diver_doug
Contributor
I had a fairly large patch of eczema on the back of my leg for about 10 years. At times it was mild, at times it would itch uncontrollably. I tried a number of treatments ranging from over-the-counter products, to prescriptions, to internet "miracle cures"; all of which helped, but none of which got rid of the eczema completely. A couple of years ago I started snorkeling and noticed after a day in the water that my skin, overall, felt softer and that the patch on the back of my leg didn't itch for a whole week (just kinda dawned on me one day: "Wow, I haven't scratched the back of my leg for a week."). I made the correlation between snorkeling and the improvement and figured the salt/plant particles/fish particles/bacteria/microorganisms must be responsible. I went snorkeling a couple of weeks later and the following day felt the back of my leg and noticed that it was smoother than it had been in quite some time. Not long after this I got SCUBA certified and started diving just about every week. After a couple of months I noticed that the eczema was gone. Not lessened, not improved...gone! I've continued to dive almost weekly for the last year and have yet to have it come back. Just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience of a skin problem being improved or fully healed by ocean water?