Psoriasis Doctor

Question:

I have used the Dead Sea Salts many times. It did seem to soothe my skin, but I did not see any improvement in the psoriasis. I have also used the Aveeno oatmeal treatments (and the genric forms of it, too, which work as well) & I had the same experience. Very soothing & moisturizing, but not really a treatment for psoriais. When I first developed psoriasis, I had trouble finding the Dead Sea Salts. Now, they seem to be everywhere. I have seen them at the drugstore & at several health & mineral stores around where I live. The last time I went to TJ Maxx, they had a whole line of Dead Sea products (lotion, bathsoap, soaking salts,etc) for a very cheap price. I tried some of that stuff out, too, but again, no medicial cure-all to be found. I have heard that going to the Dead Sea is a great idea if you can afford it. I also saw a very strange piece on Animal Planet once & was wondering if anyone else had seen it or knows what I am talking about–there is someplace in the general area of the Dead Sea where you may go & soak & there are fish in the water that will nibble on your psoriasis scales. I have no idea what the fish were called, but doctors believe there is something in their salivia that helps psoriasis clear up (why aren’t they bottling this stuff??)There was even footage of psoriasis sufferers sitting in the water & of the fish swimming up to them–I know this sounds really bizarre, but I am not making it up. I wish I had paid more attention at the time. Anyway, there are my two cents, and if you have any idea what I am talking about in the last paragraph, please let me know. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > any recommendations on how much to use in a bath  , where to purchase, and any > therapy to use in conjunction  paul

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I have used the Dead Sea Salts many times. It did seem to soothe my > skin, but I did not see any improvement in the psoriasis. I have also > used the Aveeno oatmeal treatments (and the genric forms of it, too, > which work as well) & I had the same experience. Very soothing & > moisturizing, but not really a treatment for psoriais. > When I first developed psoriasis, I had trouble finding the Dead Sea > Salts. Now, they seem to be everywhere. I have seen them at the > drugstore & at several health & mineral stores around where I live. > The last time I went to TJ Maxx, they had a whole line of Dead Sea > products (lotion, bathsoap, soaking salts,etc) for a very cheap price. > I tried some of that stuff out, too, but again, no medicial cure-all > to be found. > I have heard that going to the Dead Sea is a great idea if you can > afford it. > I also saw a very strange piece on Animal Planet once & was wondering > if anyone else had seen it or knows what I am talking about–there is > someplace in the general area of the Dead Sea where you may go & soak > & there are fish in the water that will nibble on your psoriasis > scales. I have no idea what the fish were called, but doctors believe > there is something in their salivia that helps psoriasis clear up (why > aren’t they bottling this stuff??)There was even footage of psoriasis > sufferers sitting in the water & of the fish swimming up to them–I > know this sounds really bizarre, but I am not making it up. I wish I > had paid more attention at the time. > Anyway, there are my two cents, and if you have any idea what I am > talking about in the last paragraph, please let me know.

What you saw was in Turkey not Israel. Search for kangal fish and you will find it. I know a guy who went there. It didn’t work half as well as the dead sea. The clearance he saw was contributed to a cream they supplied. He had a bad flare up after he stopped using the cream. So he  suspects it contained corticosteriods.

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http://pinch.com/skinny?skin=%22nibble+fish%22 That should give you the results of a search under the term "nibble fish" which you should find interesting.  Nope, not a cure, nor even a common treatment, but interesting none-the-less. Here is a recent post by Ed on the topic, which is a common one around here: The topic of the turkish nibble-fish has come around yet again. These "doctor fish" that reportedly nibble away psoriasis can be experienced at a thermal spa near the town of Kangul, in the province of Sivas, Turkey.  Here’s some historical newsgroup posts: http://pinch.com/skinny?skin=nibblefish+or+kangal For an inspiring story about psoriatic comraderie at the spa, see this story by Ron Alcalay from 1995 that first got my attention: http://english-www.hss.cmu.edu/BS/21/alcalay.html I’ve been advised that there are now people breeding and selling the fish for home treatment. They seem to be coming from Germany, but there are websites in Switzerland and at least one spa in Austria: http://pinch.com/skinny?web=garra-rufa+aquarium The little carp naturally appear in other places in the mideast and are probably in aquariums around the world, but this selling of the fish with the spa story apparently has the turkish tourism folks upset. They put out a newspaper blurb (in response to a story I can’t find online) saying that the stories are a fraud, the fish were "stolen" away to Germany, and they can’t survive outside the spa: http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/11_24_01/dom2.htm#d20 The fish seem to be breeding just fine in aquariums, and there are photos of them nibbling just like at Kengal. Some detailed reports from the spa describe two subspecies, a "licker" and "striker" (ouch). Another research study reports that the spa fish breeding habits are in sync with the peak tourist seasons, possibly because of the increased food supply… I’m sure the story (and the fish) will continue to spread far and wide, given the demand for all natural alternative treatments. Funny thing, one site claims that the fish actually inject enzymes and a bit of natural dithranol (anthralin) back into the skin. That’s highly unlikely. It will be interesting to see how far the speculation goes. — Ed "scaled back" Anderson LadyAndy Chat live with us at >http://tinyurl.com/4ust < (this is at iVillageHealth – my chats are on Sun evenings at 10 ET) Joint Replacement Board at http://boards.ivillagehealth.com/cgi-bin/boards/bhivhjointreplace

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any recommendations on how much to use in a bath  , where to purchase, and any therapy to use in conjunction  paul

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