Dead Sea Salt Bath

Hey all! Hope everyone is having a great holiday season. :)

I've been reading a bit about Dead Sea salt as a natural treatment for PsA. It would appear that it has been used for centuries with some positive results.

I'm currently on a waiting list for a rhuemy, and am only doing the steroid creams for the rash/plaques and naproxen for the inflammation. I'm still in quite a lot of pain with limited mobility. I'm all itchy and stiff, and going slightly mad, as I may not get into treatment for several more months. I have a disabled hubs to care for and a three yr. old with special needs, so I can't exactly be lying around and complaining. I have to do something to get my body to keep moving. I've also been walking at least an hour three times a week. It hurts, but it seems to loosen things up a bit. To add insult to injury, I live on the fourth floor of a Victorian apt. building with no elevator. Um...ouch. :/ So, I ordered some Dead Sea salts for a bath.

I was wondering if there are any of you kind folks who have tried a soak in this stuff, and if it gave any relief. Other types of baths? I've also been rubbing on a mixture I made of baby oil and tea tree oil after showers. It relieves some of the itch temporarily and moistens the skin nicely, but doesn't seem to do more than that.

I'd appreciate any comments or anecdotes. Thank you. :)

I know lots of folks who use Epsom salts baths for pain and find them very helpful. I have heard similar results for the Dead Sea Salts, an they feel more pampery and less fogey than Epsom salts! I use them for my tootsies all the time and it can really help when they are tender. Warm soaks of any kind will help most people. The only thing that I have heard to look out for is skin irritation. Both heat, and the salts can irritate skin with P in some people, but has no adverse effect in others. I would soak a small spot of skin, like an elbow or a hand first to see how your skin reacts.



The tea tree oil can be helpful. Here is my regime for P. Also, be sure to look at Marietta’s discussions on her home page. She has a great skin regimen all spelled out.



After bathing while my skin is still damp, I apply tea tree oil by Melaleuca. You can order the shower oil version on eBay and Amazon. Then I follow up with a Neutrogena rain bath oil. Then blot my skin dry, not rub. I out my robe on while I get ready, make the bed, etc. to dry off the rest of the way. When I am dry, I slather Eucerin on the plaques or problem areas, then follow that with a healthy layer of Renew lotion (also by Melaleuca and available on eBay or Amazon). I do this in the morning. Before bed, I touch up the problem area with Eucerin. If my hands, feet or elbows are in bad shape, I cover them after I do the Eucerin. I use socks, cotton gloves, and gauze for my elbows. Then, I reapply the Renew lotion all over. The Melaleuca products are pricey, and in order to get them from the company, you need to buy a membership and make monthly orders. I found their products through eBay and Amazon, and it’s a much better deal with a whole lot less commitment. A girlfriend introduced me to their skin products years ago, and they helped so much for me that I can’t give them up. :slight_smile:



UV therapy is super helpful for some people, for others it can cause a rash. So here’s another thing to be careful when trying. You can get treatments through the dermatologist, and that is the recommended way to go. When I didn’t have insurance, I started going to a tanning bed. I wear sun block and only stay in of a short time as I am very fair complected. It really helped my skin. I still go in the winter time, because it helps my mood, but I still wear sun block.



Daily, gentle stretches can be helpful. I go through some basic stretches every day, and when I feel myself begin to stiffen up.



Until your disease is better managed, it’s better to pretreat for pain instead of trying to play catch-up. So, dosing with your NSAID around the clock, whether you hurt or not might be a better way to go that taking meds in reaction to pain that is escalating.



Vitamin d3 is good for skin and bones, and this time of year especially, most adults are deficient. There is a simple blood test that your primary doctor can run to see if this is true for you too, then can prescribe however much you need. Some people have reported that they feel some relief when this is corrected.



Water. Lots and lots of water. Try to avoid foods and beverages with sodium, it dries your skin out and is just all around not good for us. Make sure that you are drinking your daily allotment of plain old h2o. Your skin will thank you! :slight_smile:



There are my tips. I wish I could offer you more, but I hope that some of it helps. There are more, but I didn’t wan to hog the discussion. If you want to talk you can message me.

I use both Epsom salts and dead sea salt and find that a 20 min soak is wonderful for my joints :-) Unfortunately it has not provided long term relief but it certainly helps! My daughter gifted me a bottle of Welds Arnica massage oil, I find that to also be beneficial for my tendons and muscle aches. I get a lot of enthesitis in my neck, shoulders, lower back and therapeutic creams and oils are helpful.

That's wonderful to hear, TaraLynn, thank you for your response! I'll look forward to a nice little soak in the tub, then. :)

Thanks a million, GrumpyCat! Those were some wonderful suggestions, and I think I may try them all. :)

GrumpyCat said:

I know lots of folks who use Epsom salts baths for pain and find them very helpful. I have heard similar results for the Dead Sea Salts, an they feel more pampery and less fogey than Epsom salts! I use them for my tootsies all the time and it can really help when they are tender. Warm soaks of any kind will help most people. The only thing that I have heard to look out for is skin irritation. Both heat, and the salts can irritate skin with P in some people, but has no adverse effect in others. I would soak a small spot of skin, like an elbow or a hand first to see how your skin reacts.

The tea tree oil can be helpful. Here is my regime for P. Also, be sure to look at Marietta's discussions on her home page. She has a great skin regimen all spelled out.

After bathing while my skin is still damp, I apply tea tree oil by Melaleuca. You can order the shower oil version on eBay and Amazon. Then I follow up with a Neutrogena rain bath oil. Then blot my skin dry, not rub. I out my robe on while I get ready, make the bed, etc. to dry off the rest of the way. When I am dry, I slather Eucerin on the plaques or problem areas, then follow that with a healthy layer of Renew lotion (also by Melaleuca and available on eBay or Amazon). I do this in the morning. Before bed, I touch up the problem area with Eucerin. If my hands, feet or elbows are in bad shape, I cover them after I do the Eucerin. I use socks, cotton gloves, and gauze for my elbows. Then, I reapply the Renew lotion all over. The Melaleuca products are pricey, and in order to get them from the company, you need to buy a membership and make monthly orders. I found their products through eBay and Amazon, and it's a much better deal with a whole lot less commitment. A girlfriend introduced me to their skin products years ago, and they helped so much for me that I can't give them up. :-)

UV therapy is super helpful for some people, for others it can cause a rash. So here's another thing to be careful when trying. You can get treatments through the dermatologist, and that is the recommended way to go. When I didn't have insurance, I started going to a tanning bed. I wear sun block and only stay in of a short time as I am very fair complected. It really helped my skin. I still go in the winter time, because it helps my mood, but I still wear sun block.

Daily, gentle stretches can be helpful. I go through some basic stretches every day, and when I feel myself begin to stiffen up.

Until your disease is better managed, it's better to pretreat for pain instead of trying to play catch-up. So, dosing with your NSAID around the clock, whether you hurt or not might be a better way to go that taking meds in reaction to pain that is escalating.

Vitamin d3 is good for skin and bones, and this time of year especially, most adults are deficient. There is a simple blood test that your primary doctor can run to see if this is true for you too, then can prescribe however much you need. Some people have reported that they feel some relief when this is corrected.

Water. Lots and lots of water. Try to avoid foods and beverages with sodium, it dries your skin out and is just all around not good for us. Make sure that you are drinking your daily allotment of plain old h2o. Your skin will thank you! :-)

There are my tips. I wish I could offer you more, but I hope that some of it helps. There are more, but I didn't wan to hog the discussion. If you want to talk you can message me.

I am happy to help. I hope you get some relief very soon.