I have never heard of bleach baths before but I am interested in it as having eczema is a nightmare although I can understand the concern with babies – saying that I know what its like to have it and wouldn’t want any one to have to have it going through school was a nightmare when I was little with all the bullying.. so if it was to make a real difference I would give it ago.

Trusted Source: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1894149,00.html

Anyway, we’ve tried vinegar which I believe reduces the redness and it didn’t sting our son – I’m going to try bleach. I’d do anything to lesson the pain, itching, inflammation and scabs on my son’s skin. This ezcema has been a battle for us and by reading these post’s I feel that I’m not alone in this battle.

Jo

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So we’ve done the bath once so far, and I feel like a sadist. I used only the half cup in a full lukewarm bath, but it caused her such stinging and burning she cried the entire 10 minutes. CAN ANYONE WHO HAS USED THIS METHOD AND WHOSE CHILD HAS SEVERE ECZEMA TELL ME HOW LONG BEFORE THEY SAW RESULTS? I
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A lot of people have already written about results (I also did, if my comment is published), but I also just wanted to tell you that from my own experience, when the eczema is bad enough (skin is raw or bloody), contact with water can really hurt at first. Any kind of water. It stings.

Although most of us who suffer from eczema eventually discover that hot baths offer some temporary relief**, the initial contact of water with raw skin can burn like hell.

So that might be part of the problem. But if it isn’t, try using a lower concentration of bleach. Or wait until the rash has gotten somewhat better before trying it again. I do hope she can tolerate it, because it really works well. You’re the first person I’ve read about encountering stinging, so hopefully it’s just because her rash is so bad at the moment, and not because she can’t tolerate contact with mildly chlorinated water.

Has she ever been to a swimming pool? If that doesn’t bother her, try that, too. Ocean water also really helps because it has naturally occurring chlorine.

**look up Marat in Wikipedia — the French revolutionary polemicist AND lifetime eczema sufferer… He spent most of his working day writing in a customized bathtub that had a built-in writing desk. It was the place of his death, too, when he was stabbed by Charlotte Cordat.

The recommended ratio of household bleach (and make sure it is REGULAR household bleach, not some special variety containing other things) to bathwater is 1/2 cup to 40 gallons (and you can proportion this ratio if you want to use less water, or just immerse the inflicted area).

At this dilution level, it is very similar to a regular swimming pool. Many eczema sufferers also notice improvement from ocean water — well, that’s because there are a lot of free chlorine ions in the ocean.

As a lifetime eczema sufferer, it has been a miracle to discover this treatment. It really works. I have found it takes about 24-48 hours for the effects to kick in, but then the skin heals better than before and seems more resistant to relapses.

After trying this several times, I have found the most effective approach for me seems to be to *scrub* the afflicted area in the diluted bleach bath while soaking in it for about 15 minutes. Yes, this will irritate the rash a bit, but it also seems to help clear away the broken dead skin which is what can harbor bacteria and other irritants.

Then rinse off in regular water. I found that rinsing helps prevent irritation.

After that, I’ve found it helps tremendously helpful to apply an emollient to the skin. This can probably be any emollient you’ve used before that doesn’t cause irritation.

I’ve used a few things that I’ve found non-irritating, most often A&D ointment (contains lanolin, vaseline, vitamin a and d, mineral oil, paraffin, and some other ingredients, including, unfortunately, some kind of fragrance) or pure Vitamin E oil. Both are kind of pricy, but you probably know of alternatives that you like (e.g. shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil).

I also have used and really liked Burt’s Bees Farmer’s Friend (sold for chaffed hands, and found in many commercial drugstores).

Personally, I have NOT found pure Vaseline good for eczema. I’m not sure why.

AFTER applying an emollient, I use a brand of Zinc cream I’ve found really, really great: Calmoseptine (google it and you can find it easily online). It’s sold to hospitals for baby rash and bedsores, and is an oily zinc cream that contains some of the same ingredients as calomine lotion — but much oilier.

This stuff seems to work GREAT as a protectorant and helps seal in the emollient. It also really, really soothes any immediate itching. Word of warning: Calmoseptine stains — the stuff is like oil paint, no surprise because zinc is the main ingredient in white oil paint.

That’s all I wanted to say. I frankly think some of the opinions in here lack critical sense, and are just emotional reactions (chemical! bad!).

But I feel for your children. I suffered from this ALL my life from childhood on, and it was a source of enormous shame and misery. (It did drive me to take up swimming as a sport though). Anyway, it’s dreadful to think of parents NOT trying this solution — I wish mine had known about it.

If your child suffers from this, please think about trying this solution. It’s no more harmful than a (properly) chlorinated swimming pool, and I’ve yet to hear of swimming pool water representing a grave threat to any child’s health.

Consult with your skin doctor and ask about my advice here — I don’t think there’s anything here that any pediatrician or dermatologist would object to, but better to ask.

I also have a friend who fights this eczema battle, and I’ve urged her to come to a decision on her own about this idea of bleach baths…. I told her to read all these posts and come to her own conclusion.

My position is this: there are tons of natural things that could help. The bleach baths apparently help, too. There are tons of things out there in the world that are bad for us. And there are a ton of things that are good. Moderation in thought is the key to discovering whether things are right for you and your family or not. Anything in excess is more than likely bad… including visiting doctors, taking numerous medications, etc.

It seems to me that there are many families that would consider the bath idea. Good for them. Maybe try a few trips to the local pool first. If the child responds well, then maybe keep doing it….. on top of working holistically and incorporating a special diet, coconut oil, etc etc…

This issue is not one sided…much of life isn’t…. and working from a WHOLE – istic perspective, meaning taking a bit from everything one might read or consider implementing in their family is MUCH wiser and better than choosing a one-way, one-track path.

Kudos to those parents who tried it. It might be scary sounding, but seriously, so is driving down the interstate at 80 miles per hour with your child in the car…. seat belt or not.

-Shannon, Martha’s Vineyard.

The item also tells you that it can take 3-4 weeks to work and that you should ALWAYS speak to your doctor first, before trying bleach baths.
Unfortunately they show a graphic where the child is in the tub before the bleach is poured in, which looks pretty dumb. In the video the Mom sensibly pours the bleach in first.

I don’t know if I can post a link here but I’ll try.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/health&id=7103702