The TCM Skin Clinic

we treat many different types of itchy skin conditions including eczema and lichen planus.

one ingredient you might see in your formula is xu chang qing 徐長卿 - radix cynanchi paniculati - paniculate swallowwort root - and it can be a great anti-itch medicinal when there are patterns of wind dampness presenting in the body. you'll usually find this ingredient packed on the side to be added during the tail-end of cooking your herbal tea.

preparing a custom acne formula for one of our patients 🌿💚

Four preparations of Hawthorn Fruit - Crataegi Fructus - Shān Zhā 山楂 - a medicinal commonly used for digestive issues - especially breaking down greasy and fatty foods. One of our favourite herbs - tastes sweet and sour…sort of like dried strawberries. With special processing, this herb will support digestion in various capacities. When in its regular dried format, it’s lovely to eat a couple of pieces on their own after a heavy meal.

Today in pharmacy we cooked dry-fried (Chǎo) and scorched (Jiāo) preparations for today’s patient prescriptions.

1. Shān Zhā 山楂 - Freshly Dried
2. Chǎo Shān Zhā 炒山楂 - Dry-Fried
3. Jiāo Shān Zhā - Scorched
4. Shān Zhā Tàn - Charred

Check out this video by Uncle Baicao百草大叔 to see how Shān Zhā 山楂 is traditionally processed and let us know in the comments what preparations you see in the video. Hawthorn processing starts at about the 5:15 mark and the final preparation begins at 8:45 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TErQlnmuI2A

The last two images on this post are smaller European and North American varieties of Hawthorn for reference, in case you see them growing this summer.

Customized herbal prescriptions are dispensed with care for our patients 💚🌿

Glad to see greater representation in medical illustrations thanks to the work of Chidiebwre Ibe - Medical Illustrator, Medical Student and Aspiring Neurosurgeon. Although the attached image has gone viral, he’s drawn representations of many skin conditions that we see regularly here in clinic.

Why did one illustration of a Black fetus go viral? — NBC News Chidiebere Ibe said he hopes his creations will help change the field of medical illustration, which is predominately white and male.

Today we’re attending day two of the 7th Annual Skin Spectrum Summit - The Canadian Conference on Ethnodermatology. Thursday’s presentations were very informative and relevant to our practice. Many skin conditions go undiagnosed or are misdiagnosed in people of colour, so we’re here to brush up on diagnosis, the latest dermatology research, and to better serve our patients.

March 18th is Close the Gap Day - a day of action in support of achieving Indigenous health equality.

In honour of this day, we attended the first annual Indigenous Skin Spectrum Summit. There were many critical and insightful presentations on culturally safe care for Indigenous peoples led by Dr. Rachel Asiniwasis, Dr. Blair Stonechild, Dr. Carrie Bourassa and more.