Last night I began a new regime for my dermatitis. This new regime is focused at clearing the bacterial infections I seem to be prone to, healing the sores and patches of new ezcema that have surfaced and eventually, hopefully, maybe, toes and fingers crossed might actually do some good for my skin over the 12 week period.
I'm back using steroid creams, Fucid Lipid and Fucidion H for my body and face respectively, on top of having five baths a week. Two of which are bleach baths.Bleach. Yes you read that right. Sounds scary I know, but its been known to really help. I imagine I'm gonna smell like a swimming pool slightly.
Like I've said, the reason for the bleach baths is to clear any bacterial infections that are lingering in any open sores and also bacteria that is living on the skin. The bleach will reduce your itching, redness and any scaling. Of course, you cant just rely on the bleach baths to work some miracle on your skin problems, continue with your normal topical cream use and moisturise too. After my first one last night, I haven't been severely itchy today. Which is a nice change as the last week Ive been demented with the itch. I don't think I'll ever be able to properly describe what its like when I get an extreme itch, its like nothing Ive ever experienced before... I could itch for several minutes and not get any relief, plus I'll use whatever rough material I can get my hands on to really scratch that itch. The 20 minutes of possesion by my itch will usually end in broken, red, tender, bleeding swollen and raw cracks in my skin.. So today has been a nice change and hope it may become the norm for me.
So how do you go about creating your swimming pool smelling bath? If properly diluted and used as directed, a bleach bath is safe for everyone who suffers from eczema or psoriasis. Bleach wise, I personally use milton as it was recommended to me by my consultant.
- Add 1/2 cup (118 mililiters) of bleach to 40 gallons ( 151 liters) of warm water - a full bathtub up to the drainage holes. Use household bleach, not concentrated bleach. Last night, I added two capfuls of the bottle to my bath which seemed enough as I could feel the sting when I got into the water.
- Soak from the neck down. DO NOT submerge your head or face. Soack for max 10 minutes.
- Rinse off afterwards, and gently pat dry with a towel.
- Immediately apply moisturiser generously.
- Take a bleach bath no more than three times a week.
Now I didn't experience sever dryness after my bath last night, but don't be surprised if you feel very dry. If you use too much bleach or take too many bleach baths it can make your skin dry. If your skin is cracked or very dry, any bath — including a bleach bath — may be painful, my neck and back of my legs were stinging for the time I was in it. Also, make sure to wear a shower cap, scoop all your hair into it if you don't want to accidentally bleach your hair.
Of course, talk to your doctor and dermatologist before trying an eczema bleach bath.
Lesley Anastasia x
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