REBECCA WORRELL DIPS INTO A MEDICAL SPA IN FRANCE TO HELP HER ECZEMA...
The spa Avène Hydrotherapy Centre, Avène, near Montpellier, South of
France.
The mission As an eczema sufferer, I'm always interested in an
alternative to powerful steroid creams. In France patients with severe skin
conditions are referred by their GPs for a minimum three-week stay at the
Avène Hydrotherapy Centre.
USP The spring water used in all the spa treatments at Avène is reputed
to have extraordinary healing powers. Its soothing property may be on
account of its long filtering journey through the mountains before it
emerges in the springs at Avène.
Ambience Avène is a tiny hilltop village, with a population of about 80
people during the winter. However, when the spa is open, from April to
October, you'll find long traffic jams on the hairpin bends that wind their
way to the hydrotherapy centre. It is designed to help those with severe
skin problems, and this is reflected in its pristine, hospital-like
appearance. The staff are friendly and helpful, and clearly enthusiastic
about their specialist work.
Quality of experience Three weeks is the recommended stay at the
centre, and would no doubt have lowered my stress levels, and helped my
eczema. Unfortunately, I had time for only a long weekend, but even that was
long enough for the delightful setting to start working its magic. A
three-week stint usually begins with a consultation with a dermatolgist, who
prescribes a daily skincare regimen. Typically, this includes bathing and
showering several times a day in the spring water.
The centre is divided into individual bathrooms and shower cubicles, to which
the spring water is pumped. I had a 20-minute dip in a whirlpool bath, which
felt a bit chilly for comfort, but the tepid temperature was designed to
calm irritated skin. This was followed by ten minutes in a shower cubicle,
with a dozen nozzles propelling jets of spring water all over my body, then
spraying me with a fine mist.
Treatments are tailored to deal with patients' individual needs, for example,
to help treat psoriasis on the scalp, or even painful mouth ulcers.
Appropriately, the centre also offers workshops on applying camouflage
make-up.
Products Before my visit, my skincare regime was limited to aqueous
cream, a basic moisturiser, but I'm now a happy convert to The Avène range.
Products contain minimal ingredients, making them suitable for the most
sensitive skin.
In-crowd Families are welcome, and patients return year after year,
from as far afield as New Zealand and Canada. The spa gives people with
serious skin problems the rare opportunity to blend comfortably with those
around them, offering a psychological as well as a physical boost.
Food I'm not sure whether the asparagus risotto, chocolate cheesecake
and champagne served at the adjacent spa hotel, the Val d'Orb, are
particularly good for eczema, but they were very enjoyable.
Wallet watch Treatments cost from £500 for three weeks; three-star
Hotel Val D'Orb starts from £80 per night, based on two people sharing (00
33 4 67 23 4445). A cheaper option would be to rent an apartment: a flat at
La Résidence des Thermes costs from £432 a week.
Need to know Hydrotherapy Centre, Avène Les Bains; www.avenehydrotherapycenter.com
, 00 33 467234187; easyJet and Ryanair fly direct to Montpellier.
... WHILE SERENA MACKESY DISCOVERS A RAY OF HOPE FOR A PSORIASIS CURE IN
SLOVAKIA
The spa Smrdáky, near Senica, western Slovakia.
The mission To see if some intensive psoriasis treatment could treat
this demoralising skin condition.
USP A hospital, not a resort.
Ambience Although it's not glamorous, the rooms are private,
comfortable and the staff are terrific. However, entertainment is in short
supply and English-speaking TV is limited to CNN. The spacious grounds are a
delight, once your nose adjusts to a rotten-egg aroma. Smrdáky, by the way,
translates into English as “stinky”.
Quality of experience Amazing. After spending six weeks in my late teens in
the skin disorders unit of an NHS hospital, with a 40 per cent improvement,
I was astonished at the Smrdáky results. The spa recommends a stay of
three-plus weeks, but I improved by 80 per cent in ten days.
It takes some adjustment, though, as treatments are taken naked in a communal
(gender-segregated but with mixed staff) spa centre. Treatments include
familiar applications: tars, salicylic acid creams, moisturisers and daily
baths (strictly timed) in the hydrogen-sulphide-rich waters.
But the most important element is the combination of UV lamps in the winter
and summer sunbathing. The reason so many NHS-prescribed treatments don't
work, apparently, is that they're not combined with UV, which is the
psoriatic's magic bullet, and the waters encourage this healing process.
Months later, my skin is still much improved.
Products The spa doesn't use anything you can buy, and the waters
deteriorate in storage.
In-crowd Psoriatics, mainly from Central and Eastern Europe, many on
health insurance.
Food Bland (spicy foods inflame psoriasis) but plentiful. All meals are
done and dusted by 6.30pm, which can leave the evenings hanging heavy.
Wallet watch A ten-night Intensive Spa Package (including flights, two
medical examinations, up to five daily treatments as prescribed, plus all
meals) at the Hotel Centrál starts from £599, with Well-being Escapes; the
same package at the three-star Hotel Morava, from £649.
Need to know Contact Wellbeing Escapes on 0845 6026202, www.wellbeingescapes.co.uk
Have other psoriasis sufferers tried taking cod liver oil? I now take it every day, and it's made a huge difference to the psoriasis on my scalp.
Helen, Paris,
Nearer ( in France too), you could try the La Roche Posay Centre and Spa where psoriasis treatment is as great as in Avène ( I am a psoriasis sufferer too!)
chantal, poitiers, france
David
If only my husband had known about Sudocrem then he wouldnt have had to endure 23 years of severe psoriasis and the gruelling routine of treatments, including one which has now left him with liver damage.Nappy cream being more effective than Biologics?
Not self- indulgent,just desperate
Dawn , newport, wales UK
Hmm, yes, very self-indulgent. Though not exactly a daily treatment that can be continued at home. There is, fortunately, a much cheaper and more practical treatment that you're probably more familiar with for treating your babies' nappy rash - Sudocrem. Try it. It works for eczema, too!
David, Cheshire,