Has anyone used bleach in the bath to treat eczema?

[vickyw11]

My ten year old daughter suffers from eczema and it has been getting worse over the last 3 months or so. I just googled treatment for eczema and it came up with putting a cupful of bleach in the bath to kill off the bacteria.

Has anyone tried it? I really don't know if I could face putting bleach into a bath but if it works - who knows.

is her eczema infected then?

Sounds pretty extreme to me.
You can get antibacterial medicates soaps/soer gels/washes that were actually made to go on people's skin...
Why not ask your GP...it'd be free on prescription anyway if she's just 10.

No, I wouldn't fancy doing this personally, unless on the advice of a dermatologist using a named product in a known concentration, and even then I'd probably have to be utterly desperate before I tried it.

i've had a quick read of some of the results on good ole google and non recommend a cup of bleach in the bath - one says about using a half a cup in a FULL bath, and then with major concerns re; breathing difficulties

what remedies are you using right now?

I would never use ordinary bleach, but dd's eczema always responded well to a couple of sterilizing tablets in the bathwater. I never used soap or bubble bath of any kind, and didn't wash her face in the bath.

The reson I tried it was that I noticed that her skin improved after we had been swimming and I wondered if the chlorinated water had killed off the bacteria.

Hi I used it once with my daughters eczema, it wasn't as much as a cup, but it helped a lot. However unfortunately the next time I used it, about three weeks later, it didn't have the same effect at all. Her eczema also always used to be much better after a visit to the swimming pool, I always put it down to the bleach in chlorine.

I think that bathing your child in a dilute bleach solution sounds dubious at best.

The recommendation of sterilisation tablets (presuming they're cleared as safe for exposing children's skin to) sounds a lot safer to me.

In any case, I'd ask a medical professional first. Don't do stuff you've found on Google without double-checking in RL!!

At the moment she is using Aveeno and emovate (sp - sorry) and aveeno bath oil. I have also noticed that's it is better after she has been swimming. Maybe I could try the sterilizing tablets. I think we will have to go back to the GP.

My DS has a prescription steroid cream for his eczema, would that be worth a try before getting the domestos out?

Sorry if I'm making assumptions here... but I guessed you did mean a Milton-type bleach, not a household bleach?

Both are "bleaches" (sodium hypochlorite) but their concentrations vary massively.

I really do think this is one to do under medical advice only, TBH.

My ds 14 saw a dermatologist for a year. He started him on daily Milton baths for 2 weeks, then every 2nd day for a week and then twice a week tapering off to once a week. While he was doing this he had to put Silcocks base, or Emulsifying lotion on before and after every bath, and first thing in morning as well. He also put Elocon on before the Emulsifier, after the bath, and inthe morning, when he improved we moved down to Eumovate.

I think it was 6 caps of milton per bath, but you can google it, the difference was amazing.

I know a family who use a weak solution of Milton in the bath for eczema and has found it really worked. Done under medical supervision I think though.

Even though it was highly recommended to me for dd I didn't try it as she has very dry eczema that doesn't get infected.

I think it is worth asking a medical professional about it.

My daughter is 5 years old and has suffered with eczema since 12 months of age. In more recent years she has suffered with the most terrible infected eczema more times than I can recall. She has seen dermatologists, tried every treatment going and has become resistant to one particular type of antibiotic due to the number of times she has had it prescribed. I am meticulous with her treatment and nonetheless have sat crying in despair at the state of her skin....UNTIL I read about Milton Baths in the National Eczema Society Magazine a few months ago. Within days she was like a different child. I know I sound like one of those dodgy adverts assuring you of a miracle cure (I do not work for Milton by the way), but it really has transformed our lives. I knew her main problem was recurrent infection and an overreaction to the Staphlococcus Aureus bacteria and this was confirmed after being on holiday when she spent 14 days in a chlorinated pool, resulting in totally clear skin. So when I read the article mentioned above I didn't hesitate to try it. Although clearly an article written in a reputable publication I decided to err on the side of caution and added less to the bath than was stated ( I add 150 to 180 mls to a normal size bath full to one or two inches below the overflow). She keeps her whole body below the face in it for a minimum of 15 mins . I also get her to wiggle her nostrils in it a few times during the bath (as this is where alot of the staph aureus bacteria live also). She is then rinsed thoroughly with plain water not forgetting underams, bottoms etc, dried and her usual creams applied. I make sure the bath isn't too hot either. I still need to apply her creams and still apply the relevant steroid creams whenever I start to see any rash developing. BUT the rashes are much fewer and if she does scratch then it doesn't spread or get infected. I use the Milton every other day or every third day but hopefully I will be able to decrease this over time. I honestly cannot believe the difference from only a few months ago. She has had no negative reaction whatsoever, so if like mine, your child doesn't react when he/she goes swimming in chlorinated pools and has more of a problem with the sores spreading/becomming infected, then I would certainly give it a go. I think the original article said that it is more dilute than your average swimming pool!

Not tried bleach but a bath with dead sea salts always did my skin wonders, but only suitable for a lo if the skin's not broken.

I agree with bex68.

Our DS's skin broke out around 6 months when he started weaning, and we had a wee look on the good old www. My DH came across a really interesting article about the use of bleach. They were doing a randomised control trial with placebos. They actually had to abandin the trial as it became very clear that the bleach was making a huge difference and it wouldnt have been ethical to continue the placebos.

I would speak to your Dr perhaps and find out exactly what type of bleach had to be use.

Good luck

My daughter had eczema from the age of about 18 months and itching used to keep her awake at night. She used products from Elena's Nature Collection - bath oil, soap/shampoo, face cream and body lotion. This had a dramatic impact on her eczema. Her skin has been very good for years and now she only needs to use the products on her body because she swims 3-4 times a week.

Hi!

Bleach bath has been studies to work, extract below (I've interviewed dermatologists on this before):
Bleach bath has been shown to be effective in reducing Staph bacteria, more in this post. How does the bleach act against the bacteria on the skin? Kill it and it?s drained with the water?

Dr. Clay: Bleach differs from antibiotics in its killing mechanism as it acts to physically destroy the bacterial cell wall and proteins. Antibiotics interact with the proteins and nucleic acids to cause the bacteria to make abnormal cell structures. As such, they can develop resistance. Once the bacteria are killed with bleach, the residual cell structures are no longer viable, and yes, they will degenerate and be washed away.

For parents who are resistant to bleach bath (like me), I use chlorhexidine. How much chlorhexidine to put on the cotton pad (soaking wet or squeezed dry wet) and how many ?swipes? are required to kill the bacteria?

Dr. Clay: Chlorhexidine is also effective at killing bacteria and basically, all one needs is to coat the area and rinse with water. There is no ?right? amount to use, just use enough to cover the area and wash it off. Different products come with different instructions, so follow those as it may be necessary to leave it on a bit longer before washing. Chlorhexidine is not supposed to be used on the head and neck or in the groin area, however, and unfortunately, these are areas where Staph thrives. For this reason, bleach-containing products like CLn® BodyWash, which can be used in those areas, is a very good alternative. It?s much easier to use than a traditional bleach bath and is much more cosmetically elegant.

Dr Clay is former AAD president, and worked with me on a staph bacteria series.
Mei of EczemaBlues.com

Can't say I've tried it. I've heard it works (apparently just put a capful of bleach in some warm bath water!) But I must admit I'm very into natural remedies. Found a cute lil blog www.scratchsleeves.co.uk/parenting-plus-eczema/top-tips-eczema-parents/natural-remedies-for-baby-eczema/

I had terrible eczema as a kid and sea salt in the bath helped. Stung though!