Although many western treatments for acne have proved to be effective, they include many side effects. Topical treatments can dry out skin and even cause chemical burns, while antibiotics and tablets increase chances of stomach and liver disorders. Natural herbal medicine show effectiveness rates comparable to those of western drugs, and when used properly with the right diet, present no adverse side effects.

Acupuncture and herbal medicine often works very quickly in relieving pain. Pain is a result of stagnation in the meridians of the body. This stagnation could be due to an excess or deficiency of heat, coldness, damp, phlegm, wind, or other. The goal of oriental medicine in treating pain is to strengthen circulation, open up the channels, and remove stagnation. Sometimes a single acupuncture treatment can cure acute pain, while chronic pain like fibromyalgia resulting from organ problems requires treatment for longer periods.

Oriental treatments like herbal medicine and acupuncture are often safer than and as effective as western pharmaceuticals for bronchial asthma. Bronchial asthma is chiefly characterized by trachea obstruction, prompted by a sudden-onset allergic reaction. Recently trachea inflammation has been noted as the cause of bronchial asthma. Asthma is a chronic disease requiring administration of medicine over long periods of time. In recent years, many of the new drugs for the treatment of bronchial asthma have exhibited adverse side effects. Oriental prescriptions, on the other hand, have few side effects, though occasionally they may not suit the needs of a particular patient.

Atopy (atopic syndrome) is a syndrome characterized by a tendency to be “hyperallergic”. A person with atopy typically presents with one or more of the following: eczema (atopic dermatitis), allergic rhinitis (hay fever), allergic conjunctivitis, or allergic asthma. Patients with atopy also have a tendency to have food allergies. Topical cream and ointments that sometimes included steroids are used in western medicine to treat the itching and rash that accompanies atopic eczema. However, side effects of topical steroids are plentiful.

Autoimmune hepatitis is a chronic disease caused by an abnormal immune response against liver cells. Many people with autoimmune hepatitis have other autoimmune diseases. Often linked to liver disease, liver cancer, and herpes, hepatitis C can be effectively treated with herbal medicine and interferon therapy. These two modalities used in tandem show even better results than when they are used alone. Most of the causes of hepatitis cannot be distinguished on the basis of the pathology. Numerous oriental prescriptions for treating symptoms characteristic of viral hepatitis have been administered and claimed to alleviate symptoms.

One of the most debilitating problems at any age is mental and emotional illness. Depression, neuroses, anxiety, restlessness, nervousness, and other psychic disorders are made all the more difficult to cope with by the physical and social limitations of old age. Of the psychic disorders afflicting the elderly, melancholy and dementia are the most common. Herbal medicine treats both the physical and psychic aspects of disease. In diagnosis and treatment, herbal medicine and acupuncture aim at both the body and the mind, and its effects on both the spiritual and physical symptoms can be expected. Herbal medicine has a tonic effect which is especially beneficial for the elderly, who tend to embody deficiency conditions. Oriental medicine and herbal medicine have been approved by national health insurance system of Japan.

Diabetes mellitus is an autoimmune disease and a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. There are three main types of diabetes mellitus (DM): type 1, type 2, gestational diabetes, and "other specific types". Untreated, diabetes can cause many complications. Acute complications include diabetic ketoacidosis and nonketotic hyperosmolar coma. Serious long-term complications include cardiovascular disease, chronic renal failure, and diabetic retinopathy (retinal damage). Adequate treatment of diabetes is thus important, as well as blood pressure control and lifestyle factors such as stopping smoking and maintaining a healthy body weight. Diabetes mellitus is no known cure except in very specific situations. Attention is also paid to other health problems that may accelerate the deleterious effects of diabetes.

Addiction issues are the most persisting problems to treat. Constant effort, will, and patience is necessary from both patients and the doctor until detoxification of the body is finished.

Adolescent dysmenorrhea is a common occurrence at puberty. It affects the patient’s overall health and normal physical and mental activities. The blood of dysmenorrheal patients appears to be viscous and adhesive. Herbal medicine and acupuncture treatment can lower the viscous and adhesion quality of the blood in dysmenorrheal patients and, therefore, shows benefits for the treatment of dysmenorrheal.

Endometriosis is a female health disorder that occurs when cells from the lining of the womb (uterus) grow in other areas of the body. Symptoms of endometriosis are pain and infertility. The pain often is worse with the menstrual cycle and is the most common cause of secondary dysmenorrheal. Symptoms of endometriosis-related pain may include: dysmenorrhea – painful, sometimes disabling cramps during menses; pain may get worse over time (progressive pain), also lower back pains linked to the pelvis chronic pelvic pain – typically accompanied by lower back pain or abdominal pain dyspareunia – painful sex dysuria – urinary urgency, frequency, and sometimes painful voiding. There is no cure for endometriosis.

Fibromyalgia is a common syndrome in which a person has long-term, body-wide pain and tenderness in the joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues. Fibromyalgia has also been linked to fatigue, sleep problems, headaches, depression, and anxiety. The cause of fibromyalgia is unknown. There is no single test that can fully diagnose fibromyalgia. In most cases, patients with fibromyalgia symptoms may also have laboratory test results that appear normal and many of their symptoms may mimic those of other rheumatic conditions such as arthritis or osteoporosis. As with many other medically unexplained syndromes, there is no universally accepted treatment or cure for fibromyalgia, and treatment typically consists of symptom management. Although in itself neither degenerative nor fatal, the chronic pain of fibromyalgia is pervasive and persistent. Most fibromyalgia patients report that their symptoms do not improve over time.

Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. Gout is due to a protein metabolic disorder that leads to excess formation of uric acid. Medically, gout is assigned to the category of blood and endocrine disease. It may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate nephropathy. Those with gout are at increased risk of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, and renal and cardiovascular disease. The actual reason for the formation of uric acid that leads to gout is unknown. There is no complete curable treatment for gout in western medicine. However, herbal medicine treats gout and the level of pain. Uric acid can be reduced by herbal medicine within one month.

While there are many different types of headaches, all are classified under the same word and the specific causes of each type are unknown in western medicine. Blood tests, x-rays, and different brain imaging tests do not show the cause of the headache. In oriental medicine, frontal headaches, right and left migraine headaches, back headaches, top headaches, are all different types of headaches that occur for different reasons. The specific area of where the headache occurs corresponds with specific organs. By using treatment methods to open up the channels and increase circulation to these organs, we can treat the root cause of the headache. For example, a single session of acupuncture for migraines can be very effective.

Atherosclerosis is the pathogenic basis of cardio-cerebral vascular diseases such as coronary heart disease. Much attention in recent years has been focused on the search for effective asian herbal medicines for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis. The present investigative results showed that some herbal medicines for the promotion of blood circulation through the removal of blood stasis could abate atherosclerosis.

Natural herbal medicine has been practiced and prescribed safely and effectively for centuries, having greatest potential for beneficial results when made by a professional who recognizes both benefits and risks. Herbal formulas can treat a wide variety of symptoms while stimulating the body’s natural healing process. In 1997, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) convened a panel of 12 distinguished physicians and scientists to review the effectiveness of oriental medicine. The panel found clear evidence that it is very effective and helpful for many illnesses and disorders. Herbalists must learn many skills, including the wild crafting or cultivation of herbs, diagnosis and treatment of conditions or dispensing herbal medication, and preparations of herbal medications. Education of herbalists varies considerably in different areas of the world.

Infertility can have very specific reasons for occurring: lack of blood, low circulation, coldness in the uterus, or Qi deficiency. Miscarriage is also a possible result of these conditions. While infertility and miscarriage might occur because of the same reasons, oriental medicine uses different treatments for the two different conditions: acupuncture for infertility, and herbal medicine for miscarriage. Acupuncture strengthens and circulates the flow of Qi, which is important for infertility, while herbal medication has powerful effects in nourishing blood and warming the womb.

Lupus erythematosus is a name given to a collection of autoimmune diseases, in which the human immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks normal, healthy tissues. Symptoms of these diseases can affect joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart, lungs, and many other body systems. Symptoms vary from person to person, and may come and go. Symptoms can include joint pain and swelling, arthritis, chest pain, fatigue, fever with no other cause, general discomfort, uneasiness, or ill feeling (malaise), hair loss, mouth sores, sensitivity to sunlight, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes. No cure for lupus erythematosus exists, and complete remission is rare.

During the menopause transition years, as the body responds to the rapidly fluctuating and dropping levels of natural hormones, a number of effects may appear. Effects such as formication (crawling, itching, or tingling skin sensations, hot flashes and palpitations, psychological effects such as depression, anxiety, irritability, mood swings, memory problems, and lack of concentration, and atrophic effects such as vaginal dryness and urgency of urination.

Seizure patients require at least three years of treatment. If a seizure occurs before the three-year treatment is complete, the treatment plan is extended. The blocking of openings in meridian pathways is accounted as the reason for seizures in oriental medical diagnosis. In order to unclog these meridian opening, the treatment includes herbal medicine, acupuncture, as well as a strict diet. This diet is the most difficult part of the treatment. Most seizure patients are unable to complete the treatment because they fail to abstain from certain foods before the treatment is over. However, patients that successfully complete the treatment often do not experience seizures afterwards.

The causes of unknown diseases (like autoimmune disease and fibromyalgia) have no true cure in western medicine, and are often treated with steroids, anti-bacteria, and painkillers that are only able to treat certain symptoms and include many side-effects. In oriental medicine, all diseases and symptoms have a reason for occurring. Treatment methods are completely different and have a more holistic approach.

In oriental weight loss treatment plans, it is necessary to change the characteristics of the body’s cells themselves. It takes from at least 3 to 6 months to improve metabolism in cells, as well as reducing dampness and other substances that should not reside in our body’s tissues. Regular exercise and a healthy diet is also included in the weight loss regimen. For a natural, healthy weight loss, tonifying and detoxifying should take place at the same time. Healthy bodies do not get fat.