Grover's Disease: What works to help find relief?

I just ordered 200 pills on amazon for my hubs. He ate a ton with tacos last night and laughed that maybe he should have meat with his cilantro. His was nearly gone and now suddenly coming back again with a vengeance. So frustrated. He has been taking a zinc pill each day, not sure that's doing anything. Back to high dose steroid cream to try to get it under control again. 🙂 I'll keep you all posted about the cilantro

I hope he has success! I am not sure if this is allowed, but go to Earth Clinic's site search Grover's Disease and scroll down to Cilantro cure for other success stories - https://earthclinic.com/ailments/grovers-disease/

@kimass1 I am 43 and have had Grover's for many years- maybe 10? When I found out I had GERD I changed my diet to very little to no gluten and dairy and very few acidic foods to no alcohol. My Grover's didn't seem to bother me during that time but I felt that was no way to live and being thin already, I became too thin! I have recently started back to not really watching my diet and my Grover's is BAD!! Sweat is a definite trigger for me. Bamboo liners under my sports bra help the breast area, but my rash appears on most of my back and stomach. I'm excited to try the cilantro. I have used creams for years and nothing took it away. I felt Australian Gold 50 baby sunblock helped (while I was vacationing) and I have recently continued applying zinc oxide which seems to dry it out, but I wonder if I have spread the bumps. Someone posted using witch hazel and had success and sarna lotion. If these methods work, I'd rather use them. If not, going to look into light therapy or more steroid creams. Thanks for posting everyone! I AM BEYOND FRUSTRATED!

I am a 56 year old white male who has been battling an outbreak of Grover's for a little over one year. Classic symptoms on the trunk. Legs and arms less affected but affected. I also have had flares on the neck, around the hair line of my face and all over the scalp. The head itch is the most difficult to deal with and am looking for any solutions/advice. I have been using a combination of mid-potency corticosteroid Triamcinolone Acetonide (0.1%), high-potency corticosteroid Betamethasone Dipropionate (0.5%), Dovonex (man made vitamin D) and Ketoconazole (anti-fungal) wash (every third day). I have used three courses of oral steroids (Prednisone) and while they provide some immediate relief by the time I am down at the lower dosages the flare up returns. The anti-fungal is the only thing used on the scalp and I don't think it helps. The outbreak has been constant with numerous flare ups and the colder weather has caused me more problems than the warmer months. Everyone is different and if you can share any advice on the scalp area I would appreciate it along with how long the outbreaks are lasting and how often they return.
What can be done for the scalp?
Is the second round as bad as the first?
Is there a preferred climate?
Any reason for me to be cautiously optimistic?

@chuckdm I too had severe itching on my scalp and neck. I am not sure if you read my latest post, but I am almost completely itch and rash free since consuming a whole bunch of cilantro and a tsp of chlorella in a smoothie daily for about a month. My scalp still itches a bit, but not as severe and seems to be getting better every day. If I miss a day, I might get the start of a new papule here or there. But if I stay with it constantly, I have no issues. I have to say the scalp itching was the worst but it is completely bearable now. Give it a try. It can't hurt. I know of several other Grover's suffers that this has worked for., Some needed less Cilantro, some needed more. Some found relief in days while others took a month or more like me. Good luck! I hope you find relief soon!

If you have Grover's and also eczema symptoms other areas, like chuckdm mentioned his scalp- you may have multiple forms of eczema like I do. I started with hand eczema and learned a decade later I had Allergic Contact Dermatitis, ACD, with the 5 Day Extended Patch Test. Google this exact test name, it's not the 30 minute environmental test. I had the True Test Kit as well as one other kit. If you have ACD you can eliminate contacts that cause the rash or itching. Five years later my torso front and back started having what my derms believed was my ACD causing the rash. I couldn't figure out what allergy I was exposing myself to. They just assumed it was ACD and prescribing steroids that did nothing. Out of frustration I went to a new derm who took one look and said I had Grover's and yes I am a classic case even meeting all the basic criteria listed on dermnetnz.org (great site for all forms of eczema) except that the majority of sufferer's are male.
My point is Do Not Assume you only have one form of eczema. chuckdm can have both classic Grover's on torso, but also ACD on scalp. I now have 3 separate forms of eczema each with different treatments. Ask for the 5 Day Extended Patcj Test, Medicare as well as most insurance plans cover expense, which is normally about $1,500. My scalp itch from ACD is gone thanks to avoiding allergens. Right now stop using all the products mentioned on your scalp and experiement simply using Grandma's bar soap for face and body. Lye and lard only ingredients and lye is converted to glycerin in soap making process so only glycerin and lye are in contact with scalp. Works best with soft water, but if water is hard, just add another shampoo. Also use this soap to replace all other soaps- soft soaps are the most allergic. Also eczema is caused by raised inflammation in the body due to high histamines. Yeast in the body triggers raised histamines. You will not like this suggestion, but I did it 4 months ago and am thrilled with my yeast issues that are gone. Go 2 months sugar free- yes processed and natural (even in fruit). Give up all carbs for 2 months, not simply gluten. Basically meats and veggies, yet nightshade's are out. With the yeast dying out due to starvation (it feeds on sugars like a still) it sends messages to your brain to be fed. You will severely miss the carbs and sugars, just like a junkie goes though detox. Like kimass1 I didn't need to loose weight but dropped about 7 lbs, yet it has leveled out now. Now I can eat limited fruit servings and limited carbs NO processes sugar for life or gluten.
My goal is to be pain free in my remaining years so yes I bake for the family and watch them eat and enjoy because I don't want to hurt anymore.
In spite of all my efforts with diet my Grover's is kicking in again and yes bought the cilantro and shockingly to me the smoothly I have made for 2 days now is doable, not that bad. About 2 handfuls of cilantro, 6 oz of unsweetened almond milk, 4-6 oz of probiotic yogurt unsweetened and a pinch or 2 of Stevia (only allowed sweetner on anti-yeast diet). It may not help but believe it will not be harmful. Lots of us are experimenting with this now thanks to a members suggestion.
Question about outbreak duration- for me 1 year for the 1st, then 6 months off and on now for 3 years and for me each outbreak has been less severe. True still not good, but dramatically less than the intense pain for the first outbreak in which I couldn't even lean back in a a chair or lay on back.

Light therapy definitely helped me. But it takes a long time. During my worst outbreak I went 3 time a week and for a 5 minute duration front and back each.

Thank you for the prompt response. I did not see the last post so if you would not mind please provide the "cilantro smoothie" recipe. What led you to this? I left out a two month trial of tetracycline that did nothing.

I just noticed the response about earth clinic so I'll check it out

The earthclinic site has testimonials from sufferers of Grover's and it seems at least 50% are getting significant relief; it's definitely worth a try. So glad I've been trying this for 3 days now. It reports that some get relief within 3 days while others take longer and yet sadly many find no change. I like that their recipe gives you an amount of cilantro to add to smoothie as bunches of cilantro vary due to the region. Yet some are so desperate they consume 6 bunches a day and finally got relief. I have never found a site with so many Grover's sufferer's blogging.
In AZ a huge bunch at Wal-Mart is 33 cents and in MO it is a $1.00 and half the size. I looked up how to extend refrigerator life on a bunch and read to first trim a inch off the ends, place in glass of water and cover loosely with a plastic bag. Change water every other day and it should last almost 2 weeks
They are touting this as a cure, stating that cilantro can remove heavy metals from the body. Also many take chlorella also. I am skeptical as to whether a cure is possible for those of us with recurring outbreaks. Eczema is chronic, so the word "cure" seems a bit strong. All of us would be happy to find something to make it go dormant.