Apis Mellifera Skin Care Cream is a natural skin care product containing an extract from the hive of the honey bee ( species Apis Mellifera ). There is anecdotal evidence from case reports that this cream may relieve the symptoms of eczema and psoriasis, and produce a marked improvement in these skin conditions with continued usage. To date there have been no controlled clinical trials assessing the efficiency of this product. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the efficacy of Apis Mellifera Skin Care Cream in the treatment of atopic eczema.

A randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial was carried out involving 16 children aged between 3 - 11 years in the Wellington area who were known to suffer from eczema. Each child was given either active Apis Mellifera Skin Care Cream or placebo ( containing the base cream ) and instructed to apply to the affected area twice daily for a 4 week period. Efficacy was assessed by a self-administered questionaire based on the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index ( CDLQI ). This was completed before treatment was commenced, and at the end of each week ( 5 assessments in total ). An overall impression on the efficacy of treatment was also assessed by asking each subject ( or parent ) whether they thought the treatment was effective ( yes / no ).

Participants receiving the active product reported that treatment was effective more often than those receiving placebo ( 5/8 vs. 0/8, p<0.01, chi-square test ). There was a trend of symptom scores to be lower in the active product group compared with placebo, however this was not statistically significant.

The results from this preliminary study suggest that Apis Mellifera Skin Care Cream is beneficial in the treatment of eczema. They also suggest that it would be worthwhile to undertake a more detailed clinical study, which would involve a larger number of subjects and include objective as well as subjective measures of efficacy. While awaiting the outcome of such studies, cautious support can be given to the claims of the manufacturer that Apis Mellifera Skin Care Cream is effective in the treatment of eczema.

References
1. Davidson, R. Natural Apis Mellifera Honey Bee Skin Care.
2. Lewis-Jones, MS. Finlay, AY. The Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI ) : Initial validation and practical use. Br J Dermatol 1955 : 132 : 942 - 949.