It’s National Eczema Week this week, and so we’re taking a look at how water in your home can affect eczema and what you can do to help prevent flare-ups.
What Is Eczema?
Atopic eczema is a chronic genetic skin condition causing dry skin, itching and inflammation and is triggered by common irritants such as soap, detergents and heat, and other factors such as stress and food allergies can exacerbate symptoms. Typical treatments to control flare-ups include topical emollients and steroid creams. Open sores caused by scratching may need to be treated with antibiotics if infection is present.
Statistics from the National Eczema Society show that up to 20% of children and 8% of adults in the UK suffer from eczema. If that hasn’t answered all your burning questions, visit the National Eczema Society’s website for more information on National Eczema Week and other eczema resources.
Is Softer Water Kinder to Skin?
Whilst not all studies have indicated that eczema and water hardness are related, hard water is identified as an environmental trigger in the NICE (2007) guidelines on atopic eczema in children 12 years and under.
Research from the University of Sheffield (2017) indicates that people with eczema are much more sensitive to the effects of hard water and that it may even contribute to eczema development.
A Kinetico Water Softener Trial carried out independently on 23 families who had a Kinetico Water Softener system installed in their house found that the severity of eczema symptoms was reduced in 83% of participants, with 91% recording less itchiness, and 96% noticing smoother skin and softer hair. Of the 78% of participants regularly using emollients or steroid creams, nearly 70% said they were using less to control their symptoms.
Does a Water Softener Help With Eczema?
One customer, Miss Ward, wrote to us, “My son has had eczema since he was four weeks old, and it was very severe. We had our softener installed, and now he’s a different child. I am sure his symptoms have been helped by the soft water, as we had to use ‘normal’ water for two weeks when we had a flood. His skin became dry, cracked, sore, and the itch so intense it was reliving the nightmare again. [Our Kinetico water softener] truly is a light at what can seem a very dark, endless battle to win.”
Another customer, Anne-Marie Crawford-Flanagan, also has a son who struggled with some pretty severe eczema flare-ups and went through a life-changing experience with Kinetico water softeners. Watch Dylan's story below:
Soap Scum Begone!
Hard water contains calcium and magnesium, which reacts with soap and detergents to create soap ‘scum’ deposits on the skin, bath, shower and laundry. Soap scum is a red flag to sensitive skin prone to eczema, making it feel itchier, so the sufferer is more likely to scratch.
Soft water is one of the many ways to relieve eczema and may help break the scratch-itch cycle. The Kinetico Water Softener removes the calcium and magnesium from the water, and soap scum is immediately a thing of the past. Skin feels softer, less dry and less prone to irritation whilst freshly laundered clothes are free of soap scum deposits, feeling softer, fresher and kinder to skin.
Celebrate National Eczema Week by finding out more about how Kinetico softened water can help with eczema and dry skin irritations!
