Skin that flares, settles and flares again on a cycle you have learned to read.
What it looks like: Patches that are red, scaling or thickened; Itching, worst at night; A clear pattern of flare and remission; Worsening with stress, heat or particular seasons; Skin that has thinned where steroid cream has been used long-term.
Chronic skin disease is grouped in the classical texts under Kushta, and read as all three doshas disturbed together with the blood tissue involved — never as a surface problem. That is the practical difference from a topical approach: treatment is directed at the blood and the digestion, and the skin is where the result shows.
Takra Dhara and Dhanyamla Dhara pour medicated buttermilk or fermented liquid over the body — cooling therapies suited to an inflamed presentation where oil would aggravate. Udwarthanam and Upanaha Lepam are used where the skin is thickened. Internal treatment and diet are the larger half of the work here, and for entrenched cases the doctor may plan a classical purification. Progress is slow, deliberately.
Typical course: Months rather than weeks, reviewed at each stage.
When to see a doctor first, not us: Rapidly spreading rash with fever, blistering, skin peeling in sheets, or any rash with breathing difficulty or facial swelling — emergency care immediately.
Assessed at Sri Vinayaga Ayurvibe, a doctor-led Ayurveda hospital at Nookampalayam, Perumbakkam, Chennai 600131 — reachable from Sholinganallur, Medavakkam, OMR, Velachery, Pallikaranai and Tambaram. Open every day, 10 AM to 8 PM.
This page is for you if you live with psoriasis, eczema or another long-standing skin condition that comes and goes. Perhaps you have used steroid creams for years, know your triggers by heart and are tired of the cycle of settling and flaring. You may want to understand what Ayurveda can and cannot offer before deciding anything. Here we explain how the doctor reads chronic skin disease, what the assessment covers, which therapies may be used and how the work fits with your dermatologist’s care.
The texts group skin disease under Kushta and divide it into major and minor forms, several of which correspond to conditions seen today. Psoriasis is often compared with Ekakushta and Kitibha, described as dry, thick, scaling patches. Eczema is compared with Vicharchika, described as itchy eruptions that may ooze and darken.
The leading dosha shows in the skin itself. Dryness, cracking and roughness point to Vata; redness, burning and heat to Pitta; thickness, heavy itching and oozing to Kapha. Long-standing cases usually show more than one, and the balance can shift between a flare and a quiet phase, which is why the plan is revisited rather than fixed.
Among the causes the texts name, incompatible food combinations stand out, such as fish with milk, along with large amounts of curd, sour and fermented food. Suppressing natural urges, sleeping in the day after heavy meals and prolonged mental strain are also listed, and your history is read for them alongside the triggers you already know.
The doctor looks at the affected skin and asks where and when it began, what makes it flare, and what you have used on it, including the strength of any steroid creams. Your pulse, tongue, constitution, digestion, bowel habit and sleep are assessed too, since in this framework they belong to the skin picture.
Some skin conditions need a dermatologist’s diagnosis first, and some need ongoing medical monitoring. Psoriasis with joint pain or swelling, for example, can indicate psoriatic arthritis, which needs a rheumatologist’s assessment. If the diagnosis is unclear, you will be asked to see a dermatologist before treatment is planned.
Medicines taken by mouth are prescribed only after the consultation and dispensed from our in-house pharmacy with every ingredient named. They are chosen according to the doshas leading and whether the skin is flaring or quiet, and they are changed as that shifts.
For an inflamed, hot presentation, liquid therapies are preferred: Takra Dhara, a stream of medicated buttermilk, Dhanyamla Dhara, a fermented grain liquid poured over the body, or Kashaya Dhara, a warm herbal decoction. Where skin is thickened and scaling, Udwarthanam, a dry powder massage, or Upanaha / Lepam, a herbal paste applied and bandaged, may be used on suitable areas, never over broken or weeping skin. Mukha Abhyangam and Navara Mukha Lepam are sometimes used where the face is involved.
Therapies are paused or changed during a sharp flare, a skin infection or a fever. Two people with psoriasis can receive quite different plans, depending on the dosha pattern, the stage and what else they are being treated for.
Care for chronic skin conditions is measured in months rather than weeks. A first stage often focuses on digestion and calming any active flare, followed by therapy blocks and a longer internal course, with a review at each stage to decide what comes next.
Skin conditions shift with the seasons, so the doctor may plan ahead of the time of year when you usually flare. Photos taken at each review, in the same light, help track change honestly in both directions. The cost depends on the plan, and the clinic tells you before you book each stage.
Dermatologists commonly treat these conditions with steroid and non-steroid creams, moisturisers and, in more severe cases, phototherapy or tablets and injections that act on the immune system. We never ask you to stop medication prescribed by another doctor. If you take a systemic medicine such as methotrexate or a biologic, it is especially important that your dermatologist knows about your Ayurvedic treatment and that we see the full list.
Blood tests your dermatologist orders for liver or kidney monitoring should carry on as scheduled. Bring the latest results, since they also help the doctor choose internal medicines safely.
Diet is treated as part of the treatment here, and your own list is specific to you. These points apply to many people with chronic skin conditions.
Sri Vinayaga Ayurvibe — 12/597, Main Road, Nethaji Nagar Main Rd, Nookampalayam, Perumbakkam, Chennai 600131. Phone: +91 81229 39197.