On the topic of the dead sea or other places

[chrisp]

I didn't find anything on the forum so I wanted to see if anyone had any experience with the Dead Sea or the Blue Lagoon. I am interested in going, but the Dead Sea is on the other side of the world and obviously expensive to the point of almost being prohibitive.

[jiml]

I didn't find anything on the forum so I wanted to see if anyone had any experience with the Dead Sea or the Blue Lagoon. I am interested in going, but the Dead Sea is on the other side of the world and obviously expensive to the point of almost being prohibitive.

I haven't been to either but I have asked my dermatologist about the Dead Sea..... When I asked she said that there might be a few minerals that are not in ordinary sea water but in her opinion go anywhere sunny where you can bathe in the sea and you will probably clear as well as if you had spent all your money

In the past when ever the sun shone at the start of summer I would head for the coast and swim and sunbathe and usually cleared pretty quick

That's my understanding but others might have other ideas

[Caroline]

Formerly the big psoriasis association in the Netherlands had trips on the agenda to the Dead Sea. They were even sponsored by government as in that times there were not so many treatments as nowadays.
I think the combination of the constant sun and the salty water does good for your skin.
Those trips now have stopped, I think mostly because the sponsoring has stopped.
No doubt the psoriasis will come back again, but for some weeks you are free. Indeed as Jim says that being a week at the beach anywhere and go into the water regularly should also help.

[Klbuer]

The Dead Sea has a complex set of minerals much different from the rest of the world's oceans and it has been shown to be very good at helping to clear psoriasis. I always go when visiting Israel and will see some good, short term clearing after just one day.

 That said, the Dead Sea is rapidly disappearing due to water issues from the countries around it and I believe they are starting to limit it's use. 

A trip will be very expensive ($4 - 6k minimum) and in order for it to be effective you have to spend about 10 days and go back at minimum yearly.  

Up side is that you get to visit a very cool country at the same time!

[D Foster]

The Dead Sea has a complex set of minerals much different from the rest of the world's oceans and it has been shown to be very good at helping to clear psoriasis. I always go when visiting Israel and will see some good, short term clearing after just one day.

 That said, the Dead Sea is rapidly disappearing due to water issues from the countries around it and I believe they are starting to limit it's use. 

A trip will be very expensive ($4 - 6k minimum) and in order for it to be effective you have to spend about 10 days and go back at minimum yearly.  

Up side is that you get to visit a very cool country at the same time!

You could always try Iceland though the water is warm at 40 c the country lives up to it's name and is not quite as warm as the Dead Sea area but with the water coming out of the ground at boiling point the mineral content of the water is high in fact the water is a milky white with them.

[AngelaT]

I lived in Iceland when I was in elementary school. Definitely a cool country. Lots of volcanic activity and mud pots, never considered any correlation with the Dead Sea, but certainly makes sense that there would be a lot of minerals!
I have not had Psoriasis all my life, so I cannot say much about sea water and clearing, but I do know that when I lived in Panama I tried paddling a cayuco, and ended up with huge blisters (seriously, they were about 3 inches tall, all the way across) on my back from the wooden back "rest". They swelled to over an inch thick. Some of them broke and my back was just a mess of raw yuck. I was in my teens, and not the brightest of people, so when I had the chance to get in some cool water, I dove right in- ocean. I screamed bloody murder for a few moments as it hit the raw flesh, but the sting went away rather quickly, and I stayed in and swam.
My back dried in the sun afterwards. I had no infection, no scabbing, no scarring, just like it never even happened. (not instantly, I was at the beach for a week). It made be a believer in sea water curing stuff.

[jiml]

Through most of my adult life when I struggled getting effective treatment, I used to look forward to the beginning of summer so I could get into the sea as soon as it was warm enough ...and then lay out in the sun ....it always worked for me....whether it was the sea or the sun that cleared my skin I don't know ...but I think certainly cleared my skin quickly ...sadly as soon as the summer was over it came back again ...
Fortunately Fumaderm has kept me clear for the last 6 years but I still head for the beach and swim as much as I can ....

[pingu]

I definitely had a vast improvement in the sun and sea. Whether that is due to minerals or sunlight is anyone's guess and now I am fortunate that the drugs are working.

On the dead sea it also lies significantly below sea level and due to the salts the aerosols around the dead sea differ to those of other areas and is an area studied by climatologists. The light frequencies differ slightly but enough to have some therapeutic effect and possibly the same with the minerals.

However you also have the placebo effect and I think relaxing on a beach in glorious sunshine can't help but have a healing effect.

[dyorke]

I asked my Dermo about it and she said Salt only dries up the skin and not good for it...
Moisturising is much better.....
So who do we believe?????

[jiml]

I asked my Dermo about it and she said Salt only dries up the skin and not good for it...
Moisturising is much better.....
So who do we believe?????

She could be right but I used to get in the sea at the first opportunity when my psoriasis was bad .and the sea combined with the sun certainly cleared my skin....I'm not saying it's right for everyone as some burn easily ...but I have an olive skin and tan easily without burning ....I never used to moisturise much either but do use coconut oil now and do wash the salt off my skin when I get home