Sarah’s Health Notes: How a whole-home water softener ‘cured’ my post-Covid dermatitis
Months after I had Covid for the second time in 2021, and two maybe three sets of vaccinations, I developed appalling head-to-toe itchy skin. No sign of a rash or dry scales but I would wake up in the night tearing at my body. The only thing that soothed it was a cool shower so there I would be at 2, 3, 4 a.m sluicing myself down in an attempt to calm the itch.
Four neighbours had a similar problem so I started looking into possible causes and found, as I wrote here in 2024, that:
‘There is evidence that itchy skin conditions (eg eczema, urticaria/hives, psoriasis and others) can occur or worsen as a consequence of both COVID-19 infection and of vaccinations for the virus, also possibly with Long COVID. With the vaccination, this may only occur around the site of the needle and be temporary. However, the skin reactions to the virus or the vaccine can occur a long time (sometimes months) after the infection or vaccine", according to a Comment in the British Journal of Dermatology.’
While the dermatologists acknowledged this was a common reaction, no GP that we talked to knew anything about it. We all took antihistamines, which helped some of us to some extent. We slathered on various creams. One neighbour found that it was caused by an allergic reaction to various foods. But, for me, the dermatitis continued – on and off – up to this Spring. The only thing that did seem to make a difference was going away.
That was when the penny clattered to the ground. Suppose it was made worse by our water supply? I Googled the water hardness in our postcode and sure enough it is ‘very hard’. Meaning, I discovered, that the levels of natural mineral salts particularly calcium and calcium carbonate are very high. While that’s good for bones it’s certainly not good for skin or kettles etc.
Our trusted local plumber said other clients had found things improved when he installed a domestic water softener. So we went ahead and Hallelujah! the itching has stopped completely.
And as a bonus my tending-to-haystack hair is vastly improved too. I’d given up washing my face because it seemed to unbalance my skin – gone over to micellar water/lotions etc – but now I’m slightly gingerly back to washing in the mornings and my skin stays calm. PS The kettle no longer sheds flakes either….
I can’t recommend a particular brand of ‘water filtration system’ because I just don’t know enough about them but a good plumber should be able to help if you are interested.
Just one note: do keep an eye on when the cartridge (or similar) needs replacing. One suffering neighbour thought her severe skin problem couldn't be our very hard water until she discovered that her water softener had not been operational for several years….
