Last month’s article discussed abnormal PAPs and HPV, if you haven’t had a chance to read it go here. This month I wanted to discuss what escharotic treatment is and how it compares to allopathic treatment of cervical dysplasia. Basically, escharotic treatment is a series of topical applications to the cervix that kill abnormal cervical cells and HPV while sparing healthy cells. It does not cause scarring or damage to the cervical mucous membranes and the risk of uterine infection is very low. Escharotic treatments are performed in the office twice per week for 8-16 treatments depending on the severity of the dysplasia. The office visits take about 45 minutes to 1 hour. During the treatment a speculum is used to visualize the cervix. Then bromelain (an extract derived from pineapple), zinc and sanguinaria (a potent herb) are applied to the cervix. The bromelain and zinc helps the delivery of the sanguinaria into mutated cells, cells that are not dysplastic are not affected by the bromelain and so are not killed by the sanguinaria. After the treatment, vaginal suppositories are used overnight.
In addition to escharotic treatments I have my patients taking an oral whole-body anti-viral support protocol to help kill the HPV and correct hormonal imbalances and nutritional deficiencies that contribute to cervical dysplasia. I also discuss dietary and lifestyle factors which can help prevent HPV from returning.
I don’t recommend escharotic treatment for every abnormal PAP. Depending on the degree of dysplasia (which is best determined by a colposcopy) I may recommend a course of vaginal suppositories combined with the above oral protocol instead. However, if the level of dysplasia is moderate I recommend escharotic treatment combined with vaginal suppositories. This method of treatment has been very successful, with the largest study to date showing an 88% success rate after 2 years of follow up. If you have questions about escharotic treatment or would like to make an appointment, contact the office for further details.
Dr. Jamie Brinkley, ND