Full Thread

Joshua (Waverly, OH) on 01/25/2007
5 out of 5 stars

I have been having outbreaks for about 3 years now. I've found that when the sores are at their worst a HOT(as tolerable!)bath in a tub full of clear water and 1/2 cup of Clorox for 20-30 minutes speeds up the healing process. Afterwards invest in Lysol-and lots of it! Wash and change bedding daily and spray everything you touch with Lysol. In about 10 days you can rid all surfaces in your' home, negating the spread of MRSA infection!

Replied By JLynn (Arlington, Tx) on 10/21/2008

I don't know about bathing with bleach but I do know that whenever I have had problems with re occurring boils adding bleach to my laundry, all delicates, it seems to help with the boils not coming back.

Replied By Jamila (Springfield, Va) on 10/28/2008

My daughter was diagnosed with recurring MRSA and one of the remedies both her doctor and her nurse recommended was adding bleach to her baths twice a week. They did not say anything about treating the boils, but it is supposed to prevent future colonization of MRSA when used in conjunction with an antibiotic regimine, daily disinfection of household surfaces, and daily laundering of bed clothes with bleach. I have read that bleach baths are also a great treatment for eczema, which my daughter also has.

Replied By Carri (Greenville, SC) on 12/16/2008

Bathing in bleach CLOROX brand ONLY!!! And ONLY the plain kind, not gel or anything scented, is a very good flush for your body. This is a commonly used remedy to pull heavy metals from your body (among MANY other things). Mix one half cup plain Clorox brand bleach to your bath tub and fill to the level of your belly button when sitting. You can soak in the tub for 50-60 minutes for heavy metal reduction. If you think about all the horrible chemicals that are in your water anyway a little bleach is not going to hurt you, and actually probably nullifies some of the harmful chemicals. Don't knock it til you try it! I've done it for years to help with heavy metals (I fell so much better, by the way) and had no clue about the connection to healing boils, but am happy to know of it.

Replied By Mark (Charlottesville, VA) on 01/12/2009

I would be very careful about using bleach on skin.

Bleach damages tissue and can make it more susceptible to disease. For example, washing syringes used by IV drug users as was suggested for many years with bleach makes one more susceptible to HIV (plain soapy water works better).

It is well known that bleach can damage skin (see MSDS). In the event of "serios skin contact" with bleach it is recommended that you wash with a disinfectant soap and use an anti-bacterial cream. In other words, exposure to bleach can make you more prone to infection. 10:1 dilutions or 100:1 might be better tolerated.

By the same token, Nonoxynol-9 was shown to kill HIV in-vitro but in-vivo it was found it could do more harm than good due to tissue damage - after years of use by consumers.

Alcohols and hydrogen peroxide may cause tissue damage in some cases, particularly on mucous membranes. Alcohol gels at least contain things to make them easier on the skin and appear to be ok to use.

http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Sodium_Hypochlorite_5_-9925000

Sterile Manuka honey looks worth checking out. Wounds reportedly heal in about half the time compared to most modern treatments and it has been shown to be helpful on MRSA. Some pre-prepared manuka honey dressings have been FDA approved (but are expensive). But beware of diluted preparations. Pure sterile manuka honey can be imported in 500g jars and 25g-80g tubes of sterile manuka honey can be purchased in the US. Not all varieties of Manuka honey contain the same amount (or any significant amount) of the active ingredient that makes manuka honey more effective - it depends on the variety of manuka the bees feed on. Even plain honey has a very long history (8000 years) of being used as a wound dressing, though largely forgotten today with the aggressive marketing of commercial products. However, non-sterile honey may contain Closridia or other disease causing factors.
http://tahilla.typepad.com/mrsawatch/wounds_honey/index.html

Tea tree oil is known to kill MRSA but if it is diluted too much it not only doesn't kill but breeds tea tree and antibiotic resistant strains quickly.
Dilute Benzalkonium chloride also breeds resistant strains. I have heard triclosan has the same problem but the research on that appears a little questionable.

Oregano oil appears to be a potent MRSA killer.

From personal experience, a water based gel lubricant (KY jelly/Surgilube/etc) is very helpful for fungal infections (better than more expensive anti-fungals). It helps moisturize (without promoting growth due to moisture) and heal the skin and the preservative used, chlorhexidine gluconate, is effective in very low concentrations against candida. However, the concentration is much lower than in chlorhexidine gluconate surgical scrubs such as hibiclens. Thus the suggestion to use tea tree oil in KY seems promising, though the tea tree oil concentration should be at least 5% (but not too much higher). Adding neem oil and oregano oil would be worth investigating. But the combinations haven't been clinically tested.

Strong disinfectants may do more harm than good due to tissue damage. Diluted disinfectants breed resistance. Whatever doesn't kill the bugs makes them stronger.

When cleaning surfaces, reuse of a wipe on more than one surface, and use of non-disposable mops, rags, etc. can spread MRSA.

I don't have MRSA (I hope) but my housemate is suffering from a post-operative MRSA infection.

Replied By Freebird (South Bend, In) on 09/15/2011

The Mayo Clinic and the Center for Disease Control recommend this now, along with Manuka honey. 1/2 c bleach and two big handfuls of baking soda. Don't over do it. Every three days or so.

Replied By Joan (Australia) on 03/03/2015

Bleach in bath water would be no different than swimming in a pool. What do you think is in a chlorine pool??

Replied By Landa (Navarre, Fl) on 12/01/2015

That's funny. My son's pediatrician just suggested this to me last week. I had never heard of a bleach bath. She said to fill the tub with water and use a cup of bleach. She said he should soak for 15 minutes.

Replied By Linda (Gilbert , Az) on 12/19/2015

I was actually told this by my son's pediatrician .

He has MRSA and she told me to give him a bath twice a week with about a tablespoon of bleach to a gallon of water to rid the skin of MRSA.

Replied By Eli (Usa) on 09/14/2017

Bleach bath doesn't help. It dries the skin, and that makes the skin more susceptible to infections. If you read here, you get the idea that much of this MRSA bacteria specifically enjoys itself in a acidic environment. So a bleach bath would just keep your skin at a low pH (acidic) which is really bad to treat these infections.

Replied By Jacquelyn (Ca) on 07/13/2018
Actually, bleach is a base, not an acid, so it makes sense to de-acidify the skin that way. Maybe baking soda is a gentler alternative? Don't know if it would be as effective though. I haven't tried either, but I have some pimple-shaped bumps appearing that I'm afraid might be mrsa.

Replied By Amanda (Magnolia, Tx) on 01/11/2018

Actually our doctor told us the same thing as part of my son's regime to get rid of staph. A little bleach in the bathtub.

Replied By Djamel (Durham NC ) on 08/14/2022

Hi Jamila, did the bleach bath help your daughter? I'm struggling with MRSA and curious to try it.

Replied By Katzie (Calgary) on 08/15/2022

Have you tried Manuka Honey on it yet? Manuka kills mrsa.

Healthy healing to you & your daughter.

Entire Thread

You must be logged in to love this post! Please sign in:

You must be logged in to follow this post! Please sign in: