So finally I’ve had enough. It’s time I take care of my eczema and I have made sure that everyone I know knows what I’m trying to do. Why? Well I may end up trying some pretty strange stuff (for those with already great skin) in my quest to heal myself so no need to call the psych ward, not yet anyway.
The Healing Sea
“The healing sea” was what my cousin called it. “Why don’t you try it?” Having spent a year in Izir, Turkey he told me of the local sea which locals dubbed the healing sea. Those with skin conditions including eczema and psoriasis would take a swim in this mystical sea and it would apparently heal them. When the condition came back they would simply repeat the process and voilà, smooth silky skin again. Maybe I’m a cynic, hope not, but this sound too good to be true. On the off chance it’s true I’d be more than happy to give it ago, I get a holiday out of it too after all. Or wait, no I don’t. I can’t take the time off work! Bummer.
“When Life gives you lemons make lemonade”
Well I guess that’s how life goes sometimes but as they say when it give you lemons, make lemonade. I might not be able to go Turkey right now but how hard would it be to recreate the sea conditions here…in my bath tub? Of course maybe this specific sea holds some mystical powers that other seas do not, and in that case I cannot recreate the conditions, but surely a tub of sea salt would do the trick.
From my own experience I know that when I’m abroad my eczema does clear up and that may have something to do with spending time in the sea; Just so we’re clear I’m talking about the regular Mediterranean sea, not a mystical ‘healing sea’, so I’m feeling quite optimistic. That all being said, when on holiday I also have no stress (a known trigger for eczema) and access to an unseen relic in England, the sun.
Unfortunately these improvement are not a permanent eczema cure as the moment I get back home (England) sh*t hits the fan. The atmosphere sucks the tan out of me and replaces it with eczema ridden patches in a matter of days or weeks if I’m lucky. Why? I have no idea! Clearly there is something missing here that exists out there. Is it the lack of stress? Or maybe it’s the Sun. It could quite possibly be the fact I do not swim in the sea here and the sea water has kept the eczema at bay. Of the three the easiest to replicate is probably the Sun, you can read more about my experiments with phototherapy here.
Bringing the Sea to Me
I live in London swimming in the sea regularly is not something I can do. I could of course take regular trips to Brighton but like many of you I also have other commitments beside my eczema. Unfortunately I simply do not have the time. A giant pipe running from the sea direct to my bath tub would be the best solution but oddly enough I can’t see that happening either, I can however add salt to my regular bath water. Based on what I read online table salt or Epson salts is not ideal as these only contain sodium or magnesium salts respectively; to truly replicate sea water conditions I would at least have to use actual sea salt. Sea salt contains an array of minerals including sodium (salt) and this may partially explain its healing nature.
I couldn’t get sea salt taken from the coasts of Izmir but I did manage to find, with ease, sea salt taken from the Dead Sea. Now the Dead Sea is interesting because the salt content is so high nothing can live in those water and what’s even more interesting, it too has been dubbed “the healing sea”. I’m not sure how much salt I will actually need but I’m assuming to get similar concentrations to the sea it will take a few cups at least. 25kg of the stuff, which turn out is A LOT, cost me around £30 delivered from Amazon. Considering it has to be mined (or dried), imported, packaged and delivered I think this is very reasonable, and it should last a long time. It will take multiple salt baths to get any benefit so I’ll need to post an update at a later date, you can view it here (if that isn’t blue I haven’t uploaded it yet)
Have you tried salt water baths for your eczema? Did it work for you? Share your experience by commenting below