by YM, Ibaragi City, Japan, 28 years old. Feb.'96

Now that I am finally free from the itching that almost drove me crazy, my everyday life is cheerful, joyous, and comfortable. I am filled with happiness and gratitude. But, to be truly honest, I still feel vexed and angry about what happened to me.

Since I was a child, my skin was sensitive and I was prone to dry skin and infections especially around the elbows and the knees. It was nothing very serious and I was living a normal life just like others did. However, in the winter when I was 19, I all of a sudden started to itch all over my body. It was really abrupt. I literally scratched myself from head to toe and to the extent that there was no spot left unscratched. My skin was smeared with blood. My condition seemed hopeless. I had no idea that amalgam, used in my dental treatment when I was 17 years old, was the cause of my condition.

Stereoid treatment

I started to use steroid ointment prescribed by a University Hospital near my home. Back then the media had just started reporting on the side-effects of steroids. I was a bit concerned, but I concluded that the steroid ointment must be safe enough since it had been prescribed for me at the University Hospital. I also thought that, since I would soon be cured, I wouldn't have to use the ointment for very long. Although I felt that applying the ointment was not such a good idea, I talked myself into doing it anyway and applied it all over my body. I realized that this was a really powerflil cure since a doctor

told me -"Never apply the ointment on your face".

For the next eight years I kept going back to the hospital to receive more of the steroid ointment as soon as I ran out of it. During that period I graduated from junior college, got a job, got married and gave birth to a child. This is a period of my life during which I was pickled in steroids. I had no pain since the steroid was so powerful and therefore I did not try to find the cause of my eczema nor did I try to improve my lifestyle. In my naive belief l thought that as long as I had the ointment I was OK

Allergic to dental amalgam

Shortly after I gave birth to my daughter, the magic ointment didn't seem to be as effective as before, no matter what amount I used. Then my neighbour introduced me to Dr. Kohdera and my painful struggle with atopic dermatitis started. Dr Kohdera was very different from the other doctors I knew. He was really enthusiastic, and told me:-"If you find the cause of your problem, it will surely be cured." Hearing this, I made up my mind to follow him no matter what. Back then my skin was in the worst possible condition, so crumbled up and raw that a patch test was impossible. The result of a blood test (Lymphocyte Proliferation Test) showed that I was highly allergic to dental amalgam. I was also highly allergic to mites, pollen, metal and some food groups. I was immediately referred to the Osaka University Hospital to have my dental fillings removed and I waited to see the result. At the same time, I switched my old bed linen to a mite allergen-free bed linen-set by Yamasei as a measure to ward off mites. I also got rid of old carpets and a couch made of fabric. I switched from a fan heater using petroleum to an electric fan heater since the former polluted the air in the house. Thinking about how costly having atopic eczema could be, I felt a bit dejected.

Withdrawal syndrome

Then the steroid withdrawal syndrome began. It was beyond my imagination. My skin was crumbled just like the bottom of a dried up dam. There seemed to be no liquid or oil left in my skin and it was terrible. Even a small amount of perspiration caused itching. After taking a batch it itched again. when I went to bed I couldn't sleep due to the unbearable itching. It itched around the clock. It was impossible for me to forget about the itching even for a short while. I was getting more and more tired. It took almost all of my energy just to take care of myself, and it was too much to take care of my husband and child also. I had to squeeze the last bit of my energy just to give my child a bath at night. I was exhausted all the time and irritated. Our family couldn't live a normal life because of me. I felt most vexed when I found out that my left eye had cataract seven months after I stopped using the steroid. Now I can see objects at a distance after surgery but not things close to me. I tell myself that this has to be my fate.

I had the amalgam fillings removed from my teeth, was careful about mites and what to eat, used alkali ion water, was careful about cleaning the house, looked at every aspect of daily life in connection with atopic dermatitis, hoping that I would be cured. I was slowly getting better but couldn't quite forget about itching and every day was painful. Sometimes I thought that ones constitution wouldn't change so easily, no matter how hard one tried. when I realized that a lot of people were suffering from atopic dermatitis I couldn't think positively. There were days when I felt that I didn't want to live any more and that my body would disappear.

Quick recovery

Then one day I had a terrible toothache. One year and eight months prior to this, I had my amalgam filling removed to get rid of the cause of the atopic dermatitis, but the teeth were left unfilled since there was no dental material fit to use (in order to prevent allergic symptoms), and those teeth developed cavities! I went back to the same dentist who had removed the amalgam filling and had an Xray of all my teeth. Then, two amalgam fillings were discovered in my mouth that had been believed to be amalgam free! Since they were my wisdom teeth, I had them extracted. But the discovery was shocking. Two months after the extraction, my skin became amazingly smooth. It was as though the bad substance was draining from my body. The pain that had haunted me day and night was suddenly lifted from me and I could sleep like a baby and get up feeling fine. It was such a quick recovery that I wondered if I really did have atopic derinatitis after all. The better I got the more I realized that the biggest cause, after all, was the two amalgam fillings forgotten in my teeth. As I realized this, I wanted an apology from my dentist, who overlooked those amalgam fillings.

It was no use regretting what had happened. I had to accept it. During those years filled with pain I fought face to face with my atopic eczema. With support from those around me, including Dr Kohdera and my family, I have learned a lot. I have learned that our bodies react even to such tiny dental fillings, and that the environment of one's house and the earth are really crucial to our health. Now I think those two years were not meaningless.

I am really happy that I met Dr Kohdera*, who gave me constant support regardless of my condition. My gratitude towards him cannot be expressed by mere words such as "thank you". I am truly, truly grateful. Now that I am healthy, my husband and I are thinking about having a second baby.

I hope the day will come when all people who suffer from atopic derinatitits will recover just like I did and have smiles and laughter.

Dr Tsunetoshi Kohdera, Japan. Fax: 81 75 3221633.