to think it wrong not to wash everyday?

[happyclappy]

I went to see my GP yesterday, I have some eczema on my legs and the usual creams are not doing the trick. he asked if I wash/ take a shower everyday, I said of corse, and he advised me to keep it to once a week! AIBU? instead of prescribing me some steroid cream which will ease the itching enough, so i can control it with moisturiser, he gives me useless advise which I'm not going to follow.
but seriously who would only wash their body onlt once a week?

helenwombat - my mum is the same and never smells !

People probably don't think they smell. But tbh after living in several countries and having travelled in many more, I've never encountered so many smelly people who don't wash as I have here.

yes but I think most people on this thread that say they only bath/shower x times a week wash the bits that do smell daily.

People use soap on their vaginas? No no no! Much better to wash it daily with water. Soap causes thrush and whiffy things to grow!

'unclean' is a really interesting word to use ceres instead of 'dirty' I think because of the cultural associations with religion.

no religious associations here.

i used the word unclean instead of dirty because it is a better description of how i feel if, for whatever reason, i can't have a daily shower/bath.

dirty is a few steps further. i don't think i would be dirty if i missed a shower, however i would not feel clean. hence i would feel unclean rather than dirty.

Backs and chests need to be included in an "armpit wash" IMO. Maybe for people with excema their skin is drier but mine back gets oily and spotty without a daily wash.

I have a similar problem and found changing soap helped a lot. I now avoid hard soaps (bars), particularly enriched ones like Dove which tear my skin apart. I don't know what they put in that stuff but it's hard on the skin. Instead I use shower gel and a sponge. I also found cutting down on processed foods and avoiding bread really helped - I have no idea why.

YABU. It's a fairly recent thing, this insistence on showering every day. My grandparents had a coal-fired boiler that heated the water - they could only manage a bath once a week and they flannel-washed bits that might need it as and when necessary in between.

The things that are in water from water treatment could be aggravating your skin condition - aluminium sulphate, for e.g., or the chlorine.

Listen to your GP - he sounds sensible.

YABU. I shower/bathe twice a week and wash hair at same time. I wash pits bits and feet every day, and face twice a day.
If its very hot weather I get a nice flannel and some lavender oil in the water and have a sponge bath as I find that very cooling, or sometimes just sit in the bath and run a cool shower on myself with no soap.
But then again, each to their own, everyone has different levels of what they are comfortable with.

YANBU, because I hate the idea of not showering daily. But, Happyclappy, do you just have access to a shower, or do you have a bath? You could run a shallow bath, lower yourself bum first into it, wash all the important bits, but spend your time with the legs draped over the side, wash your hair with the shower attachment, then wash your feet at the end. You would not be getting the eczema on your legs wet.

Sorry to hear you're struggling with eczema happyclappy, and there certainly does sound like there's a logic to curtailing bathing as much as you can bear in the short term. But sympathise hugely with feeling uncomfortable at the prospect.

As for "verging on OCD"... there's worse things you could be accused of...

Gosh, this thread is a revelation. I had no idea that others might think daily showering is excessive/OCD type behaviour and that a seemingly large number of people don't have a shower or bath every day. I don't disapprove or owt, just really surprised!

I would probably feel quite uneasy about leaving the house in the morning without having had a shower, but then I am definitely a bit OCDish and also a bit of an excessive sweater when anxious so feel it's necessary for me.

I have eczema and know that water can irritate it and dry the skin and rid it of natural oils so yabu, the gp is right. I do not wash every day every 2-3 days, just my face,pits and fanjo.

I think your doc is right- having a break from all-over washing is good, however, the one area of the body that CANNOT be neglected in terms of hygiene is the hands. Even, if I've no time for anything else, I always give them a good scrub. It's probably not a good idea to neglect the teeth, either.

Ironically, washing the vaginal area with soap can actually encourage fishy smells in this area. I don't know why this is. I find it best to wash with plain warm water to limit odours.

'Tis true marantha. I got told off by my GP for using soap 'there' as it was contributing to my getting thrush and another horrible ailment whose name I've forgotten.

I think it's because soap gets rid of all the bacteria; including the good ones which are needed to keep the area healthy.

'Gosh, this thread is a revelation. I had no idea that others might think daily showering is excessive/OCD type behaviour and that a seemingly large number of people don't have a shower or bath every day. I don't disapprove or owt, just really surprised!'

That's why this country is, by far, the filthiest, smelliest place I've ever been.

I'm also trying to puzzle out how you wash the bits and pits without getting into the bathtub.

And if you're already in the bathtub, why not just take a damn shower?

Eeeww.

oooo er the thread is on the wright stuff!

This thread has inspired the poet within me.

Bending down to check my laces were tied,
I smelled Billingsgate at low tide.
Oh dear, I thought, off the doc's or
I shall have to hide!
The doc said to me, "The problem is clear, my dear".
"I don't want to come all Germaine Greer.
But the soap on bits, peachy sprays, they're the cause of your malaise"
"Soaps for your paws NOT your drawers".
Use plain old H two O, it's the way to go"

I took his advice, and now I smell nice and no longer like a French whore.

My DS has eczema, and is much, much better since we reduced baths to one a week.

An adult is different, as the body chemistry is different, but the reduction doesn't have to be that big. Maybe try reducing to every day and a half? That is: have a shower one morning, then wait until the evening of the next day to have the next shower. In the interim, of course wash the smelly areas. Those areas are probably nicely hydrated with the sweat, so wouldn't suffer from eczema anyway...

Any help?

I wouldn't feel 'clean' after a flannel wash and like to bath once a day. Could you run a bath but hang your legs over the edge (i.e. sit in it at 90 degrees)?

Be careful of the aqueous cream suggestion on here - it's been found that some people react to it (I was one of them).

expat - sinks hold water, you can use a sponge, a flannel, or whatever you may desire to use.

If one of your gorgeous children gets their dinner smeared all over their face (and they've just had a bath/it's not bathtime) - do you run a bath to clean it off???

Do you run a bath or jump in the shower to wash your hands?

Nope - didn't think so - so in the same way pits and bits can be cleaned using the sink.

baths aren't for getting clean in anyhow - they're for relaxing in - sitting in water with my own dirt is not something I consider getting clean

Toccata - I always remember that thing about baths from Danny the Champion of the World - it is in there isnt it?