Affectionately known as The Godfather of Australian Herbalism, Denis Stewart is a herbal medicine luminary. We are honoured to have him join us on FX Medicine today, as we pick his brain about one of the most tricky areas of clinical practice: chronic, itchy skin conditions.
Natural therapists often incorporate internal probiotic supplementation into the eczema regime, respecting the gut-skin axis, but what is commonly overlooked is the impact the microbiome residing on the skin’s surface has on eczema development and progression.
Eczema, or atopic dermatitis, is a pruritic, chronic, relapsing inflammatory skin disease, which has been increasing in prevalence since the 1960s; it affects up to 20% of people worldwide. An epidemiological survey found the highest rates to be in industrialised nations, including Australia and New Zealand, and suggested the increase in prevalence is due to interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Even though eczema is seen across all ages, it is most common in children, with 50% of the cases diagnosed by the age of one.
In this podcast, Amie shares her knowledge and experience in addressing the underlying causes of skin diseases.
