As a parent to a child that has eczema, your mind is most likely always thinking about how to help comfort your child when they have an eczema flare up and the best ways to prevent incidents in the first place.
You are vigilant about checking materials, skincare products, foods or anything that might trigger an outbreak. But one factor you might be missing is the fact that your water may also be causing your child’s eczema to flare!
Eczema Stats and Figures
Did you know that 1 in 10 children are diagnosed with eczema? About 11% of children in the US will suffer from this dry, itchy skin disease. Mostly prevalent among elementary aged children, infants can even be diagnosed as soon as they are born!
Eczema causes the skin to become dry, itchy, red, bumpy and overall irritated. It weakens the skin’s barrier which aids with retaining moisture and protecting your body from outside elements.
One of those outside elements is water! We use water for EVERYTHING. We wash our hair and body with it, cook with it, wash our clothes with it, etc. So what’s in our water will ultimately affect our lives!
Currently, Frisco, Texas receives its treated water from North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD). The NTMWD reservoir system is made up of 5 surface water supply sources.
As that water runs from the reservoirs and into your homes, it will absorb minerals and deposits as it flows through the water system and ground.
The minerals and deposits are mainly made up of calcium and magnesium. The amount of calcium and magnesium in your water determines the hardness.
To learn more read our blog, What Minerals Are In Hard Water And Where Do They Come From?
In Frisco, the water is technically safe to drink and considered potable, but the water hardness level averages from moderate to high.
How Hard Water Can Affect Children with Eczema
Hard water can take a toll on your skin and ultimately wreak havoc within your home.
When the water hardness is high, it can cause soap to be less effective, and not be washed off the skin as efficiently, it can dry out your skin and hair and also cause irritation if your skin is more sensitive.
That is why it’s important to know what hard water does to your body, especially if your child suffers from eczema.
Studies have shown that there is a correlation between flare ups and worsening issues with eczema and hard water.
This means that even though you have looked at, researched and made sure that your child is as comfortable as possible with this condition, your water can be negating all of the positive changes you’ve made!
What To Do When You Have Hard Water & A Child With Eczema
The first step when dealing with a possible hard water problem, is to get your water tested! This is the best way to figure out what is in your water, the hardness level and how it may be affecting your child’s skin and health and overall, your home.
Here at EcoWater Texas we offer a free in-home water test which will guide you to correcting your water problem and allowing you to have the best tasting, highest quality, water right out of your faucet.
Once we confirm that you have hard water, we will recommend a water softener!
A water softener does exactly what the name says. A water softener removes the calcium, magnesium and other minerals from the water, through a process called ion exchange, making it cleaner and purifying it of those harsh deposits.
We go into more detail in a previous blog, How Ion Exchange Works Inside Of Water Softeners.
When a water softener is installed, you will start to notice a difference throughout your home. You won’t have the white calcium build up around your faucets, your clothes will stop dulling so fast and last longer and most importantly, your hair and skin will feel better! You’ll see that your soap suds up more effectively, you will have a cleaner scalp because there will be less product residue after you wash your hair, and your skin will feel hydrated.
That is especially important if your child, or even you suffer from eczema. You won’t feel the irritation or dryness that hard water causes because the sources of that problem have been eliminated!
As always, it’s important to follow the advice of your medical professionals when it comes to health issues, but a water softener can be a big step in helping to ease the discomfort that comes with a skin condition like eczema.
Interested In Eliminating Hard Water In Your Home?
If you are interested in installing a water softener in your home, or simply testing your water hardness, and quality, contact our team at EcoWater Texas today!
Our knowledge, experience and advanced water purification systems ensures that you get the best results!
To learn more about our company, values and resources check out our latest blog that discusses careers and our history!