Eczema Research
Diet & Lifestyle
Bottled
water & Eczema
Pure water is important for our general health
and well-being, and doctors from Berlin's Humboldt University believe that
it could be an important factor in the prevention and treatment of eczema.
The doctors found a four year old girl with atopic eczema was completely
free of any symptoms within two weeks of drinking low sodium bottled
water. When a high sodium, high calcium water was re-introduced the
symptoms returned. The little girl was then put back on the low sodium
water and once again her symptoms disappeared.
Health Now April/May 1995 p.10
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Traditional
Chinese Medicine
& Eczema
A one year study of 37 children suffering from
atopic eczema conducted at the hospital for sick children, London,
revealed that Chinese medicinal herbs offered effective alternative
treatment particularly for those children who had failed to respond to
conventional treatments. At the end of the study, 18 (49%) of the children
enjoyed at least 90% reductions in the severity of their eczema , and a
further 5 showed lesser, but significant degrees of improvement. Fourteen
of the children withdrew from the study, 10 due to lack of response, and
four because of the unpalatability of herbs used or the difficulty in
preparing the herbs.
Seven of the children were able to
discontinue treatment without relapse and whilst the other 16 required
additional treatment to maintain control of their eczema, only four of
them required daily treatment. The study concluded that Chinese medicinal
herbs provide a therapeutic option for children with extensive atopic
eczema which has failed to respond to other treatments.
Sheehan, M.P., Atherton,
D.J., One-year
follow up of children treated with Chinese medicinal herbs for atopic
eczema. British Journal of Dermatology (ENGLAND) Apr 1994, 130 (4) p488-93
Important note:
Chinese herbs have been shown to be toxic in some cases and should only be
administered by a reputable practitioner.
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The Dead Sea
& Eczema
Patients suffering from eczema (atopic dermatitis and neurodermatitis)
form the second largest group of people who visit the Dead Sea for
dermatological treatment.
Like psoriasis, atopic eczema is often a
genetically inherited chronic skin disease with a number of potential
causes. Patients often experience severe itching which frequently starts
in infancy and leads to a very sensitive, reactive skin which becomes
irritated and inflamed easily through allergic responses to external,
ingested or inhaled substances e.g. pollen, bee sting, house dust and some
foods.
The basic requirements of treatment
procedures for eczema are to relieve itching and prevent scratching.
Conventional treatments include cortisone ointments and creams, ultra
violet light , drugs with sedative and anti-pruritic (anti-itching)
effect.
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Nickel
concentrations in serum and urine of patients with nickel eczema
This
study is a part of the Biological Risk Assessment of Human Metal
Sensitisation (BRAHMS) project with the aim of elucidating clinical
and physiological effects of repeated exposures to low
concentrations of metal allergens. Nickel allergic individuals (n =
35) with hand eczema and healthy controls (n = 30) were included in
the study. Both groups had similar levels of nickel in urine, while
the level of nickel in serum was significantly lower in nickel
allergic individuals compared to controls. Nickel allergic
individuals had a significantly lower intake of nickel-rich food
items (chocolate, nuts, beans, porridge oats). Serum nickel levels
correlated with intake of these foods, suggesting that the
difference in serum nickel levels was caused by differences in
dietary nickel intake.
Christensen JM,
Kristiansen J, Nielsen NH, Menne T, Byrialsen K National Institute
of Occupational Health, Lersoe Parkalle 105, Copenhagen,Denmark.
Toxicol Lett 1999 Sep 5;108(2-3):185-9
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