Apitherapy Helps Woman with Rare Genetic Disorder

The Butterfly Girl
Brenda Duran, North County Times (USA), 7/30/06

Rays of late-morning sunshine filter through the white miniblinds of Cristina Perez's window and illuminate the vivid patchwork of purple and red sores that cover her pale, 4-foot, 10-inch body.

Bending slowly forward on a padded table, Cristina, 23, flinches in pain as she unwinds the rolls of white gauze that keep her fragile skin from falling off…

She knows this hour of agony soon will be over, this constant reminder of the deadly disease that has haunted her since birth -- Epidermolysis Bullosa…

The rare, incurable genetic skin disorder known as EB affects 12,000 people in the United States and causes severe blistering inside and outside the body, making the epidermis fragile enough to fall off with a simple rub…

After years of trying all kinds of antibiotic creams, her back, the most affected part of her body, has become the latest guinea pig for healing potions, the one place she spends the most time trying to heal, she said.

She uses such natural remedies as "Egyptian Magic," a cream of olive oil and bee pollen, and Manuka honey, a speciality from Switzerland that resembles caramel.

The two are slathered on Cristina's back when she changes her bandages every other day. It is the first time in her life she said she has seen positive results.

To prove it, she has featured a "wound photo diary" on her Web site.