Skin Disease and Pain
Relief from Skin Pain
(ARA) - After suffering his entire life from a devastating skin disease, 45-year old Joe Montgomery has a new lease on life and relief from decades of pain. Diagnosed at age three with Ichthyosis, a skin disease that affects approximately one million Americans, Joe’s condition grew more severe with each passing year. His skin from head to toe was covered in dry scales that looked, he says, like alligator skin. Not only were these scales unsightly, they were painful and itchy as well.
As a child and young adult, Montgomery suffered through excruciating treatments to try to rid his skin of the scales. He tried various drugs, ointments and even unorthodox approaches such as wrapping his body in Saran wrap and viciously scrubbing his skin. Montgomery had even tried creams mixed with acid to burn off the scales and bathing in water and motor oil. In addition to the physical pain, Montgomery suffered years of torment and ridicule. “I could take the stares, I would just look away.
But the names -- they called me ‘scaley Joe’ and the teasing; they chipped away at my self-esteem. I wished at times that I could make myself invisible.” Now, Joe Montgomery’s condition has drastically improved -- the scales that once covered his body are literally falling off revealing fresh healthy skin underneath. “It really is amazing. I have tried every treatment known to man, some incredibly painful, nothing ever worked until this new Remedy.
Best of all, the regimen was not painful and the scales are not coming back. In the past, if I could get them off -- sometimes by scrubbing so hard I would bleed, they would grow back with a vengeance -- twice as thick and twice as painful.” Montgomery’s relief came thanks to a chance encounter with a St. Louis-based nurse and a new skin regimen called Remedy. Introduced last year by Illinois-based Medline Industries, Inc.,
Remedy contains a key ingredient, Olivamine, a proprietary blend of antioxidants, amino acids and methylsulfonylmethane (MSM). MSM is known to inhibit the conduction of pain -- perhaps one of the reasons Montgomery’s use has been pain-free. All Remedy products contain Olivamine to help nourish the skin with amino acids -- the building blocks of collagen. In addition, Remedy contains the most potent antioxidant known today, hydroxytyrosol, found in the pulp of olives.
Hydroxytyrosol helps repair cell membranes and fight against the damage caused by free radicals, restoring cells to a healthy state. Montgomery was introduced to the products when he met the husband of a nurse at his place of employment. “I have always worked in low-profile positions -- out of the public eye. Life has been tough with this disease and I get very self-conscious and always tried to cover-up my body with long sleeves and pants, but you can’t hide your face. I told the nurse that I would try it, but if it hurt -- forget it.
Boy am I grateful that I did.” “I had been using the Remedy products with a lot of elderly patients whose skin is compromised and diabetic patients whose skin is often at risk of break-down. I knew Remedy could help Joe, but I didn’t know that the results would be so dramatic,” says Cynthia Fleck, R.N., BSN, MBA, ET/WOCN, CWS, DAPWCA, a certified wound specialist and secretary/treasurer of the American Academy of Wound Management. “I am excited about the possibilities for Joe and for other patients.
I think we’ve only tapped the surface of what these products are capable of.” “We started with the concept of developing a line of skin care products that could nourish skin at a cellular level. The end result has exceeded our expectations,” says Jonathan Primer, Medline Dermal Management Systems president. “The biochemistry and formulation teams did a phenomenal job executing the concept. While the demand for the product has been phenomenal, helping people like Joe is especially gratifying.”
A recent study conducted by another Certified Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurse, Marge Groom, RN, BSN, MSHCA, ET/CWOCN, DAPWCA has chronicled remarkable benefits to patients using Remedy. Groom recently conducted a study of patients who had a variety of severe skin issues at Memorial Hospital in Belleville, Ill. After using Remedy, the irritated skin areas of all the patients improved significantly resulting in increased moisture level, skin integrity, increased skin/wound care outcomes and increased skin health and appearance. “
We tried Remedy on our most critically ill patients with the most difficult and painful skin disorders. After using Remedy for two weeks, there was a significant increase in skin health and appearance,” says Groom. “Remedy also improved staff compliance since it is non-irritating and there is no stinging upon application.” For more information on Remedy skin care visit www.medline.com.
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