Brazil
Introduction:
Furuncles, or boils, are painful, erythematous, papular lesions, related to a deep infection of the hair follicle. The infecting agent is usually Staphylococcus aureus. Furuncles are often related to impaired immunity, diabetes, frequent scratching, and friction.
Accumulation and binding of Dampness and Fire, and Blood-Heat due to Yin deficiency are the principle etiology in Chinese medicine.
Aim:
To demonstrate that Auricular Acupuncture associated with Chinese phytotherapy is effective to treat recurrent folliculitis that is not responsive to conventional antibiotic treatment.
Methods:
R.M.F., male, 34, had first furuncle in 2008. Started to take benzatin penicillin for six months every 21 days. In 2009, when he stopped taking them, the furuncles returned insistently. He always suffered in several places over his body. All treated with antibiotics.
His mother had several furuncles from 20 to 32 mainly in her four pregnancies that stopped after the last. His father had some at 30, non-recurring, not-treated. His older sister had more than 100 only during three pregnancies. The whole family had many grey hairs since adolescence.
Treatment started with Auricular Acupuncture: Shen Men, Kidney, Liver, Gall Bladder, Large Intestine, Lung, Allergic Point with bleeding on top of the ear, two sessions a week plus Long Dan Xie Gan Tang.
Results:
Three months later he returned to the office and said that the furuncles had disappeared, and had not returned.
Conclusions:
Auricular Acupuncture associated with Phytotherapy is a good choice of treatment of recurring furuncles.
Antibiotics can be avoided, thus reducing the resistance of bacteria.