Dear Doctor I am writing on behalf of my brother. He is 57 years old and has had a DVT (cannot remember when), a mild stroke at the end of 2009 and takes warfarin daily. In the last couple of months he has developed severe dermatitis and was prescribed betnovate cream. His symptoms have since worsened and he now has a swollen face and hands and 15 boils. He has discontinued using any cortisone cream - which he believes was exacerbating the condition - and has been using aqueous cream only. Last week I bought him a vitamin B complex which also has beta carotene , vitamin C and E and biotin. We also added tea trea oil to the aqueous cream. Although he is looking worse, he says he does feel a bit better. I have also tried to encourage him to stop eating wheat and bought maize bread to replace the regular brown bread he eats. His diet is generally not bad, although my mother believes he should be drinking less coffee, more water and more fruit. He does not drink alcohol, but does smoke. He is not overweight and walked regularly but is now effected if he is out in the sun (we live in South Africa). He has been doing a fair amount of reading and now believes he may have TB in his glands! He is not on a medical aid and can only see a dermatologist at the Government hospital in September. He is also unemployed and living with my mother and I wonder if there stress factor involved because of this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you. Regards Felicity Pitchford