Eczema

22 August: Atopic 29 year old female. Inflamed, roughened skin with chronic atrophic changes due to prolonged topical steroid usage (triamcinolone). Steroid use was discontinued and wheatgrass extract was recommended three times daily.

27 November: Three months after ceasing topical steroids. Apart from some residual dryness, the patient now considers her skin visually "acceptable." Patient used wheatgrass spray only twice daily. By January, her skin was almost normal.

Commentary by Dr. Chris Reynolds

"This particular young woman has suffered from severe, generalized atopic eczema since childhood. Her skin has caused her great distress and social isolation over the years. I am now using only the wheatgrass spray on the numerous eczema patients I see every day. The results have been outstanding. Mild to moderate cases almost invariably improve without the need for topical steroids. Some recover in as little as a week, but most of them take a month or two for their skin to stabilize. The strongest topical steroid I will ever use is 1% hydrocortisone. In the most severe cases, I add oral prednisolone in reduction dosage, usually starting with 15--20mg daily."

"For steroid-dependent eczema, again the great majority are able to dispense with their topical steroids. I have even had patients taking cyclosporins for eczema that I was able to cease and gain excellent control of their affliction. I am talking about thousands of eczematics, not just a few, who have benefited in this way."

"Wheatgrass, in cream or liquid form, is a safe, general purpose active healing agent that can significantly facilitate the work of hands-on health professionals. Taken orally, it can significantly boost the immune system and help prevent disease."
- Dr. Chris Reynolds

Wheatgrass significantly improves quality of life in severe steroid-dependent eczema

'My daughter has suffered with allergies since she was 6 months old now 10 yrs. She has 26 allergies which give her severe eczema (hospitalisation 11 times since 2004). She is under the leading dermatology specialist at the xxxxx Hospital. 

'She lives in wet dressings every night and during the day on weekends, she goes through mountains of diprisone, elocon and advantan. (Topical steroids) She has been on Neoral (cyclosporine - a strong anti-cancer drug, severe side-effect potential), Celcept (mycophenolate mofetil - an immune suppressant) and Imuran (azathioprine - anti-cancer drug, severe side-effect potential) and none of these has worked.

'She has last year been diagnosed with Sjogrens syndrome and is in the process of being diagnosed with Coeliac disaese and lupus. She has dermatitis herpetiformis (from wheat, barley, rye, oats). She is on a gluten free diet, no eggs and peanut (due to allergy). I have taken out dairy with no improvement. She is currently also seeing a rheumatologist and immunologist and is currently on Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine - anti-malarial drug for lupus) (since 30 Nov 10) and Singulair (montelukast - a potent anti-asthma drug with severe side-effect potential)(since 17 Dec 10). She is also taking fish oil, evening primrose oil, inner health plus, zinc, slippery elm and I am just commencing her on chloryphyll. Her skin is a mess and it will not heal. her spirits are very low now and I need to know are we on the right track and is it possible that you would be able to provide any further assistance if we could arrange to have a consultation with you. I would muchly appreciate your thoughts on my daughters condition so that I can help her live a more normal life as I cannot continue to pump all of these medications into her. She is only 10 years old.

Dr. Chris comments:

This is an example of modern medicine failing to control a common medical condition. In fact this young girl has done well to survive all the medications she has been taking and putting on her skin. It also shows that using wheatgrass helps manage severe eczema by preventing or reducing rebound while steroids are reduced in a measured way. Read on below for the mother's progress reports.

10 year old Lauren's eczema-damaged skin aged using topical steroids but recovered with wheatgrass

Pre-wheatgrass treatment: Note effects of long term topical steroid damage in this 10 year old girl. Severe wrinkling of skin due to underlying steroid-caused atrophy of the deeper layers of skin; loss of normal skin pigment (pale pinkish areas) and severe surface damage from constant scratching. Practically her whole body suffered similar damage.	After 6 months wheatgrass treatment: The wrinkles have disappeared, skin is regaining its normal elasticity, depigmentation is no longer a feature and scratching has ceased although some eczematous lesions persist. She has been off all medications other than wheatgrass and occasional oral steroids for nearly five months and is a very happy child with her "new look"and no more wet dressings.
Wheatgrass treatment commenced 24 January, 2011. Progress reports from the child's mother: After 4 days' wheatgrass treatment (28 January) 'She has only applied the topical steriods on her ankles this morning as everywhere else is healing again very quickly.' After 11 days' wheatgrass treatment (7 February) 'Lauren's skin is healing well.  The open areas of eczema are clearing nicely.  I have not been using any cortisone cream at all just using the Wheatgrass twice a day.  Her skin is very inflamed all over and has been really bad since she started the Singulair and the Plaquenil so hopefully this will also improve soon.  I have reduced all of her medications by half yesterday and will completely remove the Singulair and the Plaquenil over the coming week as I believe this is definately a huge contributing factor to the redness of the skin.  She is shedding skin like I have never seen before which could be an indication that there is new skin cells generating and possibly the healing process happening quite quickly with her skin - What are your thoughts on that?' My reply, same day. 'It all sounds very encouraging. As for the skin shedding, wheatgrass is quite a potent anti-inflammatory. Application to the skin reduces redness and swelling, the skin “shrinks” and the flakes start to appear. This can affect the whole body because of the immune modulating effects being absorbed through the skin into the blood circulation. This process will take a couple of weeks more than likely. Reducing her medications may also be having an effect. I’m not sure whether they could cause generalised inflammation, but it’s possible.' 5 months later. (21 July, 2011) 'In relation to the prednisone the last course she has ended on 15 June 2011 and she has not had any topical cortisone since then either.  She is using the wheatgrass only topically and orally ONLY.' 'We are so happy with the results and how her skin has improved so much so thankyou once again we are finally seeing the light.' 7 months later I am happy to report that although Lauren still has eczema, it is completely under control and only mild compared with her previous status. It now only affects 5% of her body surface compared with 90% when wheatgrass was commenced. Her lupus, Sjogren's syndrome, coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis have all remarkably disappeared. She is on no medications other than daily application of wheatgrass Skin Recovery Spray and a daily 5ml dose of wheatgrass Supershots. She has not returned to any of her specialists since commencing wheatgrass, and her "lupus" like skin has settled completely. Significantly, although she was allergic to wheat and other cereals, she had 100% tolerance to wheatgrass Skin Recovery Spray. By reducing or eliminating rebound when cutting back topical and/or oral steroids, wheatgrass has given Lauren a new lease of life as it has for thousands of other eczema sufferers. Dr. Chris Reynolds. M.B.,B.S.