1. We have five detox systems in the body: skin, liver, kidney, colon and lymphatic system. Anytime there is an issue with one of these, as well as it being more chronic, you will start to see issues with the skin. I would do some lab testing to see if you have any “kinks” in your metabolic pathways.

2. Most of the time when there is heat in the blood, the Chinese believe this can cause cystic acne. Acupuncture treatment for acne involves both distal and local points.

• Lung Heat patterns may be treated by using points such as Large Intestine 11 , Large Intestine 4 and Lung 5
• Stomach Heat patterns may respond to acupuncture points such as Large Intestine 11 Stomach 44.
• Toxic Heat patterns may be treated with points such as Du 14 and Large Intestine 11
• Blood Heat patterns may be treated as with Toxic Heat, with the addition of Spleen 10
• Damp Heat patterns may be treated like Stomach Heat patterns with the addition of points such as Spleen

The lesions themselves may be treated by a technique known as "surrounding the dragon," in which needles are placed superficially about one inch apart to surround the area where the acne is present and retained for about 20 minutes.

Ear acupuncture, in points corresponding to the Lung, Stomach, and Endocrine system, may prove useful as well.

Herbal Medicine may work as well:
Herbal medicine focuses on Heat according to the differential diagnosis, while reducing the inflammation and attempting to prevent the formation of new lesions. A combination of herbal medicines taken internally and an externally applied solution is preferable.

• Lung Heat may be treated with formulas of herbs such as Pi Pa Ye and Sang Bai Pi.
• Stomach Heat may be treated with proper supervision using combinations of purgative herbs, such as Da Huang and Mang Xiao
• Toxic Heat may be treated with combinations such as Jin Yin Hua and Lian Qiao
• Blood Heat may be treated by using herbs such as Sheng Di Huang and Mu Dan Pi
• Damp Heat may be treated with combinations of the herbs used to treat Toxic Heat, along with other herbs, such as Yi Yi Ren and Tu Fu Ling , to drain Dampness.

These are just generalizations and recommendations. I would find a TCM Practitioner to work with.

Like swatting a fly with a tactical thermo nuclear war head...what could these people be possibly thinking?! 

Hmmmm, maybe they are trying out some of their own approved mind altering drugs, irrespective of BAD side effects?

This is ill conceived (pardon the pun) at a minimum, and gross ethical and empirical medical, if not criminal, negligence at worse.

The Hippocratic Oath explicitly states: "First, Do No Harm".

Obviously, no one in Big Pharma, or at FDA, has a clue what we are talking about here.