Alternative Therapies for Fighting Eczema Hold Promise, But Dermatologists Caution They Are No Substitute for Proven Medical ...( BOSTON July 29 -- ...),Health

BOSTON, July 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Despite having access to some of the best health care in the world, many Americans with the most common form of eczema, known as atopic dermatitis, have sought relief from "alternative medicines." However, dermatologists caution that patients seeking alternative treatments to alleviate symptoms of this common, chronic, inflammatory skin disease marked by red, itchy rashes, risk developing more severe symptoms by delaying treatment.

At the American Academy of Dermatology's Summer Academy Meeting 2009 in Boston, dermatologist Peter A. Lio, M.D., FAAD, assistant professor of dermatology and pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, discussed why eczema patients try alternative therapies and how certain therapies used in conjunction with clinically tested medical treatments could hold promise in further improving the condition.

"Part of the difficulty in understanding why people seek alternative medicine lies in defining this term," said Dr. Lio. "Broadly speaking, it encompasses treatments such as acupuncture, homeopathy and holistic medicine outside of the form of medicine taught in most U.S. medical schools. But people use the term for anything from chicken soup to any lotion or potion sold on the Internet to a new dietary supplement. Unfortunately, a great deal of snake oil can hide under the umbrella of alternative medicine."

Dr. Lio believes there are two main reasons that patients try alternative therapies for eczema. The first reason is that since the cause of eczema is not fully understood nor why it occurs in some people and not others, treatments are based on controlling the symptoms rather than fixing the root cause. Secondly, an increasing number of patients are looking for natural non-medical therapies that do not pose the known side effects of some of the traditional medications.'/>"/>