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

Hello, I’m interested in connecting to anyone that has had Grover’s Disease. I was diagnosed a month ago. Has anyone had a terrible time with it?

I have had it for several years, but just recently it has become much worse as far as the number of "spots" and the itching. My dermatologist prescribed a topical ointment that works somewhat, but of course I would like there to be a remedy that would take away all symptoms. I live in a hot, humid climate and am a part-time fitness instructor and am a sun lover. My days in the sun are over since this latest outbreak was right after a trip to the beach. I am making efforts to minimize my sweating by using "cool towels" during my spin classes. I am just learning about this disease as until now, it has just been a mild distraction but much more than that now. I am a 52 year old female.

Hi @july4 and @pamtimn and welcome to Connect. You may have noticed I moved your posts to this existing discussion on Grover's disease so that you can connect with others who have similar experiences. Simply click VIEW & REPLY in your email notification to get to your post.

I'd like to introduce you to @gardeningjunkie @kimass1 and @mariannj as they have experience with Grover's Disease and may be able to offer you support.

@pamtimn thanks for sharing your story, how are your cool towels working so far in minimizing your sweating/

@july4 would you comfortable sharing your experience with Grovers so far?

@july4 I suggest you do what most of us have done. Go to the very first post on this site and read everything in order. You will learn what some have gone through and how they managed to cope. When Grovers is really bad and you are truly miserable you will try things you would not believe would work. Believe me, they do. At my worst, I switched to a whole 30 eating plan, only put cotton next to my skin and began the cilantro smoothies. I absolutely hate the taste of cilantro but I was really miserable so I made my smoothie with a lot of frozen bananas, strawberries, blueberries and almond milk since I am lactose intolerant. I could never use an entire bunch at one time so I managed with dividing the bunches into two and later 4 portions. I put so much almond mild in that I am probably drinking 4 cups in each smoothie. Eventually I began freezing the individual portions of cilantro for ease in preparation. Not only did my Grover's slowly disappear, but my digestive system improved and I lost weight. I was becoming healthier in my eating habits. The cilantro was detoxing the metals from my body, probably accumulated over a lifetime ( I am 78) and I also supplemented with chlorella pill. Chlorella and cilantro work in tandem. The encouragement from others on this site made a big difference to me. I had never heard of Grovers before my diagnosis. My dermatologist told me it is not as rare to see it in Arizona because this is such a hot dry climate. He often suggests going to a humid area for relief, such as a beach. What works for one does not work for all. Obviously, the beach aggravated your condition. Since I responded to the cilantro I have managed to skip it occasionally but I actually like how my digestive system responds to it. My outbreak was diagnosed in early February and I was free of the rash within a month or so.

I am 72 and have had Grover’s since January. Was miserable until starting the cilantro smoothies in February. In 5 days my rash began clearing and no itching. I stopped 2 weeks ago to see how I was doing. So far, so good. Try it and you may be as surprised as I was.

Cool towels help keep me cool, just wish I could use them at night in bed :). I have ordered some essential oils that are supposed to be good for itchy rashes to soak the towels in before applying so I will see if that makes a difference. Love reading all the treatment suggestions here, thank you so much.

Grover's sufferers understand and want to help. No px ever helped me, yes gave me hope, but made no difference. Ethan and Mariannj suggested for you to read this discussion from the beginning. After years of my GD on and off cycle my big breakthrough came after reading a posting by Kimass1 about cilantro. I thought, "Here we go, another "crackpot" idea". She referred us to an earthclinic site with testimonials. I was inspired to give it a try, it wouldn't hurt me, it was not a pharmaceutical promotion, so why not? That was early April this year and I was about 3 weeks into another breakout. Wow, I am one of the lucky ones. Seems it works for about 50% of us. Within weeks the progression of symptoms was stalled and itching never got intense and for the first time zero pain (a big problem for me and some). It took months for 95% of all scabs to drop off. Today, going on 5 months now I drink my daily smoothie. I might skip one day a week now, but fear a return if I back off. Surprisingly drinking cilantro is not as offense to me as it was in the beginning. Maybe it's like eating cooked carrots which I hated as a kid and made to eat and now love. We have tips of fresh cilantro storage and longer term in freezer. Tablets don't seem to help most.
1. Read this discussion from beginning.
2. Go to earthclinic as noted on post by Kimass1.
3. Search for info on heavy metal detox.
Perhaps you can be one of the 50%.

pamtimn- many are allergic to natural essential oils, myself for one. I have several forms of eczema and GD is just one. With allergic contact dermatitis, ACD I react to coconut oil, lavender, cinnamon and these reactions are not rare. Cooling towels are a good idea, but I am also allergic to an element in rubber (remember rubber is natural). Many are allergic to latex in rubber, but I am allergic to a different element MBT which is an accelerator used to process blended materials. Most cooling towels are microfiber which is normally a blend. This is also a common allergy. Yet I can use 100% materials like polyester, cotton, silk or bamboo. Also the rubber floor mats would destroy me. Have you even been tested for ACD. Look up True Test, a common brand of the 4 or 5 Day Extended Patch Test.

My point is never assume you only have one form of eczema. Once you have one auto-immune disease, many like me collect other autoimmune diseases
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I sure hope you give the cilantro a try- it has helped about 50% of us GD, me included. It helped stall my emerging outbreak within a week.

I did it more simply because it appears I’m luckier than most. All I have is Grover’s. So I mix cilantro with yogurt and orange juice in a blender. Actually tastes very good.

Good Afternoon! ( I have some interesting findings) My red, extremely itchy spots have all gone and faded since I started drinking the cilantro smoothies. However, I still have the hives like rashes that my Dermatologists insist is not part of GD. I did the 5 day (in this case 4 day) extended patch test and my results were negative to all. So at least I know I am not allergic to chemicals present in metals (e.g., nickel), rubber, leather, formaldehyde, lanolin, fragrance, toiletries, hair dyes, medicine, pharmaceutical items, food, drink, preservative, and so on. I also saw an allergist and not allergic to anything he tested either. BUT, I did also go gluten free, dairy free (except some butter) and egg free for the last 3 weeks and the rash has subsided quite a bit. Which is great. So there may be a gut/gluten, dairy connection to these rashes. I also found another support group on FB https://www.facebook.com/groups/2434702380189797/ where others are sharing their stories. I am finding that so many people have different symptoms and different triggers. It's really quite interesting and frustrating at the same time. I am now not so sure that the hives are not a symptom of the GD. A few people in the group also have the hives like rash.....so.... Maybe the Cilantro works on the red itchy bump part of the disease only? Maybe it's just not really working for me the same as it does for others? Who knows? I will keep researching and trying to help figure out this monster of a disease. Hopefully one day a Doctor will care enough to do the same!