Allergist Kristin Sokol, MD: Not many people know that allergists actually treat eczema all the time. We are specialists in allergy, but also a lot of skin diseases as well, including eczema. In my clinic, I see eczema all the time in all ages. It usually starts in infancy and is worse in infancy and toddlerhood, and throughout childhood, and tends to get better as one ages. But itch is one of the most common complaints we see and treat in eczema. It keeps kids up at night, their skin gets open and sore and bleeding and one of the complications of all that itch is infection. So kids can get infections on their skin more frequently than other kids that don’t have eczema.
One of the things we can do to prevent that is actually use chlorine baths. We recommend just like bleach in a cup just a tiny bit of bleach in a cup in a bath like a full bathtub, and just having those kids soak in a lukewarm bleach bath about once a week. And actually that can prevent the development of infection in a lot of kids with eczema. So that’s one way we can help with that itch and those open sores on their skin.
Talk with your allergist about whether a bleach bath might be helpful for your or your child’s eczema. You can find more information here.
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Resource Type: Video | Allergy, Allergy Treatment, Atopic Dermatitis, Skin Allergies, Skin Symptoms (Itching, Hives, Etc)
