Column March 5, 2026
Psoriasis — Korean Medicine Treatment for Recurrent Silver-White Scales
Hyo-seop Kim
Chief Director
Table of Contents
Psoriasis is more than just a skin disorder
Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disease in which an immune-system abnormality causes skin cells to proliferate 7–10 times faster than normal, building up silver-white scales on red plaques. It commonly appears on the elbows, knees, scalp, and buttocks, and is aggravated by stress, alcohol, and infection.
Korean medicine diagnosis: Hyeol-yeol-pung-jo (血熱風燥)
- Hyeol-yeol (血熱, blood heat): Heat accumulates in the blood, making the skin red and producing scales rapidly — acute and progressing stages
- Hyeol-eo (血瘀, blood stasis): Stagnant blood lodges in the skin, making plaques thick and dark purple — stable stage
- Hyeol-jo (血燥, blood dryness): As blood becomes depleted, the skin grows dry and cracks — regressive stage
Stage-specific treatment strategy
- Progressing stage (blood heat): Cools blood heat with modified Cheong-yeong-tang (淸營湯) and Seogak-jihwang-tang (犀角地黃湯)
- Stable stage (blood stasis): Doh-hong-samul-tang (桃紅四物湯) removes blood stasis and improves skin circulation
- Regressive stage (blood dryness): Dang-gwi-eum-ja (當歸飮子) tonifies blood and moisturizes the skin
Lifestyle management
- Alcohol is the most consistent aggravating factor for psoriasis — abstinence is recommended during treatment
- Maintain thorough skin moisturization — dryness makes scaling worse
- Stress management can be more important than medication — stress is a trigger for immune dysregulation