Kampo Therapy for Adult Atopic Dermatitis by Dieting and Herbal Medications: Evaluating the Disappearance of Disease Phases

Considerable time has passed since the gradual increase of refractory atopic dermatitis and its emergence as a social issue in Japan. Compared with the past, the disease already appears to be more refractory in children and most refractory in adults. We have treated atopic dermatitis by Kampo (Japanese Herbal Medicine)1 therapies including dieting2–4 and achieved better results than by Western treatments alone, but there were difficulties in demonstrating the genuine effectiveness of Kampo therapies. We, therefore, evaluated the effectiveness of Kampo therapies including dieting in the most refractory cases, i.e. severe cases of adult type atopic dermatitis or cases having persistent rash, according to prolonged control of symptoms and the disappearance of disease phases (alternating waves of remission and exacerbation) as indices. Since the treatment was markedly effective, we present our understanding of adult type atopic dermatitis, reasons for inclusion of dieting in the therapy, and therapeutic results.