While we’re opposed to the draconian controls of alternative remedies proposed by the EU, a new study shows they do have a point.
Researchers have found that 20 of the 24 herbal creams for atopic eczema, which can be bought in UK health shops and pharmacies, contained high levels of steroids.
All the creams labeled ‘Wau Wau’ and two called ‘Muijiza’ contained the steroid clobetasol. The packet insert suggests using the cream ‘all over’, so an average three-year-old child would receive enough steroids to cause adrenal suppression.
(Source: Archive of Diseases in Childhood, 2003; 88: 1056-7).