Time Magazine published an article that states that “adding a small amount of household bleach to a child’s bathwater can dramatically reduce the itching, rashes and discomfort caused by eczema.” Wow… who would have known that the very thing we wash our dirty whites in can help bring your child some much needed relief from eczema. But not only does it help with baby eczema, it can also help with preventing staph infections due to the strong bactericidal properties.
Warning! Remember to be careful with Bleach around your young ones because most bleaches are hazardous if ingested or inhaled. Also consult your child pediatrician before attemping to treat your child’s eczema with any form of eczema treatments.
I was truly skeptical of this bleach bath treatment at first but the more I researched on the topic, the more credible the claims came to be. First of all these studies were performed on patients with moderate to extreme cases of eczema. The range of these patient were from 6 months to 17 years of age. At the end of these studies, scientist were able to come up with a simple basic plan that would allow patients with moderate to extreme case of eczema to take advantage of bleach baths. Here is a plan as follows:
- Bleach Bath should be taken twice a week.
- Add 1/2 cup of bleach for every 40 gallons (U.S) of water.
- Immerse limbs and torsos, leaving the neck and head above water, for five to 10 minutes. Do not swallow the bath water!
- Pat body dry. Do not rub yourself dry due to the risk of scatching open sores which can lead to nasty infections.
- Apply a heavy coat of moisturizer on to skin.
Very simple plan that can produce very effect results.
Now if you are into more natural treatments as I am, a known and common substitute for bleach is lemon. You can find a list of using lemon as an alternative here.
Referenced Time Article: Study: Baths with Bleach Help Kids’ Eczema