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

Posted , 19 users are following.

greg73500
greg73500

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!

11 likes, 89 replies

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  • michael2635
    michael2635 greg73500

    Posted

    Hello again, 

    Thanks for your detailed answers greg. It's been 17 days since my last post here. I can say my complain about itching is reduced a little. I use the term a little because I thought that SJW would have an effect on my skin gradually but it is still nearly same for 17 days. In my last post I had already taken 4 pills and I think that 21 days is enough for this response. So I quit taking SJW pills but I apply SJW oil directly on my skin. I must say It helped much better than the pills. But I'm not sure how to use properly this oil right now. It is not a brand bottled oil. My brother was using this oil for his skin scars 2 years ago and he took from one of his friends in a different jar.Also I couldnt find any instructions about applying this oil on the internet. I appreciate if you can help me with this and also I'd like to hear about your progression while using SJW. Did it helped gradually or instant ? 

    Regards

    • michael2635
      michael2635

      Posted

      Sorry greg. I read your last 2 posts again and got informed about your progress. Sorry for asking again and again but I can not check the forum on regular basis so I can easily forget the details about the posts 
    • greg73500
      greg73500 michael2635

      Posted

      Hi Michael,

      Great to hear about your progress with SJW!

      I don't think you should have expected anything miraculous with the systemic treatment (pills) in so little time. It took 6 weeks for me to notice a sudden disappearance of my lesions, then the scars went away very slowly until they were completely gone after 5-6 months. 

      This is an experimental treatment, so I can only speculate as to why it would take so much time to experience relief with the pills while many people notice benefits immediately when applying the oil, but here is what I believe is occuring, if the theory about the Staph infection is correct: when you apply oil, you immediately affect the superficial layers of the skin, where most of the inflammation/infection is taking place. However, the damage to the skin layers runs deeper, perhaps somewhat below the epidermis, a place where the oil may not be able to penetrate fully. This is why a systemic approach may be more beneficial, because you are treating the disease from the inside out, as opposed to the inside in. It probably does take more time for this process to manifest its benefits, but likely provides better chances for a complete cure. If I were you, I would carry on using both treatments, that is the oil for instantaneous relief, and the systemic treatment for a potential permanent cure.

      I haven't read anything particular about how often to apply the oil to the skin, but I guess you should go with what seems to work best in terms of relief.

      to come back to the risk of potential interactions with Tyramine-rich foods, I wanted to let you know that I was a big consumer of blue cheese, that happens to be very rich in Tyramine, and that I never experienced any side-effects while taking St. John's Wort.

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

      Greg

    • greg73500
      greg73500

      Posted

      Sorry... Small mistake and because the posts can't be edited, here is what I should have written in a sentence above: "You are treating the disease from the inside out as opposed to the outside in"... I hope you understood what I meant.

      Regards.

    • greg73500
      greg73500

      Posted

      Finally, to address your concerns about the sources of oil... Imthink that you will have a very hard time in finding "pharmaceutical grade SJW oil". Most of it is home-made so it is of course very hard to know the quality of the ingredients that were employed. But that's generally OK, as long as the oil has a nice ruby color. Also, you should try to know for how long it has been stored as most of the medicinal properties in the oil may be lost after 6 months or so. Finally, it is important to store the oil in a dark bottle, away from sunlight, as some of the medicinal ingredients might otherwise oxydize prematurely.
    • claire12259
      claire12259 greg73500

      Posted

      Hi Greg,

      As you are you very knowledgable about SJW I hope you dont mind me asking a non related question! My husband has just started taking it for anxiety/panic attacks.  How long do you think he should take it for before feeling the affects and what dose do you recommend please ? Thank you!!! 

    • greg73500
      greg73500 claire12259

      Posted

      Hi Claire,

      No problem Claire, I'm always happy to answer any question about SJW, as long as people understand I am no doctor, but only someone who has been successful treating several conditions with the extract.

      Based on my extensive reading on the web, I've noticed most people including myself tend to start feeling relief from insomnia/anxiety after 2 weeks of use. I was taking 300mg/day at the time, but then, my anxiety issue was likely benign in comparison with that of your husband. If indeed his level of anxiety is rather high, he should be taking at least 900mg/day. Trials have been conducted successfully and with benign side-effects with as much as 1,800mg/day. Again, everyone is different so the best strategy is probably to start off low, incrementing the doses little by little. If unwanted side-effects appear, either decrease the dose or discontinue the treatment based on the intensity of the side-effects. Usually and for most people, side-effects will be unexistent.

      Best of luck!

  • Lindseyjoy
    Lindseyjoy greg73500

    Posted

    Thank you so much for posting this info.. it makes perfect sense to me.. I have severe eczema on my right foot and I believe it has a secondary infection.. I am getting St Johns Wort today..  excited to try this!
    • greg73500
      greg73500 Lindseyjoy

      Posted

      Hi LindseyJoy,

      I am glad you have found this thread and hope you will be as successful as many others thanks to this wonderful plant. Maybe you will be posting again in a few weeks to let us know that you don't remember ever suffering from this annoying disease!

      Best of luck!

      Greg

  • Light
    Light greg73500

    Posted

    Thanks both of you, Greg and Eileen.

    I have eczema, not as bad as you, clearly. But it's there alright!

    I am also on prednisolone and metheotrexate, as well as a slew of supplements.

    Eileen, you're the expert... Do you know if SJW is counterindicated with those heavies?

    • greg73500
      greg73500 Light

      Posted

      Hi Light,

      Although you have asked the question to Eileen, she does not appear to answer, but one should always check for potential interactions by typing the names of the drugs involved in their search engines in the first place, and confirm the information with their health professional.

      According to RXlist and several other web sites, these two drugs are big no-nos with SJW, sorry. If you consult your health professional, he may tell you otherwise, based on doses taken, but this is not an experiment you should attempt without medical supervision.

      All the best,

      Greg.

    • Light
      Light greg73500

      Posted

      Thank you so much!

      I had a feeling I'd seen this before, which was why I asked.

      Grateful for not having to probe around in the mire of the net to get this info.

    • rex_44766
      rex_44766 Light

      Posted

      Hi Light - this may not apply to you but I tried to fix my reflux by giving my stomach a rest by living on just 2 litres of fresh vegetable juice for 21 days. No it didnt fix my reflux but it did clear up all my facial liver spots. They just went all scaley and then fell off. I looked 20 years younger (my opinion only!) Sadly I did this in winter - not a good idea but a very fast way to lose weight. I was never hungry.
    • greg73500
      greg73500 rex_44766

      Posted

      That is correct Rex... I have read about people being able to manage/improve their atopic skins through major changes in their diets. It isn't an easy way out of eczema, but when potential solutions such as oral SJW cannot be tried due to interactions with conventional medicine, it may be something to look into.

      I also forgot to mention, based on the article written by the German dermatologists indicated above, that when oral SJW is not an option, SJW creams or oils applied topically can still be used on lesions because so little of their active components are absorbed systemically. The main problem with SJW and some conventional medication arises when both mix together inside the liver. 

      Glad to hear you were able to improve your condition through diet change, something I was never able to do when I suffered from skin disease.

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