Can diving affect eczema?

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Hello there,:coffee:
Im planning to train to become a dive instructor and have really bad eczema flare ups. I was wondering if this would affect it being in the ocean so often and if theres anything that could help with this?
 
I used to have a small patch of scalp exzema... it cleared up when I dived regularly. I believe the regular salt water immersion and sunlight did it good.

I don't know whether that would be true for all exzema conditions.

I've also found that regular (daily, over a long term) diving improves the condition of my hair, and my skin. I have a 'pet theory' that the pressure allows increased absorbtion of minerals in the sea water.

However, I also try and always use a good quality skin moisturiser post-dive.
 
You might want to try doing a :search:. There are quite a few threads where related questions have been asked before, with both positive and negative effects observed (for example: SCUBA diving: a cure for eczema.) You might also want to ask a Moderator to move your thread to the Dive Medicine forum, if you're looking for more expert advice.
 
And of course, inquiring with a Dermatologist, preferrably one familliar with diving, is always a good idea!
 
My eczema gets worse with (chlorinated) pool dives here in our dry Colorado environment, but improves dramatically when I scuba in the ocean.
 
I used to notice that same thing when I lived in the Pacific NW with other abrasions and such. When I moved to Florida and the Caribbean and then here to S. Cal, I was suprised to notice quite the opposite would occure. Scapes and small cuts would take forever to heal and the ocean didn't help a great deal if at all.

I've no proof, but if I had to guess, I'd say the bacteria levels in the diferent climates were to blame for that.
 
My friend has bad eczema. He had moved to Florida years ago and spent a lot of time in the ocean. His skin was never better. He moved back to New England a few years ago and is having problems again. As knot said, the pool work is going to be a problem but the ocean time is beneficial. There is a company, that his doctor recommended, that will ship the special sea salt to you to put in the tub, that's good for the skin.

Funny side note: He used to love to swim at night after dinner and he wondered why no one else took advantage of the time because it was so peaceful. A women stopped by as he was getting out one night and said "what the hell are you doing, don't you know the sharks like to come out and feed at night!" He never did it again. I don't know how true that is but it was sadly humorous.
 
If the poolwork is a problem you could always find somewhere to work that doesn't have a pool or does the confined water dives in lagoons and the like. ;-)

I personal have found that small cuts, etc. seem to heal quicker when I am regularly diving,my pet theory is that it's the increased ppO2 (like the hypabaric therapy that a lot of chambers are built for) or it could just be my imagination.
 
Not only can it affect it, it can CURE it. I had a patch of eczema on the back of my knee for about 10 years. Sometimes it would itch mildly, sometimes it would itch so bad I would scratch it raw. But in some form or another it was there for 10 years. When I started snorkeling I noticed that, after a day of snorkeling, it didn't itch and felt softer to the touch. The itching came back but when I went snorkeling a few days later I noticed the same thing...didn't itch for a few days, and it felt noticably softer to the touch. Eventually I took up SCUBA diving and after a couple of months of diving on a weekly basis the eczema was gone. Several dives cured what numerous prescriptions and "miracle cures" could not. Not sure exactly what to attribute this to; maybe the salt, maybe the plant particles, maybe the microorganisms, maybe maybe maybe-not really sure. But whatever the reason(s), I feel sure that the sea water is responsible for ridding me of my eczema; hopefully you will have the same result!
 
While we were at the Dead Sea in Israel a few years ago, we spoke with MANY Europeans who were prescribed a stay at the Dead Sea to treat their skin conditions, including eczema. We were told that spending a month at the Dead Sea often permanently cured people of eczema.
 
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