Recent advances of TCM treatment of childhood atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis （AD） is a common and frequently encountered disease, which frequently appears in children. According to statistics, the percentage of AD patients between ages of 6 to 20 in dermatology clinics is 30%^1, and the incidence in school-age children is 2%-3%^2. AD has no corresponding nomenclature in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. According to the initial time of attack in early childhood, it cma be classified as NaiXuan and TaiXuan; according to the location of the disease （elbow fossa and popliteal fossa）, it can be classified as SiWanFeng; according to the specific cases of different characteristics of lesions, it can be classified as ShiChuang, JinYinchuang, XueFengChuang. In TCM, the etiology of AD is complicated. It is generally considered that the pathogenesis of AD is spleen deficiency and damp-heat^3. When children suffer from pathogenic wind, pathogenic dampness, pathogenic heat, or insufficient natural endowment, damp-heat is produced and it injures patients＇ skin. Also latent damp-heat can deplete the blood and succus in the body, dry the skin and lead to AD. In short, AD can be divided into 3 syndrome types in TCM： syndrome of spleen deficiency, syndrome of damp-heat, syndrome of blood deficiency. At present, the clinical study of AD treated by TCM is increasing, but the study of children＇s treatment is still rare. This article aims to make a summary of clinical studies of children＇s AD treated with TCM in recent years.

Atopic dermatitis( AD) is a common and frequently encountered disease, which frequently appears in children. According to statistics, the percentage of AD patients between ages of 6 to 20 in dermatology clinics is 30%~1, and the incidence in school-age children is 2%~3%~2. AD has no corresponding nomenclature in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM). According to the initial time of attack in early childhood, it can be classified as NaiXuan and TaiXuan; according to the location of the disease(elbow fossa and popliteal fossa), it can be classified as Si Wan Feng; according to the specific cases of different characteristics of lesions, it can be classified as ShiChuang, Jin Yinchuang, XueFengChuang. In TCM, the etiology of AD is complicated. It is generally considered that the pathogenesis of AD is spleen deficiency and damp-heat^3. When children suffer from pathogenic wind, pathogenic dampness, pathogenic heat, or insufficient natural endowment, damp-heat is produced and it injures patients' skin. Also latent damp-heat can deplete the blood and succus in the body, dry the skin and lead to AD. In short, AD can be divided into 3 syndrome types in TCM: syndrome of spleen deficiency, syndrome of damp-heat, syndrome of blood deficiency. At present, the clinical study of AD treated by TCM is increasing, but the study of children's treatment is still rare. This article aims to make a summary of clinical studies of children's AD treated with TCM in recent years.