Hyperhidrosis in Iranian Traditional Medicine.

BACKGROUND: Excessive sweating is a medical condition in which a person sweats much more than needed. The medical name of this disorder is hyperhidrosis known as a common dermal problem that affects people of all ages and leads to negative impact on the quality of life. During the last decades, several studies have shown that in many cases of hyperhidrosis there is no evidence of systemic disease. Therefore, most treatments are temporary and symptomatic therapy. According to Iranian traditional medicine (ITM), different approaches are mentioned for hyperhidrosis. METHODS: This study has reviewed ITM textbooks, such as "Canon of Medicine and Exir-e-azam" as well as scientific references and databases of modern medicine (ISI, PubMed, etc.) with specific keywords. Contents and related concepts were classified and results prepared. RESULTS: In modern medicine, hyperhidrosis has been defined as an abnormal excessive sweating, which is either primary (idiopathic) or secondary to other systemic diseases such as hyperthyroidism, neurological condition or heart disease. Current modalities for treatment are topical anti-perspiration, iontophoresis, Botox injection (Botulinum toxin type A) and eventually thoracic sympathectomy as the last therapeutic modalities. From the viewpoint of the Iranian traditional medicine as a holistic doctrine, hyperhidrosis etiologies include overfilled and repletion of body due to the accumulation of humors, excessive intake of food, excessive dilated skin pores, vigorous exercise, or physical activity. Therefore, therapeutic plan for hyperhidrosis was based on its cause, which includes reduction in the amount of food, increasing physical activity, purging the body from the excess humors and adjustment in temperament. CONCLUSION: Hyperhidrosis is not an important or dangerous disorder; however, due to the negative impact on quality of life and failure to achieve perfect answer in modern medicine treatments it seems that the recommendations of Iranian traditional medicine will be helpful to control this disorder.

Evaluating the Causes of Freckle and Nevus from the Viewpoint of Iranian Traditional Medicine.

BACKGROUND: Freckles are due to an increase in the amount of dark pigments called melanin. These spots are more likely developed on the sun-exposed skin areas like the cheeks, nose, and forehead. Nevus is usually a benign melanocytic tumor and can be congenital or acquired. Due to the high influence of skin lesions on the person's appearance and quality of life, the aim of this study was to evaluate the causes of these lesions from the viewpoint of Iranian traditional medicine (ITM). METHODS: This study is a review base on Iranian traditional medicine manuscripts, including Canon of medicine, Tib-e-Akbari' Kamel-al-sanaat, Sharaholasbab and Exir-e-Aazam. After the review, subjects were analyzed and classified and all the relevant measures were deduced. RESULTS: According to humoral theory in ITM, abnormal black bile congestion in skin layers and its increased concentration causes dark color spots on the face, known as "Namash and Barash" being equivalent to freckle. Nevus formation is caused by congestion of gradually hardened and dense black bile humor in the skin after leaking through the vessels. The main cause of these problems is dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, spleen, and uterus. Human's intellectual body function called "nature" and is by default designed to eradicate this residue from the essential internal organs and the skin. CONCLUSION: Based on ITM theory, since "nature" prefers excreting residue from the main organs through the skin, the necessary step for the treatment of the skin lesion is to purge and treat the internal organs before topical treatments. In addition to this, skin tonics should be used to enhance skin reinforcement in order to prevent the recurrence of the above-mentioned condition after peeling.

Acne Etiology and Treatments in Traditional Persian Medicine.

BACKGROUND: Traditional Persian medicine (TPM) is based on humors theory. Temperament or mizaj is the result of a combination of four fundamental humors called blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Like any other diseases, acne is the result of humoral imbalance. Acne is a highly prevalent dermatological problem, which has both physical and psychological effects on patients. The aim of this study was to determine the etiology of acne formation and natural remedies from the perspective of Persian scientists. METHODS: The etiology and treatment of acne were collected and analyzed from selected TPM medical textbooks. Some selected plants in these books were assessed in tabular format and their anti-acne activities were compared with modern medicine's databases. RESULTS: In the acne treatment, considering six essential schemes for health, diet and herbal remedies as well as manipulation are recommended. Although the mentioned herbs in acne treatment have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects; however, some have special proven effects on the acne formation process. There is also a strong relationship between the digestive system and skin. This paper was rendered to show ancient Persian scholar's viewpoints on acne and its treatment. CONCLUSION: Some reported remedies might be beneficial towards further studies on acne treatment.

Pruritus Treatment in Viewpoints of Traditional Persian Medicine.

BACKGROUND: Pruritus is an unpleasant feeling that can cause the desire of scratching in a person and can be the symptoms of systemic, infectious, and neurological diseases. Pruritus is the most common clinical manifestation of skin diseases. Pruritus prevalence is 8-38% in the general population. Causes and treatments of pruritus have been described by traditional Persian medicine scientists. The aim of this study was to derive general principles of the proposed treatment to reduce or relieve pruritus. METHODS: This descriptive study, review traditional medicine books including Al canon fil tibb, Al-Hawi, Makhzan ul-adviyyah, Al-Abniyah an-Haghyegh el-adviyah, Tuhfat ul-Momineen and Exir-e-Azam. The above-mentioned documents were derived and classified by keywords such as pruritus, hakka, jarab and sherry. RESULTS: In traditional Persian medicine, there are different causes for pruritus such as accumulation of vapors or acute humors in subcutaneous tissue or weakness of expulsive (Dafi'a) faculty and its treatment is based on removing the causes. Proper nutrition, bathing, and removing pathogenic humors are involved in the treatment. According to this study, some plants such as Cassia fistula, Purslane, Violets, Fumaria, Barley, Coriander, Rose and Terminalia chebula are anti-itching. CONCLUSION: Proper nutrition is the most important point in health and treatment of humors production with appropriate quality and quantity. Pruritus can be treated by lifestyle modification and using medicinal plants. It could be concluded that traditional Persian medicine therapies can be effective in the treatment of pruritus with mild side effects. By further investigation and research, we can reach more effective treatment methods in the field of traditional Persian medicine along with other new medical therapies.

The Role of Nutrition and Edible Medicinal Plants in the Treatment of Chronic Wounds Based on the Principles of Iranian Traditional Medicine.

BACKGROUND: Skin is the body's first defense against stressful factors. Skin wounds are caused by the loss of connection in the skin and recovery requires cellular and biochemical reactions. Chronic wounds arise from the lack of physiological processes and the disease due to complications (e.g. infection and amputation) has devastating consequences on societies. According to the principles of Iranian traditional medicine (ITM), these disorders can be treated in a step-by-step procedure. METHODS: This is a systematic review study that involved gathering data from three traditional medical textbooks, namely Canon of Medicine, Tib-e-Akbari and Exir-e-Azam with the keyword "chronic wound" or "ghorha". In the next step, few tables were developed for nutrition measures as well as edible and topical medicinal herbs. Electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane library were searched for relevant articles and those related to effective medicinal herbs in the treatment of wounds were obtained. RESULTS: Depending on appearance and secretions, wounds are divided into two categories, namely simple and compound wounds. The prognostic factors are based on the age, weight, accompanied disease, as well as the quality and quantity of the wound secretions. Wound treatments include medical nutrition therapy, edible medications, and manipulation therapies. Patient's diet is very important and oral medications have a major role in the whole body detoxification. Topical medications are used together with the above-mentioned treatments; noting that without detoxification, these medications are not effective entirely. CONCLUSION: Wound healing requires physiological processes within the body. From the perspective of ITM, body detoxification is the first medical step, after which topical medications could lead to a better wound healing result.

The effect of Melissa officinalis syrup on patients with mild to moderate psoriasis: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: Psoriasis is an immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease. It can involve any body skin area, particularly the scalp, lower back, elbows, and knees. There are several topical and systemic therapies for the treatment. Nowadays, herbal medicines are popular treatments for dermatologic conditions. This two-arm parallel, randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted to examine the hypothesis of the efficacy of Melissa officinalis syrup on patients with mild-to-moderate Plaque psoriasis. RESULT: Among 100 patients, 95 participants completed the trial and five of them withdrew. The mean pruritus intensity and PASI scores decreased significantly in the intervention group compared to the placebo group (P < 0.001). The DLQI score in the intervention group increased post-treatment compared to pre-treatment (P = 0.029); however, there was no significant difference between the intervention and control group at the end of the study (0.065). TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered in the Iranian registry of clinical trials on November 9th, 2019 ( https://www.irct.ir/trial/43434 ; registration number: IRCT20191104045326N1).