If you have been in the medical cannabis space for a while you have probably come across anecdotal reports of CBD clearing skin ulcers in no time. In case you thought that this could be a case of luck or a “placebo response” as some quarters would have you believe, a clinical trial has proved otherwise.
A group of Italian researchers conducted a study to investigate the safety and efficacy of CBD oil in managing digital ulcers in scleroderma patients. The researchers were also interested in comparing CBD with the conventional medications used by such patients. The results of the study were published in Advances in Skin Wound Care in January 2023.
Details of the Study
A total of 45 patients with scleroderma were enrolled for the study between January and December 2019. Of this, 25 were randomly selected and started on CBD therapy after surgical debridement for a month while the remaining 20 were put on conventional therapy. The participants were assessed for pain level (numeric rating scale) and health/ disability assessment (questionnaire) at baseline and at the end of the treatment period.
CBD Trumps Conventional Treatment
The 25 participants who received CBD treatment had both lower pain scores as well as higher health assessment scores by the end of the treatment period. They also seemed to have improved sleep in terms of sleeping duration. On the other hand, the participants who received conventional therapies tended to need additional analgesics more frequently, showing that their pain was not well controlled.
CBD trumped conventional treatment for topical skin ulcers, which is in tandem with what the medical cannabis community has suspected all along.
