20 year case of Eczema cured with St. John's Wort

Posted , 19 users are following.

I have already posted on my success story in other discussions, however, I think my case should be discussed over here, for the benefit of all those who suffer from this supposedly incurable condition and believe in exploring alternative routes.

I suffered from a severe case of Lichen Simplex Chronicus (aka Neurodermatitis) for about 20 years. Prescribed creams, suntanning, sea water baths, and various natural therapies may have provided some relief on occasion, however, the disease progressed overall, and I had just about given up...

...until something extraordinary happened a year and a half ago, when I decided to try St John's Wort to deal with a temporary and unrelated anxiety condition. I started taking 300mg a day, which worked very well for my anxiety, as the quality of my sleep improved quickly. What I was not expecting, was the dissappearance of all the red plaques, flaky skin, itching symptoms and oozing on my lesions after only 6 weeks! I then increased the dose to 600mg a day, and after about 5-6 months, all the scarring left behind from 20 years of combat with the disease was gone. I now have fresh new skin everywhere the lesions used to be, and signs of the disease have not returned for about a year.

Puzzled about this unexpected miracle as it was unfolding, research on the Web led me to a few explanations, one of which was the presence of a bacteria called Staphylococcus Aureus in the lesions of 90% of patients suffering from atopic dermatitis. Further reading lead me to a potent molecule in St John's Wort called Hyperforin. The molecule had been studied extensively to treat depression, but one of its less-documented properties was its high anti-microbial potency against Staphylococcus Aureus.

Additional reading about St John's Wort lead me to its documented use since antiquity in helping repair small cuts, bruises and burns, attributed to a second molecule called Hypericin.

I therefore have excellent reasons to believe that St. John's Wort extract helped in repairing my damaged skin and getting rid of a tough-to-beat bacterial infection, to which most conventional antibiotics are known to resist. Maybe most varieties of Atopic Dermatis are nothing more than a form of damage to the protective layers of the skin that eventually become colonized by Staph bacteria... We could speculate for hours, despite all the scientific theories about this disease being stress and immune-related. Nevertheless, I am cured and hope this information may help others in achieving comparable success.

good luck to all!

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  • Posted

    I've taken St John's Wort for years and it has numerous beneficial properties. Knowing that I studied herbalism a neighbour phoned me once to cure her horses warts on his nose that had suddenly appeared.

    I made her a poultic of St John's Wort and Marigold and she said the warts vanished within a few days!

    • Posted

      To be fair, I have not found any scientific evidence at this point that SJW may be helpful against the Papilloma virus that causes warts. However, SJW has shown some efficacy against the Herpes virus, so further research might just show that SJW has even more anti-viral properties than those currently being researched. It wouldn't surprise me one bit.
    • Posted

      It wouldn't surprise me either Greg, and I find my evidence in using herbs on myself and friends and family. I did train in herbalism and I'm careful. razz
    • Posted

      Oops forgot to say St John's Wort contains antiviral and antibacterial properties. If you want the best herbal encyclopedia (in my opinion) it's 'Bartram's Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine' Thomas Bartram.
    • Posted

      Yes, SJW has antiviral, antibacterial, antidepressor and anticarcinogenic properties. It is currently being studied to treat non-melanoma skin cancer along with light exposure. Hyperforin, its most studied molecule, is now being hailed as having the potential of being declared one of the most adaptogenic molecules in nature. That means that it can help the body cope with numerous illnesses, and we both constitute anecdotal evidence to that effect!
    • Posted

      Hi Greg,

      Can you recommend a particular brand / dosage for SJW please?

      many thanks!

    • Posted

      Hi Claire... To deal with what sort of condition if I may ask?

      As far as brands are concerned, I wouldn't be too concerned about quality as most manufacturers of SJW tablets use the same extraction process that guarantees a 0.3% Hypericin content. So as long as you can see that specification on the box, you should have a good product on hand for today's standards. I know chemists are working on a new extraction process that should help guarantee a better Hyperforin content in the future, but we are not there yet. 0.3% Hypericin pills are what I took all along without any issues and I tried several brand names until I settled for the most economical, which was that of my own drugstore's generic line of products.

    • Posted

      Hi Greg!

      Thanks for your detailed answer. Good to know.

      Unfortunately the condition is Lichen Sclerosus.

      I take 10mg of amiltriptyline a night but my doctor says there shouldn't be a problem with taking both.  Hope she's right!

    • Posted

      Thanks for the answer Claire. I think I understand why your doctor is not concerned... And that is likely because your daily dose of amitryptiline is low.  If she is not concerned, then I think you should trust her, but at the same time, if I were you, I would probably start off by taking the lowest possible dose of St. John's Wort extract you can find, to see how your body deals with both... at least for a little while. SJW pills are usually 300mg each, so unless you can find a manufacturer that makes them available in smaller doses, 300mg/day would have to be your starting point.

      In terms of efficiency, if your LS is also linked or aggravated by the Staph bacteria that is discussed in the scientific articles concerning eczema, I think 300mg. should still be quite helpful, since even very low blood plasma concentrations of hyperforin have been known to combat SA. 300mg. of SJW extract also happens to be the daily dose I was taking initially, and it only took 6 weeks to see my LSC plaques and symptoms completely dissappear.

      Hope this helps... As I always mention, we are all guinea pigs, so I hope this will produce positive results while leaving you side-effect free!

      Best of luck and please keep us posted on your progress!

       

  • Posted

    To all who suffer from skin diseases and who may still be looking for a good source of information about potential applications of St. John's Wort to help with various skin conditions... There is a great paper written by German Dermatologists and researchers that recaps what research has proven so far. It is a little long, and possibly a difficult read for many, since it contains quite a bit of scientific terminology; however, if you stick to what you can understand, it should prove to be an excellent source of hope that explains how this wonderful plant might assist you with your particular skin condition.

    Since it is not easy to post links on this forum, I will tell you how you should be able to find the PDF of this great paper quite easily: simply type Topical Applications of St. John's Wort Silae in your search engine, and the paper should appear at the top of your search engine results.

    I hope this research document ends up being as much a fascinating read as it was for myself.

    Cheers!

    Greg.

  • Edited

    Hi to all,

     I am 24 years old. I have been suffering from LSC for nearly 8 years. This severe itching showed up at my adolescence period. Itching area was the anus. But it was only itching when I go to bed or wake up in the morning. Otherwise I had no symptom of itching. Doctors gave me anti-parasites, antihistamines and bunch of non working stuff like those. 4 years ago I went to a general surgery doctor and he told me that I have "wet anus" problem and this is caused from stress and perfectionist personality. He did not gave me any medications. Just told me that try to relax myself and get rid of my perfectionist personality. By the way the wet anus is like there is liquid leakage that smells like rotten fish from your intestines to the outside of anus so this cause the itching. But over the years my disease evolved to lichen simplex. That terrible leakage has disappeared however the itching is still same. Of course over the years, I have become more informed patient about my disease but unfortunately it keeps evolving. Recently I got tinea cruris or something like that on my groin. Used first time corticosteroid cream and that helped a lot to both cure groin and lichen simplex. As I told you before it is still evolving and after the tinea cruris, lichen simplex has spread to my testicles. As you know, testicles have more sensitive skin and immediately respond to itching as peeling off and red and puffy. I overcome that as well with resisting and lowering my stress level though, now when I shave my testicles and around the penis, LSC is reappearing as old days. My condition is not severe like 6-7 years ago. I am more comfortable thank God. So this was my story about the disease. I came across this forum and naturally St John's Wort too. I want to throw off this illness permanently. I am a student pilot. I am not sure what are gonna be this drug's affects on me because we are checking up periodically so blood flow values are vital to me. Could you please enlight me about the side affects of SJW or any affects on blood values.

    Thank you all. 

    By the way, English is not my native tounge if I made any speech defect sorry for that smile 

    • Posted

      Hi Michael,

      Thanks for sharing your experience with LSC. 

      I haven't read much about St. John's Wort causing any major blood issues, except if you are taking the drug Warfarin (an anticoagulant blood thinner). A problem might also arise if you know you will be undergoing surgery soon, and that's when St. John's Wort should particularly be avoided. If you are taking any drug on a regular basis, you should check for possible interactions either through your doctor, pharmacist, or by consulting a serious pharmacological interaction website. Otherwise, there shouldn't be any major issue, but please remain aware that each person is different with any drug, and that's why I think people should first try St. John's Wort at the lowest possible dosage for an initial test period.

      As far as LSC being caused or linked to any psychological issue such as perfectionism, I now have serious doubts about this theory, because of my own experience and because the University of Michigan scientific articles point so well to a bacterial origin/contributing factor to atopic dermatitis. Even if there was indeed such a link, St. John's Wort should then help your mind deal with such complex emotional issues, since its main claimed benefit is to affect the brain's neurotransmitter levels favorably. I personally believe on the contrary that LSC itself is a serious cause of stress and anxiety due to all the scratching involved, and that once you are rid of it, your emotions should fare a lot better.

      I wish you good luck if you elect to try St. John's Wort, and invite you to keep us posted about your progress against LSC should that be the case.

      Regards,

      Greg.

  • Posted

    Thank you for the comment Greg. 

    I will keep posting my progress for sure. Looks like St. John's Wort is going to help me either side of the disease I mean the psychological and bacterial sides. So I decided to give it a try. But at the beginning, I'll try low dosage. Currently, I am not taking any drug on regular basis. Besides, I got my health certificate to start the pilotage. They checked me up from top to toe and thank God all the values were really good . I do not smoke or consume alcohol so I guess low dosage is not going to show major side effects. Could you please give me link of the product you used. I want to make sure buying the right one.

    Thank you 

    • Posted

      As I already explained further up, I tried several brand names of SJW extract until I settled for the one of my own local drugstore. Just select a product that certifies a 0.3% Hypericin content on the box, and you should have a reasonable product on hand. Most manufacturers use the same extraction process from the plant and it is impossible to know the quality of the plants that were used to manufacture the pills.

      Best of luck!

  • Posted

    Hello there,

    I started to take St. John's Wort and today I took my 4th pill. Up to now, there isn't any significant change with my symptoms. Itching is still continue. I know this is not a magical tablet so I will be patient by this period. However when I got the bottle I saw that warning sign on it :  "sould not be taken with tyramine containing foods such as aged cheese or meat" . Then I did little research about tyramine so I learned that when tyramine and some antidepressant drugs taken together, they can cause arrhythmia,fewer and vomiting.  I eat meat every dinner but try not to consume SJW for dinner. Thus I added a night snack to take the SJW. I consume it with oatmeal and milk. Can these foods cause the same affects with meat and cheese ? In the end, cheese and milk are both contain similar kind of proteins. That is why I want to make sure 

    Thank you 

    • Posted

      Hi Michael,

      This is new to me and interesting so I went on to read about it. Apparently, this possible interaction is not specific to St. John's Wort, but to all substances that fall in the category of MAO inhibitors. A FEW people got sick by taking MAO inhibitors and tyramide-rich foods; there is no indication of what doses of each they were taking, and apparently, this is a RARE interaction; this is probably also why I hadn't read about it before.  So it's good to know about, but you shouldn't be too concerned if you don't experience this interaction yourself! wink

      Incidentally, did you know that eating a hamburger with a slice of tomato inside causes a very bad digestive interaction? You see, it's easy to get worried, but most people won't even suffer a thing when certain substances don't agree with each other in the body.

      Potential results do take time to materialize: I've read about people feeling relief with SJW after only 2 weeks, some after only 12. In my case and to repeat myself, my LSC symptoms dropped suddenly after 6 weeks of use.

      Keep us informed about your progress!

       

    • Posted

      Hi again Michael,

      I realized I did not answer the part of your question concerning a possible interaction between SJW and milk or oatmeal. Based on what I read on the Mayo clinic website, there shouldn't be any concern.

      Also, the potential interaction with meat is limited to cured meats including Salami, Peperroni and sausages. If the meat you eat has not been treated with nitrites, you should probably not be concerned at all.

      Regards.

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