Bee's neurodermatitis and experience with propolis

Neurodermatitis, also known as atopic eczema, is a skin disease (lat: dermatitis). Those affected (also known as neurodermatitis sufferers) suffer from a chronic, inflamed skin disease. I have also had neurodermatitis since I was a child. In this blog article, I would like to tell you about my experience with neurodermatitis and how I came to use propolis. I hope you enjoy reading it and that it inspires you to get the skin disease under control in the long term. Important to know: Atopic dermatitis cannot be cured, but we can reduce the flare-ups (progression and phases of the symptoms of atopic dermatitis) with our lifestyle and diet and learn to live with this chronic skin disease. 💛

Atopic dermatitis already occurs in childhood

Did you know that atopic dermatitis is already diagnosed in 20% of all babies and children? (1) In Germany, every 5th person suffers from atopic dermatitis, a widespread disease. I received my first diagnosis at the age of 6. My mother has neurodermatitis herself, as do my two brothers. This confirms that neurodermatitis is genetically predisposed and hereditary. I was diagnosed and the dermatologist immediately prescribed me my first cortisone ointment. I was told to use the cortisone ointment for my visible and unbearable flare-ups. An atopic dermatitis flare-up consists of different phases, which is unfortunately a never-ending vicious circle:

Reddened skin barrier function due to internal inflammation
Skin is dry and possibly slightly cracked
The first bacteria, irritants and allergy triggers can already penetrate the open skin areas
Skin is visibly reddened and inflamed
itching is triggered and leads to scratching
Scratching irritates the skin, which in turn destroys the skin barrier

In the case of visible and unbearable flare-ups, cortisone ointment comes into play, which is applied to the areas several times a day until the skin has "healed". This process was the same for me, although the frequency of my flare-ups was rather rare. They were favored by external factors such as stress, weather or allergies. In extreme heat and also in winter, I struggled extremely with it and at some point it was not only annoying for me as a young woman, but also a burden on my self-confidence; my hands were not beautiful during flare-ups, as was the case with many other young women my age.

From cortisone ointments to propolis tincture

But how did the switch from cortisone to propolis come about? My family has always placed great value on naturopathy and medicinal herbs, so flower pollen and propolis in particular were always a part of my childhood. I was always allowed to take 1 teaspoon of flower pollen and propolis before setting off on my way to school (at this point I understand every child who doesn't like propolis) and yes, I wasn't a fan of this combination, but as my mother always said so beautifully "it strengthens your body and concentration for school". Who would have thought that one day I would be selling propolis, little Bee definitely didn't, at that time she wanted to be an astronaut. In that case, the propolis served to support me from the inside out, which was probably the reason why my neurodermatitis flare-ups were never as extreme as those of other sufferers.

About 15 years later in Landau, during the most stressful phase of my life, I had an atopic dermatitis flare-up with all the symptoms, dry, itchy and inflamed skin. However, I didn't have any cortisone ointment to hand, just a propolis tincture. Florian said at that moment, "You've already read so much about skin care with propolis in the news and studies, why don't you try it, it can't do you any harm."

No sooner said than done, I put the propolis tincture between my fingers and the following photo was taken at that moment:

I repeated the whole thing several times a day, just like with a cortisone ointment. Four days later, my fingers were as good as healed, there was no sign of my dry and cracked fingers. The itching was there during the flare-up, but when I applied the propolis, it was as if it had been contained and was no longer present. It was an incredible moment for me, my "solution" had been in my mother's medicine cabinet for years but we never thought of using it. At that moment I knew I had to recommend it to other sufferers.

Is cortisone ointment bad?

I wouldn't call cortisone ointment "bad" directly, it is necessary in extreme areas of application. However, cortisone ointment has no place on the skin of babies and children. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the side effects such as inflammation of the hair roots, thinning of the skin, pigmentation disorders due to white spots or the formation of stretch marks. This makes me wonder why it should be used on children when the body is still maturing. There is also the aspect that if cortisone ointments are used too frequently, the body becomes resistant to these active ingredients so that they can no longer react and be absorbed by the body in an urgent emergency.

Unlike propolis, studies (2) have shown that this natural product contains over 300 ingredients, of which only 150 are known and cannot be chemically reproduced. The composition of propolis is therefore highly complex, which makes it very special. The bee product is highly valued in naturopathy as a homeopathic remedy for humans. In many countries where chemical antibiotics cannot be produced, bee resin (propolis) is used as an alternative. Why do we tend to use chemical rather than natural products for our bodies? The only known side effect of propolis can be allergic reactions, which means checking in advance if there is an allergy to propolis or bee products.

My solution is the solution of many others. The above 1st experience with propolis is my last neurodermatitis episode, which was almost 2 years ago. In that time I have founded bedrop and with my experience I have been able to help thousands of people from babies, toddlers to adults to care for their skin with a natural remedy. It is not a miracle cure, but according to studies it is a natural remedy for skin care and support for such complaints.

Click here for our bedrop propolis tinctures.

You can read a testimonial from a customer in this blog article:
Propolis for atopic dermatitis and eczema | customer feedback & testimonial

Sources:

(1) gesundheitsinformation.de: Neurodermatitis, January 20, 2021

(2) Kurek-Górecka, M et. al. (2020)"Bee Products in Dermatology and Skin Care";
Hellner et al. (2008)."Apitherapy: Usage And Experience In German Beekeepers"