Date: 04/12/2021

Q: "We are going through the Spring peel/rough skin. What have you done that proves helpful? I saw you mentioned a bleach bath. In past we’ve only ever done with infections. Suggestions appreciated!"

A:

• I wanted to scrub in the bathtub, and I figured while I was in I'd dump in some bleach. The bleach was just a two-fer.
• Can't say I have ever heard of that. My immediate reaction is BLEACH IN MY BATH. YIKES. MAY I ASK WHY BLEACH?
• We’ve done them in the past to treat secondary skin infections after illnesses like hand, foot, mouth or poison ivy. Both times we were able to avoid an oral antibiotic.
• The instances we’ve used them the baths were dermatologist recommended.
• The bleach is to control odor and helps some avoid infection. A few splashes in the bath water helps. I don't bother measuring any more, lol. I do it infrequently because it’s usually not a big deal for me.
• I've been told never to shave my legs without bleach in the water; as I put up with recurring (staph) infections over 18 months before a derm recommended this simple thing at the end of the line. No problems any more!

**FIRST Resource Sheet Rewards and Risks of Bleach Baths

Q: I was wondering about travel.  Does anyone take large tubs of cream on as a carry on and how do you do that?  Does a doctor’s note allow it to go through security?  Thanks!

A:

• You have to have a doctor’s note!
• Yep, that’s exactly it. Get a note from your doctor (we’ve done both derm and primary care with no problems).
• Yes, we get the doctors not for this reason.
• They confiscated my brand new jar of Aquaphor. ??
• Yes, that happened to us today because I forgot to take it out of the carryon. I was wondering if a doctor’s note would be a way around this!
• I learned a valuable lesson. I thought it was liquid products not ointments that went under the 2oz rule.
• We have a note that has worked, but also have used 2 smaller tubes of Aquaphor for carry on and tubs in checked bags (you can put whatever you want in them).
• No. Not even a dr’s note helped us....
• I was wondering. I figured they wouldn't budge with their rules regardless of a note.
• No those rules are pretty hard and fast...
• We fly all the time and we use to bring a Drs note. Then never really worried about it. This year when we were flying back and forth to Louisiana every 2 weeks for our son to do the clinical trial through first and Yale. Never had a Dr’s note just put all his Sween and lotions in a big zip lock and they would run through the scanner with the carry on and then one of the TSA would bring us to the end counter and do a dip in it to make sure it was good. TSA explained that they are not supposed to take it because it is a medically necessary item.
• Exactly, it does help to have a letter from the doc that the lotion, and amount, is medically necessary (especially if checked luggage is lost or delayed.)
• I still take a letter from a doctor with us, but they’ve never asked to see it. But, it makes me feel a little better knowing I have it in case they ask questions.
• Yes, you have to claim one bag as a medical bag, which can have liquids over 3 oz. We bring a doctor’s note, though. TSA has never looked at it. They just confirm our medical bag, go through everything and send us on our way. One screening did trigger bomb protocol, which was super annoying but other than that one incident, we've never had an issue and never had anything confiscated.
• I carry a full bottle of Aveeno lotion every time we fly and have never had an issue. I do not carry a doctor’s note, I just tell the TSA that it’s for my daughter, they glance at her, usually they test the lotion (non invasive screening) and let us pass. Only had one issue when she was younger with a new TSA agent, but the supervisor came over and handled everything without any additional problem.

• We have had wildly different experiences when flying. One TSA person refused to even look at the doctor's note, saying "Anyone can fake that!" They confiscated our tub of Aquaphor. Ironically, this was on our way to a FIRST conference. Other times we have gotten the full pat-down and they test his Aquaphor for bomb residue and send us on our way. Another time they did that and the results caused them to call in some sort of bomb specialist... it was a long delay...almost missed our flight.