After seven months suffering from topical steroid withdrawal, Te Rima Whakatau has travelled to Thailand in search of a remedy.

“I was there in Thailand doing my CAP therapy- CAP standing for cold atmospheric plasma therapy,” says Whakatau, who used topical steroid creams for 15 years to aid his eczema.

In an interview with Te Ao Māori News last year, Whakatau said his condition was debilitating - but he may have found a solution in Bangkok.

“I’ve done about about eight sessions now and I’m healing really really quickly.”

CAP therapy is a treatment that uses ionized gas at room temperature to promote healing and treat various skin conditions. It works by applying a plasma jet to the skin, stimulating cells, reducing inflammation and helping with wound healing and skin rejuvenation.

The treatment is often costly, ranging $200-$600 NZD per session, and is not available in Aotearoa.

Whakatau is pleased with the progress so far, saying,

“I can feel my skin getting so much thicker.”

He whakamahu ā-roto, e ora anō ai ā-waho

He ruku hōhonu ēnei mahi haumanu ki te pūtake o tana mate harehare, e aronui hoki ai ki te pānga o te taha wairua ki te taha tinana.

“[The] therapy itself is just one factor in the healing process that I’m going through – a lot of it is mental as well which is what the clinic does teach you," te kī a Whakatau.

“If you’re in a good headspace then your skin will heal faster.”

Hei tāna, he rerekē te pūtake mō tēnā tangata, mō tēnā tangata. Mō wētahi, ka ara ake ngā harehare i ngā kai hukahuka, kurutene, huamiraka rānei. Mō wētahi atu, ko ngā taiao pārūrū, ka puta hoki i te wā e pōkaikaha ana te tangata.

Nā wai rā, ka hoki anō a Whakatau ki tōna ūkaipō i Taranaki kia tohia e ngā waiora o ōna tūpuna.

“I couldn’t bend any of my limbs at the time or turn my head, so they were all helping carrying me into the water,”

“I just feel like it needed a good cleanse. [I] asked for that and my family delivered.”

Hei tāna, me whai whakaaro te rāngai hauora ki ngā painga o ngā tikanga me ngā rongoā Māori.

“I think that it should be introduced into contemporary medicine because I think that that’s what the problem is when it comes to us being neglected by the medical systems,”

“They only know how to follow one way and they don’t know how to incorporate all these other different things that might help to the overall healing of the individual.”

Whakatau raised more than $20,000 for his trip to Thailand and is looking to raise more money to finish his therapy in Bangkok.

“I am only halfway through my treatment, if I was to come back now I could easily go backwards.”

His clinic recommends at least 16 more CAP treatments to achieve full recovery. Although his skin still flares up, Whakatau acknowledges that his healing rate has improved significantly with the therapy.

“To come from so much excruciating pain all over to being where I am now is such a big contrast,” he says.

If the treatment goes to plan, Whakatau hopes to return to Aotearoa in August.