Chinese herbal treatment for eczema gets green light

In a study of 14 children with severe, persistent eczema treated at the Ming Qi Natural Health Center in Manhattan between August 2006 and May 2008, Julia Wisniewski, MD, of Mount Sinai Hospital and colleagues found that after eight months of treatment most of the children's symptoms had reduced to mild.

All of them drank Erka Shizheng Herbal Tea twice a day and soaked in an herbal bath for 20 minutes daily. They also applied an herbal cream to their skin two or three times a day and had acupuncture treatment. Improvement in symptoms and quality of life was seen as early as three months and within three months participants had also been able to reduce their use of steroids, antibiotics, and antihistamines.

‘There is clearly a need for alternative treatments for the skin condition’, Julia Wisniewski said, ‘because many patients continue to have flare-ups after decades on standard steroid and immune-suppressing therapies. The herbal treatments proved safe, with no abnormalities in liver and kidney function observed. Chinese medicine is definitely a very good alternative to conventional therapy for children with eczema.’

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March 2009

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