Hard Water And Eczema

What is the connection between hard water and eczema? For a long time now, families of eczema sufferers, together with some doctors have claimed that living in a hard water area may make eczema worse, yet there has been no hard scientific evidence to back up these claims. Researchers, who included: medical geographers; dermatologists; asthma specialists and statisticians, have found a link with hard water and eczema, whereby it is around 50% more prevalent in primary school children living in hard water areas when compared with children in the soft water areas. Over 4,000 primary and nearly 3,500 secondary children took part the study on hard water and eczema. Detailed information was then collected on water hardness for the survey area. The information on the hard water and eczema concentrated on the frequency of the condition, and enabled them to reach a conclusion on how recurrent it was in the different water hardness zones.

The results of the study of hard water and eczema doesn’t mean that hard water causes eczema, but it could a play a part in causing eczema flare-ups in some children. If the research findings of hard water and eczema are indeed true - they will be confirmed in the near future; then it could be that the salts in hard water could be deposited on the skin causing dryness and irritation. Alternatively, it is possible that using hard water simply means that we use more soaps and shampoos, which we know can irritate the skin of eczema sufferers. What the investigations into hard water and eczema do give, is hope that a number of sufferers lives could improve by changing their water hardness, which will be a massive relief to many.