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Article Courtesy of WebMD Health News
By Salynn Boyles, Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Participating in a clinical trial in 2006 changed 7-year-old Ben Kieffer’s life, says his mom, Jennifer.

Ben had suffered from severe eczema since he was 5 weeks old, with relentless itchy, painful flares of the skin condition and many rounds of antibiotics to treat related infections.

“His calves were covered in scales and his hands would crack and swell with infection,” Jennifer Kieffer tells WebMD. “It was really tough for him, but we saw a big change almost immediately after he joined the study.”

While Ben’s improvement was remarkable, even more remarkable is the fact that the treatment he received was not a high-tech, expensive new drug or topical cream.

In fact, it’s about as low tech, and inexpensive, as you can get.

When his eczema flared, Ben soaked daily in bath water containing about a quarter cup of household bleach.

He still takes frequent bleach baths, even though his eczema is much improved. His mom says the baths have made all the difference.

“For pennies’ worth of bleach to work so well is just amazing,” she says.