Tap Water’s Interference with Eczema  

The genre of this paper is a research proposal. My audience is other scientists who are equipped to being able to make another experiment to be able to help the general public. My proposal is to make another experiment on how tap water effects are skin and to not unincluded people who have skin disorder because they are the most affected by it. I will be using experiments that are failed as well as strong vocabulary to prove my point.

A person with Atopic Dermatitis scratching from there irritated skin from Atopic Dermatitis Treatments | SLO, CA | Coastal Dermatology 

New York City runs on tap water. Tap water is a type of water containing minerals, including magnesium, calcium Sodium, potassium, chlorine, iron, Zinc and lastly manganese. It is used for washing dishes, doing laundry, and for drinking and taking a bath. However, tap water is bad for the skin. For one, it takes away the collagen produced and makes your skin dry and itchy. Which can cause people to have a higher chance of having wrinkles around their face and body. This is an issue for normal skin (Helm, 2023). My sister, however, has eczema, and she must follow certain rules so her eczema does not flare up so her skin can look normal. With all this information I became curious on tap water effecting my sister  I found out  that there is barely enough  research/ studies surrounding the effects of tap water on people with skin conditions like eczema and so if all these are happening with people who have normal skin, I believe people with eczema have worse side effects from tap water than normal people do . With this idea in mind I believe that we should have more studies on how tap water affects people with eczema for with these studies we can build a solution. 

Background 

Eczema, also known as Atopic Dermatitis, is a condition that causes very dry and itchy patches of skin. It usually spreads genetically and depends on the environment called Contact dermatitis. 1-5 people in the United States have Atopic dermatitis, it is considered a gene mutation where the skin has a weaker immune system for the skin, which makes it harder to receive and store moisture additionally having difficulty in many environments. Thus, the skin becomes dry and itchy. It causes a disturbance to a person’s day-to-day lifestyle. When the weather gets hotter, the skin becomes more irritated so covering up or using an Umbrella helps. As well as in the winter the air becomes dry which causes the skin to become more cracked and dry which means that the person with eczema must keep themselves moisturized 24/7 so they do not have pain of their skin. This is the average level of a person who has eczema. There are certain levels of eczema, some of them are not as noticeable but still appear occasionally. There are certain levels of eczema, from having a few flare-ups which are manageable, to being in critical help needing medical attention. People with eczema must remember their routine their whole life without knowing that the water they are bathing in can cause more harm to their sensitive skin. 

Methods  

Weisel, C. P., & Jo, W. K. (1996). Ingestion, inhalation, and dermal exposures to chloroform and trichloroethene from tap water. Environmental Health Perspectives, 104(1), 48–51. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.9610448 

The following study was from environmental occupational institute they wanted to know the exposures of ingestion, inhalation, and dermal exposure of 6 men and women in the ages between 20-50. I will put a spotlight on dermal exposure since I will be talking about skin and Ingestion. The studies found evidence that by being exposed to all the chemicals of what is in tap water it is easily absorbed in the skin. As well as extreme amounts of minerals being consumed with the water that we have in our house. With these 2 combined it will give us a higher chance of poisoning from these minerals as well as an attack on our immune system. With all if this being absorbed this can decrease the straight of are immune system. In the past it has shown a positive impact on consuming it, however a huge amount is bad for the body.  

Gordon, S. M., Wallace, L. A., Callahan, P. J., Kenny, D. V., & Brinkman, M. C. (1998). Effect of water temperature on dermal exposure to chloroform. Environmental Health Perspectives, 106(6), 337–345. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.98106337 

In this study, they wanted to know if the water’s temperature affects the absorption of chloroform (which is found in tap water) to the body. they have brought in five men and five women ages between 23-29 and made them stay in a body of water that contained chloroform for 20- 25 min with different tempters. It has shown that as the temperature of the water gets hotter it increases the skin’s ability to absorb the chloroform in the water as well as the opposite when the water is cold it makes it hard for the skin to absorb it. Even with warm water, we still absorb chloroform, which can cause increasing dehydration in the body. If we sit for at least 30 minutes, take a bath and warm water. Our skin will start dehydrating every single day. Our skin will become decreasingly more hydrated from the chloroform. 

Shapouri, B., & Ogunleye, M.D., T. (2023, September 13). Does hard water make eczema worse? Healthcentral.com. https://www.healthcentral.com/condition/eczema/hard-water-and-eczema  

The following article is information backed up by Temitayo Ogunleye, M.D., a clinical dermatologist from the University of Pennsylvania school of medicine. She has concluded that while all these minerals are good for the skin, too much can lead to excessive dryness and itchiness, and this is only normal skin. People with eczema will get mor dryness and more cracks on their skin. It can cause even more flare-ups which are very irritating and hard to maintain. As well as the decreasing strength of the skin barrier, which is to protect the skin from moisture loss,UV rays and infections.  

Maloney, C. (2024, November 4). Does hard water impact eczema? National Eczema Association. https://nationaleczema.org/blog/hard-water-eczema/ 

In this Article from the National Eczema Association, they have found a gene that relates to Eczema called filaggrin. It is considered a mutation of the gene since it gives people the disadvantage 0f having healthy skin that can keep moisture. With Tap water in this equation, it has been studied that the more you are exposed to tap water (hard water) There is a higher chance for you to develop eczema or increase the irritation of Eczema for people who have it. It also puts people at higher risk of allergies and bacteria which can further hurt the immune system for a person with Eczema. 

Grey, H. (2024, January 4). Can hard water cause or make eczema worse? Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/eczema/hard-water-and-eczema#research 

The following Source backed up from the Clinical and experimental Allergy has added from the excessive amount of calcium that is in the water, it is hard for the skin to absorb moisture. So, if you have, like, a cream was thick substance like Vaseline or Aquaphor that is supposed to help moisturize your skin it will be harder to take in the hydration more than normal skin therefore people with eczema have longer time with healing their dry skin as well. Also, excess amounts of cytokines, which are proteins that cause inflammation 

Conclusion 

 I am right to be concerned for people with eczema. With their weak skin barrier, they have a higher chance of getting wrinkles, higher chance of drier skin, as well as higher chances of absorbing too much Magnesium, chloroform and calcium which can cause poisoning. We should make a complaint to the government to discontinue the use of tap water for it is harming the people who are sensitive towards this type of water. additionally increasing the possibility of children and adults getting eczema as well not by only taking a bath but drinking it as well. Water is a necessity for sustainability and the fact that our water can cause more harm to our future should not be taken lightly and be taken seriously. With that I hope this information we can learn that there are many different people in this world that should be considered in experiments and studies so we can improve everyone’s way of living together and nobody being left behind.