Bleach Baths May Help Control Atopic Dermatitis

Treating atopic dermatitis (AD) by adding bleach to your bathwater may sound like an old wives’ tale. After all, dermatologists recommend gentle, fragrance-free products for their patients with AD. Bleach hardly falls into this category. A bleach bath, however, may be exactly what your dermatologist orders. Dermatologists have been prescribing dilute bleach baths for more than 20 years to patients with AD who get frequent skin infections caused by staph. These patients seem to benefit from soaking in a bath that contains a very small amount of bleach — about 4 ounces of bleach added to 40 gallons of water. Regular short soaks seem to reduce staph infections. With fewer staph infections, these patients appear to have less severe AD. At least, this is what dermatologists have long suspected, but studies never confirmed this belief. To collect scientific data about this low-cost, easy-to-use treatment, dermatologists conducted a 2-year study. This study looked at whether taking dilute bleach baths could reduce staph infections in children with AD.