One night, while I was couch-locked, a “cute” commercial for an eczema drug came out. It stated that it treated eczema and that there was no cure for eczema. Needless to say, as a naturopathic medical student, I was angry. There is a cure for eczema. That’s called prevention. But that’s another topic.
My point here: Elidel, the “cute” eczema drug, causes cancer in three different species of animals. That’s not cute. Protopic also causes cancer in the same animal species.
The FDA advised doctors to only prescribe Elidel or Protopic when all else failed for eczema. Do not use long-term and do not use in children under 2 years old.
What is the advice on Elidel and Protopic:
- Do not use on 2 years or younger
- Do not use on people with a weak immune system
- Do not use long-term – only intermittently or short-term
- Do not use until all other eczema treatments have failed
What damage can Elidel and Protopic cause:
- The cancer potential increases with frequency. The longer the use, the higher the chance.
- The cancer potential increases with the amount. More used, the higher the chance.
- Upper respiratory tract infections increased in children treated with Elidel compared to placebo.
- Unknown problems with the development of the immune system in children – harm or not?
That’s what they’ve figured out so far. The list will grow. Why didn’t they discover this before it hit the market????
Conclusion: Do not use Elidel or Protopic.
Natural eczema treatment is possible:
Seek the advice of a trained naturopathic doctor and your eczema will go away. Yes. Path. Food allergy is one of the main causes of eczema. Remove foods you are allergic or insensitive to and your eczema will likely go away.
Typical food allergens that cause eczema: egg, wheat or dairy are the biggest players. You can find out which one it is with a food exclusion diet. Eliminate this particular food and its compounds (like wheat-based soy sauce) completely for 3 weeks. Then, at the end of the three weeks, eat a lot of the avoided food. How do you feel? Symptoms come back, worsen, no change? Obviously you’re sensitive or allergic if it gets aggravated. Avoid this food for at least 6 months. This allows your immune system to calm down and not react to everything.
There’s also a simple technique I learned in class this afternoon. Our professor explained that most people find it difficult to follow a diet without food. I agree. i know i do He said he has to do patient 48 hours Quickly consume only a quality nutritional supplement powder like BioCleanse Functional Food. Nothing else is eaten during this time. He states that 6 to 10 servings of BioCleanse daily will help curb appetite and allow the body to remove the reactive food antigens. At the end of the 48 hours, the skin, energy and general well-being are assessed. If the eczema has gotten better in that time, and yes it can get better that quickly because the skin regenerates quickly, then he knows the eczema is diet related.
A strong topical herbal cream preparation is also useful to treat eczema naturally. dr Rowan Hamilton of Rowan Botanicals recently released Professional Intense and Professional Extreme.
However, the bottom line today is to avoid these Elidel and Protopic. Treat the root cause of the eczema – don’t just soothe the surface with a topical steroid. Steroids just push toxins deeper and to a different location. You know what the largest detoxification organ in the body is? Liver? nope The skin. Where do toxins appear when the liver is flooded with toxins? The skin. Eliminate the cause of liver stagnation, perform a light cleanse and apply a proven topical agent to your skin. You should be a lot better in a few weeks.
As a side note: Do you know what can happen when children with eczema are given steroids? Asthma. We see this again and again in the clinic. We take the history of an asthmatic child and discover that he/her has been given topical steroids to control eczema or other skin problems. This goes back to what I said earlier. Steroids only suppress the immune system and stop the body’s natural healing response to a buildup of unwanted substances. These substances then accumulate elsewhere in the body. It is not advisable to push something deeper into the body. Better out than in. Then we tackle the child’s skin problem naturally and the asthma goes away. Sounds like a bunch of BS doesn’t it? I don’t give a shit. With a degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology, I understand science. My medical school is at the forefront of natural medicine and we are transforming the way medicine is done. It is extremely rewarding to see patient after patient improve. You can too.
Back to the topic at hand: follow the FDA link [ read the statement about Elidel and Protopic.
Stay healthy.
Ben
PS – The basic premise you will see me state over and over …and over again: treat the cause not the symptoms. Sounds basic but it is far from basic. Imagine finding why someone has high blood pressure? You know what conventional medicine’s term for some causes of hypertension? Essential hypertension [what’s that?] and idiopathic hypertension [means unknown cause]. Pin and done. I look forward to writing about it soon. I’m currently taking cardiology and learning a ton. It’s amazing how successful natural treatments for high blood pressure are. Don’t get me wrong – I am fully supportive of conventional medicine and work with MDs all the time. Seattle is a very amazing city as the bridge between conventional and complementary medicine is solid. There’s a time for drugs and there’s a time for natural alternatives — and there’s a time for both at the same time.
(c) 2005 Benjamin Lynch of HealthE Goods
Thanks to Ben Lynch