Study concludes nasal passage as growth site for bacteria
Adding bleach to a bath goes some way to mitigating the effects of eczema, according to the results of a study recently published in Pediatrics.
The study, 'Treatment of Staphylococcus aureus Colonisation in Atopic Dermatitis Decreases Disease Severity', found that children who took baths containing highly diluted bleach sodium hypochlorite showed significant improvement in their skin conditions over children who took normal baths. The study also looked at the effects of applying a topical antibiotic ointment or dummy ointment to the inside of patients' noses - a key site for growth of the bacteria.
Staphylococcus aureus is a bacteria that is found in patients with eczema and is known to worsen the effect of eczema on the skin. The study looked at 31 children with Staphylococcus aureus and randomly assigned some to bathe in the bleached water.
The authors of the report concluded: "Chronic use of dilute bleach baths with intermittent intranasal application mupirocin ointment decreased the clinical severity of atopic dermatitis in patients with clinical signs of secondary bacterial infection. Patients do not seem to have increased susceptibility to infection or colonisation with resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus."
All of those who bathed in water with the diluted bleach showed rapid improvement in the condition of their skin by as much as five times as those who did not add bleach to their bath.
