칼럼

Through the last two columns; we looked at the concept of atopy. Following this, in this column, we would like to discuss the first way to strengthen the skin barrier, taking a proper bath.

Occasionally, among children with atopic dermatitis, we encounter the children with strong odor. When I ask the parents, they say that they do not bathe their children well because they think that the bathing is not good for the atopic dermatitis. However, sometimes even when the do it, they often say that they do not use the soap they just wash their children with water. Due to the atopic dermatitis, the skin is rough and keratin is raised in many cases, but when the body smells too, the friends around the child will avoid him. This causes the child to lose the self-esteem without a choice.

Atopy, is bathing really bad?

1. Atopy can be stimulated by various substances.

Usually, people pay the most attention to what they eat, so they care the most about the food. However, unlike the other allergic diseases such as rhinitis and asthma, atopy is often affected more by the environment than by eating. Therefore clothing management and sick house syndrome management are very important. Even laundry detergent and fine dust often affect greatly. What does this have to do with bathing?

2. Various waste products accumulated on the skin everyday cause irritation of the skin.

Countless dead keratin cells that are invisible to the body fall out everyday and we do perspire everyday. Various types of dust, such as fine dust, yellow dust, may also stick to the body. Not only that, but a lot of bacteria and viruses are also attached to it. Unfortunately, all of these pollutants cause the irritation to our skin. Therefore, it is recommended to take a bath before going to the bed to remove all the contaminants. If you only bathe with the water, it is difficult to sufficiently wash theses contaminants away. Hence, it is preferable to use an appropriate cleaning product.

3. However, the sweating is preferable.

Just because the sweat irritates your skin and causes itching does not mean you should not sweat. Sweat is definitely recommended because the waste products from the skin are also discharged through sweating. It is better to avoid such situations in which sweat sticks to your body for a long time, so it is better to wash your body in a bath immediately after sweating enough.

4. Choosing the right cleaning agent is important.

However, most solid soaps tend to be alkaline. Previously, in the Atopic Column 2, Skin Barrier, it was mentioned that the normal skin has a slightly acidid pH of 5.5, whereas the atopic skin is neutral, making it easier to get infected with Staphylococcus aureus. It is essential to use a weak acidic cleaning product to change the skin environment to an acidic one to prevent the infection.

Bathing is also essential for moisturizing rough and dry skin. In particular, if you take a bath with water in the bathtub and soak your body in it for 5-10 minutes, you can supply enough moisture to the skin through the bath. Therefore, the guidelines for atopic dermatitis of the Korean Academy of Dermatology also recommend to take a bath every day.

Then, why is there a perception that bathing is bad?

In general, when you come out of the bath, the moisture on your skin starts to dry out quickly and can even drag out the existing moisture. That is the reason why it is important to moisturize immediately after bathing. Also, alkaline soap that is commonly used can irritate and worsen atopic skin.

Therefore, if you use a mildly acidic cleanser and apply a sufficient moisturizer right after taking a bath, it will help the atopic dermatitis. Please remember it well and change it to the bath that helps atopy. Please refer to the next column about essential moisturizing after bathing