Disclaimer: This content is produced by Houston Acupuncture and is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Introduction
Dr. David Cherian is a board-certified physician and a licensed acupuncturist practicing in Houston, Texas. He created Houston Acupuncture and Primary Care to bridge a critical gap in the healthcare system. In Western medicine, health is often measured with numbers, lab tests, and X-rays, but a patient’s symptoms do not always correlate with those results. This realization led to the exploration of Eastern medicine as an alternative framework to understand body functions, health, and disease. By exploring the nexus between Eastern and Western medicine, practitioners can utilize both systems to optimize health outcomes.
The Western Medicine View
Behçet’s syndrome is a rare, multi-system disease that causes systemic issues, with an estimated prevalence in Texas of around one in 20,000 people or fewer. The condition is thought to be related to vasculitis, which is inflammation within the blood vessels.
Key Symptoms of Behcet’s Disease and Diagnosis
- Common Lesions: The primary feature is painful mouth ulcers, but patients may also experience genital ulcers, acne-type lesions, folliculitis, and bruising-type skin lesions.
- Systemic Involvement: Beyond the skin, patients can suffer from eye problems, joint inflammation, joint pain, and brain involvement that leads to confusion, balance issues, or weakness in the extremities.
- Clinical Diagnosis: Diagnosis does not rely on a specific biopsy or lab test. It is a clinical diagnosis requiring a patient to have mouth ulcers at least three times in one year, combined with recurrent genital ulcers, eye lesions, or other skin lesions. Patients are typically referred to a rheumatologist if the disease is suspected.
Causes and Behcet Disease Treatments
In Western medicine, the exact underlying cause of Behçet’s disease remains misunderstood, though it is considered an immune system issue potentially linked to genetics and infections. The disease is unique among vasculitis conditions because it can affect the venous system as well as small and large arteries.
Treatment focuses on reducing inflammation. Options include topical steroids or colchicine for ulcers, while internal organ involvement (such as the GI or neurologic systems) may require steroids, azathioprine, or stronger anti-inflammatories.
The Chinese Medicine View of Symptoms
From a Chinese medicine perspective, Behçet’s syndrome commonly involves heat in the blood. In the four-level system of heat disorders (wei, qi, ying, and xue), Behçet’s typically involves heat that has penetrated the deeper ying and xue (blood) levels. Common patterns include heat toxin, damp disorders, and blood stasis.
- Mouth Ulcers: Recurrent mouth ulcers are frequently associated with Stomach heat. Because the Stomach channel opens directly into the mouth, built-up heat in the Stomach channel can vent outward as oral ulcers.
- Genital Ulcers: These are often related to the Liver channel and the lower jiao. The Liver channel physically traverses the genitals, meaning heat from other systems can overflow and exit through this pathway.
- Eye Inflammation: Ocular symptoms are commonly viewed as Liver heat rising. Acute pain and blurry vision may indicate heat toxin, while chronic, slow episodes may point to Liver Yin deficiency.
- Joint Pain: This symptom can stem from heat, Dampness (caused by an overheated Stomach channel affecting water metabolism in the Spleen), internal Wind from an overly hot Liver, or Kidney depletion due to long-term disease damage.
- Nervous System Involvement: Neurological symptoms such as confusion, anxiety, or tremors are often attributed to Liver Wind rising or phlegm disorders, where heat dries accumulated Dampness into thick blockages.
Acupuncture Treatment for Behcet’s Syndrome
Acupuncture targets specific points along the channels of the organs involved in a patient’s individual pattern. While treatments are highly customized, common points include:
- Urinary Bladder 40 (UB-40): Located behind the knee, this point is heavily utilized to clear heat from the blood, cool systemic inflammation, and relieve joint and muscular discomfort.
- Large Intestine 11 (LI-11): Found at the lateral end of the elbow crease, this point vents heat outward and clears toxins from the qi and blood levels, making it highly effective for oral ulcers.
- Liver 3 (LV-3): Positioned on the foot between the first and second toes, this point supports Liver Yin, clears Liver Heat, and reduces internal Wind, making it ideal for treating eye and genital symptoms.
Herbal Treatment Strategies
Herbal prescriptions are customized to match the patient’s constitution and the specific organ systems presenting symptoms. Patients are often given a blended formula of eight or more herbs. Example herbs for blood-heat-type Behçet’s include:
- Sheng Di Huang: A crucial herb for cooling the blood, nourishing the blood, and replenishing Yin. It helps regenerate fluids to combat dry mouth, dry eyes, and dry stool caused by long-standing internal heat.
- Mu Dan Pi: This herb cools and gently moves the blood, effectively treating blood stasis. It reduces inflammation and aids in healing skin lesions, genital ulcers, and bruising.
- Huang Qin: Particularly useful for clearing Damp-Heat in the Liver and Gallbladder systems, this herb is often utilized to treat lower jiao and genital region involvement.
Contact Information
For individuals seeking medical advice from a clinic that understands both Western and Eastern medical frameworks, Houston Acupuncture provides unique, individualized treatment approaches.
To learn more about the practice or to schedule a consultation, visit HoustonAcupuncture.com or email directly at office@houstonacupuncture.com.