Two Surprising Household Items That Will Fight Eczema

21 October 2014

Jaime Allen

If you're dealing with eczema for the first time, you likely already know just how itchy, uncomfortable, and annoying the condition can become. While many people are quick to simply use medicated lotions or creams, others on tighter budgets find themselves looking for cheaper options to reduce skin irritations. There are many home remedies available to take away or reduce the effects of eczema on the skin, most of which involve products you likely already have sitting around your house.

Bleach

This one sounds crazy, ridiculous, and like everything your mother always warned you against, but taking a bleach bath can help to alleviate your eczema. Before you begin shouting in protest (or filling up the bathtub with the household product), it is important to understand that using straight bleach upon your skin is not only unwise, but harmful. Although it's on the opposite side of the PH scale from strong acids, it's just as powerful-- using it directly from the bottle on your skin could result in harmful burns or lasting discoloration of the skin.

Keeping that in mind, how can such a strong and dangerous chemical possibly help with eczema? According to the National Eczema Association, the simple answer is in diluting a very small amount of the chemical into a large amount of water (such as your bathtub). Since one of the main causes of eczema is bacteria on the skin, a small dose of bleach can kill infections and any lingering bacteria that might be hiding there.

Oatmeal

Your favorite breakfast treat may also cure your worst skin condition-- but you won't want to pour "maple and brown sugar" oatmeal on yourself as soon as possible. It's true that oatmeal can help to relieve itching, soothe eczema, and reduce your skin's irritations, but it needs to be applied to the skin in a certain way for it to work best.

If you're interested in solving your eczema issue with oatmeal, buy some organic rolled oats (don't use the stuff that comes in the small packets for breakfast) and grind them into dust using a food processor or any other technique that will turn the oats into powder. Once you have a finely ground substance, add several handfuls to a running bath and climb in to soak for awhile.

By using the technique of soaking in a bath (instead of just applying to one certain area), the oatmeal will treat all dried skin-- including problem areas that you may not even have recognized yet. Talk to a dermatologist, like those at Advanced Laser and Skin Cancer, for more treatment options that might be available to you. 

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