burn are minor injuries and skin inflammation causes. Any kind of burn is included in this category. Cuts and lacerations would also be included.
5.Chronic and Acute Inflammatory Conditions Cause
Acute inflammatory conditions include things like boils and abscesses. Inflammation is a part of the process we commonly refer to as infection.
Acne is an inflammatory condition that can be either acute or chronic. Eczema and psoriasis are examples of chronic inflammatory conditions, but there are many others.
*Suspected Causes
6.
Genetics or family history is almost certainly involved in inflammatory conditions like acne, eczema and psoriasis, because the conditions tend to “run in the family”. But, no specific genes have yet been identified to blame for the conditions.
7. Dietary habits and unhealthy lifestyle are suspected of causing the worst kinds of skin inflammation damage. That is long-term damage which can lead to skin aging and even cancer.
When it comes to diet, some foods are believed to contribute to chronic inflammation throughout the body, while others are known to have anti-inflammatory activity.
8. Laying in tanning beds or spending too much time in the sun without protection is a lifestyle choice.
9. Cigarette smoking and exposure to second hand cigarette smoke is a lifestyle choice. Like the sun, those things are known to contribute to wrinkles and the visible signs of aging.
This is by no means a complete list of the skin inflammation causes, but most of the common ones are included.
**Now, all you need to know is how to correct the problem. The next article will deal with How to Treat Skin Inflammation. See link for article in the author-resource box below. The solution is simple and not difficult to do.
And now I would like to invite you to visit http://www.HydratingFacialMask.com for FREE Instant Access to a more information on HowTo Treat Skin Inflammation.
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: main hall panorama (P-40 et al)
Image by Chris Devers
See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.
Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Curtiss P-40E Warhawk (Kittyhawk IA):
Whether known as the Warhawk, Tomahawk, or Kittyhawk, the Curtiss P-40 proved to be a successful, versatile fighter during the first half of World War II. The shark-mouthed Tomahawks that Gen. Claire Chennault’s "Flying Tigers" flew in China against the Japanese remain among the most popular airplanes of the war. P-40E pilot Lt. Boyd D. Wagner became the first American ace of World War II when he shot down six Japanese aircraft in the Philippines in mid-December 1941.
Curtiss-Wright built this airplane as Model 87-A3 and delivered it to Canada as a Kittyhawk I in 1941. It served until 1946 in No. 111 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force. U.S. Air Force personnel at Andrews Air Force Base restored it in 1975 to represent an aircraft of the 75th Fighter Squadron, 23rd Fighter Group, 14th Air Force.
Donated by the Exchange Club in Memory of Kellis Forbes.
Manufacturer:
Curtiss Aircraft Company
Date:
1939
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 330 x 970cm, 2686kg, 1140cm (10ft 9 15/16in. x 31ft 9 7/8in., 5921.6lb., 37ft 4 13/16in.)
Materials:
All-metal, semi-monocoque
Physical Description:
Single engine, single seat, fighter aircraft.
Long Description:
Whether it was the Tomahawk, Warhawk, or Kittyhawk, the Curtiss P-40 was a successful and versatile fighter aircraft during the first half of World War II. The shark-mouthed Tomahawks that General Claire Chennault led against the Japanese remain among the most popular airplanes of the war. In the Phillipines, Lt. Boyd D. Wagner became the first American ace of World War II while flying a P-40E when he shot down six Japanese aircraft during mid-December 1941. P-40s were first-line Army Air Corps fighters at the start of the war but they soon gave way to more advanced designs such as the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and the Lockheed P-38 Lightning (see NASM collection for both aircraft). The P-40 is not ranked among the best overall fighters of the war but it was a rugged, effective design available in large numbers early in the war when America and her allies urgently required them. The P-40 remained in production from 1939 to the end of 1944 and a total of 13, 737 were built.
Design engineer Dr. Donovan R. Berlin layed the foundation for the P-40 in 1935 when he designed the agile, but lightly-armed, P-36 fighter equipped with a radial, air-cooled engine. The Curtiss-Wright Corporation won a production contract for 210 P-36 airplanes in 1937-the largest Army airplane contract awarded since World War I. Worldwide, fighter aircraft designs matured rapidly during the late 1930s and it was soon obvious that the P-36 was no match for newer European designs. High altitude performance in particular became a priceless commodity. Berlin attempted to improve the P-36 by redesigning it in to accommodate a turbo-supercharged Allison V-1710-11 inline, liquid-cooled engine. The new aircraft was designated the XP-37 but proved unpopular with pilots. The turbo-supercharger was not reliable and Berlin had placed the cockpit too far back on the fuselage, restricting the view to the front of the fighter. Nonetheless, when the engine was not giving trouble, the more-streamlined XP-37 was much faster than the P-36.
Curtiss tried again in 1938. Berlin had modified another P-36 with a new Allison V-1710-19 engine. It was designated the XP-40 and first flew on October 14, 1938. The XP-40 looked promising and Curtiss offered it to Army Air Corps leaders who evaluated the airplane at Wright Field, Ohio, in 1939, along with several other fighter proposals. The P-40 won the competition, after some modifications, and Curtiss received an order for 540. At this time, the armament package consisted of two .50 caliber machine guns in the fuselage and four .30 caliber machine guns in the wings.
After production began in March 1940, France ordered 140 P-40s but the British took delivery of these airplanes when Paris surrendered. The British named the aircraft Tomahawks but found they performed poorly in high-altitude combat over northern Europe and relegated them to low-altitude operations in North Africa. The Russians bought more than 2,000 P-40s but details of their operational history remain obscure.
When the United States declared war, P-40s equipped many of the Army Air Corps’s front line fighter units. The plucky fighter eventually saw combat in almost every theater of operations being the most effective in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater. Of all the CBI groups that gained the most notoriety of the entire war, and remains to this day synonymous with the P-40, is the American Volunteer Group (AVG) or the Flying Tigers. The unit was organized after the Chinese gave former U. S. Army Air Corps Captain Claire Lee Chennault almost 9 million dollars in 1940 to buy aircraft and recruit pilots to fly against the Japanese. Chennault’s most important support within the Chinese government came from Madam Chiang Kai-shek, a Lt. Colonel in the Chinese Air Force and for a time, the service’s overall commander.
The money from China diverted an order placed by the British Royal Air Force for 100 Curtiss-Wright P-40B Tomahawks but buying airplanes was only one important step in creating a fighting air unit. Trained pilots were needed, and quickly, as tensions across the Pacific escalated. On April 15, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt quietly signed an Executive Order permitting Chennault to recruit directly from the ranks of American military reserve pilots. Within a few months, 350 flyers joined from pursuit (fighter), bomber, and patrol squadrons. In all, about half the pilots in the Flying Tigers came from the U. S. Navy and Marine Corps while the Army Air Corps supplied one-third. Factory test pilots at Bell, Consolidated, and other companies, and commercial airline pilots, filled the remaining slots.
The Flying Tigers flew their first mission on December 20. The unit’s name was derived from the ferocious fangs and teeth painted on the nose of AVG P-40s at either side of the distinctive, large radiator air intake. The idea is said to originate from pictures in a magazine that showed Royal Air Force Tomahawks of No. 112 Squadron, operating in the western desert of North Africa, adorned with fangs and teeth painted around their air intakes. The Flying Tigers were the first real opposition the Japanese military encountered. In less than 7 months of action, AVG pilots destroyed about 115 Japanese aircraft and lost only 11 planes in air-to-air combat. The AVG disbanded on July 4, 1942, and its assets, including a few pilots, became a part of the U. S. Army Air Forces (AAF) 23rd Fighter Group in the newly activated 14th Air Force. Chennault, now a Brigadier General, assumed command of the 14th AF and by war’s end, the 23rd was one of the highest-scoring Army fighter groups.
As wartime experience in the P-40 mounted, Curtiss made many modifications. Engineers added armor plate, better self-sealing fuel tanks, and more powerful engines. They modified the cockpit to improve visibility and changed the armament package to six, wing-mounted, .50 caliber machine guns. The P-40E Kittyhawk was the first model with this gun package and it entered service in time to serve in the AVG. The last model produced in quantity was the P-40N, the lightest P-40 built in quantity, and much faster than previous models. Curtiss built a single P-40Q. It was the fastest P-40 to fly (679 kph/422 mph) but it could not match the performance of the P-47 Thunderbolt and the P-51 Mustang so Curtiss ended development of the P-40 series with this model. In addition to the AAF, many Allied nations bought and flew P-40s including England, France, China, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and Turkey.
The Smithsonian P-40E did not serve in the U. S. military. Curtiss-Wright built it in Buffalo, New York, as Model 87-A3 and delivered it to Canada as a Kittyhawk IA on March 11, 1941. It served in No. 111 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). When the Japanese navy moved to attack Midway, they sent a diversionary battle group to menace the Aleutian Islands. Canada moved No. 111 Squadron to Alaska to help defend the region. After the Japanese threat diminished, the unit returned to Canada and eventually transferred to England without its P-40s. The RCAF declared the NASM Kittyhawk IA surplus on July 27, 1946, and the aircraft eventually returned to the United States. It had several owners before ending up with the Explorer Scouts youth group in Meridian, Mississippi. During the early 1960s, the Smithsonian began searching for a P-40 with a documented history of service in the AVG but found none. In 1964, the Exchange Club in Meridian donated the Kittyhawk IA to the National Aeronautical Collection, in memory of Mr. Kellis Forbes, a local man devoted to Boys Club activities. A U. S. Air Force Reserve crew airlifted the fighter to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, on March 13, 1964. Andrews personnel restored the airplane in 1975 and painted it to represent an aircraft of the 75th Fighter Squadron, 23rd Fighter Group, 14th Air Force.
• • •
Quoting from Wikipedia | Curtiss P-40 Warhawk:
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. It was used by the air forces of 28 nations, including those of most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in front line service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation‘s main production facility at Buffalo, New York.
The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36; this reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service.
Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps adopted for all models, making it the official name in the United States for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the P-40B and P-40C, and the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants.
The P-40′s lack of a two-stage supercharger made it inferior to Luftwaffe fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in high-altitude combat and it was rarely used in operations in Northwest Europe. Between 1941 and 1944, however, the P-40 played a critical role with Allied air forces in three major theaters: North Africa, the Southwest Pacific and China. It also had a significant role in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska and Italy. The P-40′s performance at high altitudes was not as critical in those theaters, where it served as an air superiority fighter, bomber escort and fighter bomber.
P-40s first saw combat with the British Commonwealth squadrons of the Desert Air Force (DAF) in the Middle East and North African campaigns, during June 1941. The Royal Air Force‘s No. 112 Squadron was among the first to operate Tomahawks, in North Africa, and the unit was the first to feature the "shark mouth" logo, copying similar markings on some Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine fighters. [N 1]
Although it gained a post-war reputation as a mediocre design, suitable only for close air support, more recent research including scrutiny of the records of individual Allied squadrons indicates that the P-40 performed surprisingly well as an air superiority fighter, at times suffering severe losses, but also taking a very heavy toll on enemy aircraft. The P-40 offered the additional advantage of low cost, which kept it in production as a ground-attack fighter long after it was obsolete in the air superiority role.
As of 2008, 19 P-40s were airworthy.
9 Causes of Skin Inflammation
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