Introduction

The Skin - General Practice: The Integrative Approach. This chapter provides a framework to enable a clinician to approach skin conditions from an integrative perspective, using some common conditions as examples. Some skin conditions are covered at greater length, with integrative approaches, while others have been included only briefly, to represent what is common in primary care practice. As in other areas of medicine it is important to ensure that both diagnosis and treatment of skin conditions address causes, rather than suppressing symptoms alone. Skin conditions often have multiple contributing causes, including topical influences, autoimmune or genetic susceptibility, food factors and numerous ancillary triggers.