Could a household cleaner help treat skin conditions?

Caring for your skin can seem like a somewhat superficial action, but in reality it affects your health in many different ways. On the one hand, your skin is your body's first defensive barrier against environmental toxins, viruses and other irritants. On the other, internal issues like dehydration or an underlying condition can actually manifest themselves in skin-based symptoms even before more grave signs develop.

For individuals who suffer from weakened immune systems or blood clotting concerns, it is especially important to nourish the skin and facilitate healthy healing in order to avoid potentially fatal infection. With these concerns in mind, new research from Stanford University could prove incredibly beneficial in many medical contexts.

According to a university press release, scientists from Stanford's School of Medicine have discovered that a heavily diluted bleach bath containing just 0.005 percent of the common cleaning agent may provide relief from these conditions and facilitate skin renewal both by killing off harmful viruses and bacteria and by interfering with the body's inflammatory response. Though inflammation is a natural immune response that occurs when the body's cells may be threatened, it can often exacerbate medical issues and lead to further damage. Such is the case for individuals with eczema, diabetes and dermatitis.

"It's possible that, in addition to being beneficial to radiation dermatitis, [diluted bleach] could also aid in healing wounds like diabetic ulcers. This is exciting because there are so few side effects to dilute bleach. We may have identified other ways to use hypochlorite to really help patients," said Dr. Thomas Leung, one of the leading researchers behind the new study.

Further research is necessary to determine if bleach can be harnessed in a clinical setting, but  if you have concerns about the use of this chemical, there are other more natural avenues to try to improve your skin. Curcumin, for example, may serve a similar anti-inflammatory purpose that can reduce puffiness. Click here to read more about Nutrivene Longvida Curcumin.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 19th, 2013 at 3:24 pm. Both comments and pings are currently closed.