I am becoming more and more alarmed at the amount of infants and children coming to see me who have been on steroids constantly over prolonged periods of time. Some of them several years. Mums on a cycle of repeat prescriptions dished out by a GP, without question.
When we look at the NICE guidelines for corticosteroid use https://bnf.nice.org.uk/treatment-summary/topical-corticosteroids.html
we see that it is advised that even mild (0.1-2.5 %) topical steroids are only used for a duration of 1-2 weeks on infants & children, this is because children are more susceptible to side effects. In rare cases adrenal suppression and Cushing’s syndrome can occur. I have seen children on very potent strength steroids, like Betnovate, applied daily.
In the UK in 2015 almost 27 MILLION prescriptions were written out for topical skin treatments, costing £169 MILLION! Figures suggest 15 MILLION people in the UK are affected by eczema, to varying severity. This is a massive amount of money for a treatment that doesn’t actually address the eczema, it palliates the skin symptoms, but the root cause is not addressed and the skin then becomes reliant on steroids to suppress the eczema. I have had parents tell me they are religiously applying a steroid and the eczema just appears on another part of the body - which hasn’t been affected before. These poor parents are literally chasing eczema around their children's bodies.
It seems a joke to me that Homeopathy is becoming less available on the NHS, it is so effective at treating eczema, it doesn’t suppress, has no side effects and won’t thin or damage a childs delicate skin (and I have seen my fair share of adults now suffering with long term steroid skin damage because of steroid overuse). £169 MILLION is being spent on a cream that does not cure the condition
The irony is that homeopathy is affordable, gentle and non addictive - so it has no appeal to a pharmaceutical company. But I continue to wage my war on steroids. I know there is a better way than these topical creams. I know that homeopathy heals in a way that is more than skin deep, it may not always be an overnight fix, but its goal is to heal at a far deeper level than a cream could ever reach.
Conventional medicine says eczema is not curable, and this is true within the capabilities of conventional drugs. Homeopathy says otherwise, and I see this in action every day
Skin heals when the root cause is addressed