Sea Salt and Wheatgerm

[melon1]

Can anyone tell me about sea salt and wheatgerm baths? I've seen this mentioned a few times on Mumsnet and would love to try it - anything that may help dd's eczema is worth a go.

hi melon. no i haven't heard of this one before, but i've heard of sea salt and oatmeal, which i tried and just stuck with the oatmeal.

I remember when we went away to south wales and ds went into the sea. The skin improvement was amazing, and thought i'd give sea salt ago. I bought it from holland and barrat, but to be honest it wasn't the same thing.

I'll read this thread with interest. I'm sure someone will post soon.

Actually, I think I may have got that wrong! I meant oatmeal rather than wheatgerm! Where do you get the oatmeal from? Does it actually go in the bath? If you use the salt, how much do you put in?

oatmeal is great. I usually put a cupful into a tight / sock / muslin bag and tie it under the hot water tap in the bath. The water turns all milky and ds soaks in it for 15-20min.

Don't know how much sea salt to put in though.

Thanks Sandi - where do you get the oatmeal from, and do use it at the same time as the sea salt?

i got the oatmeal from holland and barrat. There r 2 types: fine and coarse. the staff said it didnt matter which one you used, because you dont directly put it in the bath.

re: sea salt. when i tried, it was only a handful, but i dont know how much you were meant to put in. i stopped using sea salt, because oatmeal on its own was keeping ds's skin moisturused.

just read on another thread a handful is all that is needed. But you can increase if you want to. should not do any harm.

i used unrefined sea salt from the local health food shop, depending on depth of bath and where the eczema is located i put 1/2 to a full bag in and porridge oats in a sock though you can buy wheatgerm aswell. i would exercise caution at the beginning with the amount of salt as it may sting depending on severity of eczema etc.. we used no shampoo or soap during this time and when it was getting better used tiny amount of green people baby wash just to wash his hair. used weleda baby chamomile oil to moisturise. also used lanolin free sk cream recommended by susan clark 'what really works for kids' and sunday times columnist. home made by a lady called margaret evans.it had dramatic results after applying it, you keep it in the fridge. will find the tel. number if interested or you could google to see if there is a website. not sure whether it was the combination of these things or one that actually worked - also homeopath gave sulphur 200 and pustilla 200 during this time. i have only recently dipped my toe in the alternative treatments as i'd read some worrying long term side affects about the steriod creams

Thanks Sandi and Shrub - I've seen SK Cream mentioned on here before and decided to give that a go - fingers crossed!

Hi Sandi - sorry, one more thing - how often do you bathe ds in the oatmeal?

oh twice a week. soak in bath for 15-20min.

Can anyone advise me on the amount of sea salt I should use in the bath for my 15 month old.

I just chucked in a handful. Not scientific, but as I never put in the same amount of water it was good enough.