Health: Chinese Herbs Cure Eczema?

Auntie Beeb is reporting that a traditional Chinese herbal medicine may ease eczema symptoms, according to a study by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, reported in the British Journal of Dermatology.

The herbal concoction comprises these five herbs:
Flos lonicerae (Japanese honeysuckle)
Herba menthae (peppermint)
Cortex moutan (root bark of peony tree)
Atractylodes Rhizome (underground stem of the atractylodes herb)
Cortex phellodendri (Amur cork-tree bark)

The study focused on patients with atopic eczema - the most common type of the disease which affects at least one in ten children.

The researchers found the herbal remedy reduced patients' needs for the conventional treatment of topical steroids by an average of four days a month, compared to just one day a month in the placebo group. Patients using the herbal remedy showed lower blood levels of four proteins thought to have inflammatory effects linked with eczema. This finding was confirmed in lab tests in which the pentaherbs formulation was added to blood cells in a test tube.

La Casa de Los Gatos does not believe you should rush out and buy the Chinese herbs. For one thing, you'll need to find a Chinese herbal doctor and a source that verifies weight of the active ingredients and certifies their sources free of contamination.

On the other hand, we're really hopeful for friends of ours who might suffer from this or other related problems.

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