Can eczema be cured with sea water?

10-month-old baby with postpartum atopic dermatitis, applied many types of medicine but not cured. Can bathing in sea water cure the disease? (Le Thu, Tay Ninh)

Reply:

Atopic dermatitis (eczema) is a chronic skin disease, commonly found in children and adults. Children with the disease often have red, dry, scaly, itchy, burning skin, with many small blisters in the red rash area... Children may be fussy, irritable, and sometimes have poor eating, sleeping, and sucking.

The top principle in treating atopic dermatitis is to identify and avoid triggers (digestive, respiratory, contact allergies...). Then, the doctor eliminates symptoms that cause discomfort for the child such as reducing itching, inflammation, soothing the skin, preventing dry skin, and infection with medication.

At this time, the baby's skin is often dry. Parents apply moisturizer to soften the baby's skin 2-3 times a day to avoid cracking and infection. If the baby's skin has many and severe lesions, anti-inflammatory cream can be applied as prescribed by the doctor. When the skin is less red, swollen, and itchy, the medication should be stopped and moisturizing therapy should be increased. Abuse of anti-inflammatory drugs causes skin color to change, skin to thin, hair to grow, and a higher risk of infection. The baby is treated with antibiotics when the skin is infected, has pus, fever, swollen lymph nodes, etc.

Some folk remedies are currently applied to improve the symptoms of atopic dermatitis, for example sea salt baths. However, the treatment effectiveness varies depending on each patient.

Proper sea bathing can help treat atopic dermatitis symptoms. Photo: Freepik — Proper sea bathing can help treat atopic dermatitis symptoms. Photo: *Freepik*

Sea salt contains many minerals that are good for the skin such as magnesium, calcium and potassium... helping to reduce itching, reduce inflammation, fight bacteria, and moisturize. Do not bathe in the sea for more than 15 minutes, do not bathe in the early morning when it is too cold or between 10am and 3pm when it is too hot.

After bathing your child in sea water, parents must bathe the child again with clean water, then dry the body, apply moisturizer, and protect the skin. Children can apply this method 2-3 times a week, not more. Salt has a mild bleaching ability, if bathed frequently, it can still erode the skin, counteracting the treatment.

Regular sea bathing may be suitable for those who live near the sea. For families who do not live near the sea, parents can mix a little sea salt into a basin of warm water, bathe the child, then bathe again with clean water. If the child feels comfortable and less itchy, parents can bathe the child 2-3 times a week. Should use refined salt, sea salt, physiological saline.

This method only supports symptomatic treatment. Therefore, parents should take their children to a medical facility for examination to determine the severity of the disease. In fact, not all cases of atopic dermatitis can be applied. For patients with dry skin, using high-concentration salt water can make the skin dry, itchy, and more inflamed.

MD.CKI Dao Do Thi Thien Huong
Department of Pediatrics, Tam Anh General Hospital

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