Bleach may Help Reduce Inflammation in Damaged Skin Cells

Researchers from Stanford recently discovered that dilute bleach solution can potentially help reduce skin damage that's caused by inflammation.

"Originally it was thought that bleach may serve an antimicrobial function, killing bacteria and viruses on the skin," said Thomas Leung, MD, Ph.D., an instructor in dermatology at Stanford and a pediatric dermatologist at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, via a press release. "But the concentrations used in clinic are not high enough for this to be the sole reason. So we wondered if there could be something else going on."

The study was conducted on mice models to show how the chemical works to dilute inflammatory skin conditions.

Researchers note that when the skin is damaged, the body begins to protect the site from infection. The study authors wondered if bleach (sodium hypochlorite) could help in a similar manner.

Leung and colleagues studied a molecule known as 'nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells' that are known to be associated with the damage repair of aging.

They hoped to determine whether there was any connection between NF-kB and the effects of diluted beach. In order to test this, researchers exposed the skin cells to 0.005 percent bleach an hour efore treating them with molecules that are known to increase activity of the cells.

They found that old mice treated with bleach showed younger-looking skin. They also found that increased exposure led to a decrease in NF-kB.

"We found that the bleach solution oxidizes and inhibits an activator necessary for NF-kB to enter the nucleus, essentially blocking NF-kB's effect," Leung said, via the release.

More information regarding the study can be found via the Journal of Clinical Investigation.