Giveaway #234 : Win an eczema-friendly Kinetico water softener worth £1,300 - closed - winner Kara Guppy (@chelseamamma)

Could where you live affect your skin’s health and even be a trigger for eczema?  The answer could be yes, and it is all down to your tap water, especially if you live in a hard water area. 

According to mapping studies, in the UK there are over 13 million homes situated in hard water areas. Studies have shown that hard water can be an eczema trigger, and that primary school children living in hard water areas are almost 50% more likely to have eczema than those living in a softer water area.

Tony Frost, an independent consultant with over 35 years’ experience in water treatment design, supplies and services, says ‘It is thought that the calcium and magnesium in hard water cause dryness, which may lead to irritation, and households in hard water areas tend to use more soap and detergent, which may aggravate eczema sufferer’s skin’.

You may not want to move house, but you could easily change your water quality by softening your water when it enters your home. Kinetico commissioned talkhealth (http://bit.ly/XTZ3r5) to conduct an independent product trial and survey. Of the participants who had a Kinetico water softener fitted, 83% surveyed maintained that the water softener reduced the severity of their eczema and 91% experienced less itchiness.

Commenting on the trial, Julie van Onselen, Independent Dermatology Nurse, said: ‘Eczema affects 1 in 5 children aged up to 11 years old and 1 in 10 teenagers and adults. It can be very distressing to the child, teenager, and adult with eczema and for their families. The most positive result from this trial is that people with eczema felt their skin was smoother and less itchy. The vicious scratch-itch cycle is often the hardest symptom to deal with, dry skin is itchy skin and itchy skin is scratched, which leads to damage and often a “flare-up” of eczema. Therefore, if skin is less itchy, scratching and skin damage will reduce and eczema ‘flares’ will reduce’.

To find out if your postcode is hard on your skin, and how a water softener can bring relief to you and your family, visit www.kinetico.co.uk/eczema.

Key eczema facts - did you know…

• According to the National Eczema Society, ‘In the UK, 1 in 5 children and 1 in 12 adults have eczema.
• Eczema causes sleep problems and affects studying.
• Embarrassment can lead to low self -esteem.
• Stress can make eczema worse.

  
  

  

  
  

Kinetico water softeners have been shown to:

• Alleviate the troublesome symptoms of eczema and dry skin conditions
• Encourage smoother, softer skin and silky hair
• Decrease the time spent on household cleaning with reduced lime scale on shower screens and tiles and water marks from taps, sinks and toilets
• Decrease, by up to 75%, the use of soaps and detergents
• Produce softer, brighter looking clothing after washing
• Increase the life of water appliances

Kinetico water softeners are available through authorized Kinetico suppliers located around the country. See www.kinetico.co.uk for further information. The range is considered to be highly reliable and one of the most efficient available - prices start from £800 and the most popular model (Kinetico 2020c) retails at £1,330.

I have a truly amazing prize for one Madhouse Family Reviews reader. Kinetico would like to offer a FREE installation and water softener from Kinetico, valued at £1300 ! 

To be in with a chance of winning, just do the following :

- Comment on one of my other blogposts (other giveaways don't count!)

Post your top tip to relieve eczema symptoms in the comments box below, with a way of contacting you (twitter name or email) and tell me which of my blogposts you commented on. 

Bonus entries

You can do any or all of the following for bonus entries - just make sure you leave me one comment per entry so that they're all counted !

(1) Follow me on twitter (@cherylp59) and tweet about my competition. You can use the handy retweet button over in my side bar (feel free to shorten it if necessary) or write your own tweet but make sure you copy in @cherylp59 so I can track this.

(2) Like "Madhouse Family Reviews" on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MadhouseFamilyReviews) and leave me a message on my wall

(3) I love reading your comments so leave me some extra comments on my other blogposts (maximum 5 - other giveaways don't count !) and I'll give you a bonus entry for each one. Just remember to leave me a comment here each time to tell me you've done so.

(4) Subscribe to my blog by email (near the top of the right-hand sidebar) so that all the new posts pop into your inbox in a handy digest every morning

(5) click on the google +1 button over in my sidebar and/or add me as a friend on google+

(6) add a +k klout point to @cherylp59 on Klout and tell me which category you added it to

(7) Follow my blog with Google Friends Connect (over in the right hand side bar)

 UK only. Closing date : 21/11/12

Please note, you will be contacted by email and/or twitter. If I haven't heard from you after a week, I'll have to pick another winner. 

Other giveaways you may be interested in : 

Giveaway #232 : Win 3 copies of Findus Moves Out- closing date 5/11

Giveaway #233 : Win Drumond Park's Pumpazing game - closing date 14/11