I just almost died in my detox bath

Holy hell!! I thought I would take advantage of being alone and have a nice detox bath. Epsom salt peroxide and 5 drops of lemon.

about 15 or 20 minutes in I started going black. My back and butt started feeling weird so I felt it and it was covered in a slimy oil coat. I thought it must be the lemon extract but that's not even oily at all. It was like my sweat wasn't coming off. And then as I touched it it started burning. I stood up to look in the mirror and almost fell because everything went black again. I got as far away from the bathtub as I could and layed down just in case I did pass out so I wouldn't fall.

Never passed out. Took my bp and it was fine but my heart rate was at 120. Probably because of the pain!!! It feels like I burned my skin with chemicals or something. It's bright red with little white spots that look like tiny mosquito bites here and there. I couldn't get dressed at first because it hurt so bad!

I still can't see very well, I'm still on fire but only about 50% now, and I have these weird rashes on my arms and legs too that don't hurt.

What is this????!!!!!!

That's how I always do it and I've never had that reaction. I don't understand what the slimy stuff was or why it started burning and got white bumps.

Really the area that was covered in it was way too big to be from the oil. I checked my legs and my belly and they weren't oily or slimy at all.

I usually can stay in for about a half hour. 5 minutes in my vision went weird the tub wasn't even full yet. It takes about 15 minutes to fill, suuuuuper slow and annoying. And about 5 minutes after it was full I started going black and on fire with mysterious slimy goo.

Now I'm seeing ten of everything if I move my eyes too fast. I feel insane like I've lost my mind. I'm talking to myself hahaha. I put myself in front of TV with water and a banana.

Ya no kidding. Sheesh! My back and butt are still on fire. The whole experience left me feeling like I was abducted by aliens or something hahaha. Very strange and confusing.

Can detoxing burn you??

Yes I'm 100% sure. It's the same bottle I used all month. I only do about 2 shot glasses full in the whole thing. And about 1/2 cup of Epsom salt. 5 drops of lemon.

When my hands were really bad it used to burn them, but it was because they had open wounds. It used to bother my skin and make me feel itchy and blotchy red. Since my skin has healed it hasnt been hurting. This however is totally different. It literally feels like I took a bath in acid.

Maybe it did just build up. I guess I overdosed on detoxing hahaha. I'm no stranger to feeling faint in the bath. That happens alot. Not near as bad though.

My skin is not happy yet.

I only use vinegar to clean the tub. No one else ever does it hahaha and my son took a bath before me. So it should be been very clean. I thought of that too..

I think it was just a fluke. A very painful weird fluke. No more baths for me for a while. Now I have a terrible headache. Thank god for TV! It's a nice distraction. I feel suer toxic. I'll take it easy and do gentle detox the next few days. This really snuck up on me.

IHL I have permanent nerve damage from issues with my neck that pre date my lyme. The best way and most accurate way nerve pain was described to me by a professional was feeling like your blood feels like acid.

What you described pain wise sounds like that which is certainly possible with Lyme. I only mention it as this episode seems like something you should discuss with your doctor.

I thought the same thing as others. Any new cleaning products, any new bath products, any new topical skin products that would have interacted with your detox bath?
Is the house colder or warmer than normal because of your weather? Anything at all that is different than other times. Did you get lotion for Christmas? Did you use a new dry brush? Did you forget to dry brush?
Have you filled up a sink in another room and checked that your water is ok? Is there any chance your son could have gotten into your detox items?

Hi IHL,

I didn't have the black-out reaction, but I did have the burning skin feeling due to lemon essential oil. I used a cup of apple cider vinegar and two drops of lemon EO, and I felt like I burned my skin. It was way worse than a sunburn. It felt like a chemical burn. I use lemon EO by itself from now on.

Just a couple of drops of lemon EO is very powerful. Lemon EO is a potent detoxifier. I'm wondering if the Epsom salts and lemon EO is just too much? I've used Epsom salts and lavender EO and had wonderful experiences :)

I hope you're feeling better soon!

Glad you are ok - so scary!

So that's what happens when you detox? The toxins go into your bloodstream from where?? Is it fair to say what might have happened was a gigantic herx?

I'm definitely going to stay away from detoxing. I'll drink the tea and take my supplements but that's all I'm really comfortable with. Absolutely nothing was different that I did yesterday. I never even thought of the lemon doing anything bad! I use that stuff everyday. Either way- my body hated it.

What really confuses me is the slimy feeling that was on my skin. If it was from the lemon or anything in the bath it seems like my whole body would've felt like that. Very very strange.

And traveler you're so right. I have been going through a lot. I didn't feel stressed out or overly toxic- I felt great! That's why I decided to do the bath. Just because I was alone in the house and it sounded relaxing. Maybe everything is catching up to me and I'm just oblivious.

Waking up today I feel like I got hit by that truck again. My hands and jaw are locked up and killing me. My skin feels way better, the rashy stuff is completely gone. I'm just sore all over and I might be on the brink of a monstrous headache. My brain is just not working! It can't be! I have to read every word as I'm typing over and over and I feel like I just don't recognize the English language :( thank god for autocorrect!

Oh wow.... I don't like this. I hope it doesn't last very long. Now I can say that maybe my treatment is working? Regular baths used to make me pass out before I even knew I had lyme. Yuck. Yuck yuck yuck. I think part of what is wrong with me lately is that my brain is so fried I'm not... uhh... I'm not comprehending and absorbing what is happening to me. I'm not remembering things that happened 5 minutes ago or 2 days ago. Everything is mixed up in my head. I think it's contributing to my issues. I keep thinking that I'm doing just fine and then someone (like traveler!) With a better memory reminds me of something that happened recently and it's a huge DUH moment.

I want to thank all of you! All of your time thoughts and energy are greatly appreciated. If I didn't have all of you here on the forum I would be so lost. I feel lucky and I hope I get the chance to repay all of you at some point! This is really hard :( I need all the support I can get and you guys never let me down. Thank you thank you thank you!!

chiming in because it hasn't been mentioned yet- from an RN perspective.

More than likely, you were a little dehydrated upon stepping into the bath. Warm water causes vasodilation>BP drops>tachycardia and vagal down...

Can I suggest drinking 1/2 liter of lemon water 1/2 hr before the bath, and remain sitting straight up for the first 5 minutes in the water. This might help your POTS-ridden self to cope with the BP changes more easily.

The burning skin phenom always happens to me when I detox hard.

You were doing quite well, considering what you were dealing with!! It just all caught up with you - everything, the stress, the toxins, the infections, the constipation - all of it. Take today & tomorrow to pamper yourself and gently detox, eat very nourishing foods, and drink lots of water. You need to be kind to your body today - remember it went through it too.

For your grandpa, someone could rig up something with bells to let someone in the house know when he moves much. And we used a baby monitor to listen to my FIL no matter what room we were in.


I'm glad you had the meds in the house - I keep some for my really, really bad days too. I hope to not have to use them again though!!

You are NOT a failure to your family - it's just very unfortunate timing of things. You didn't choose to be sick!! And he didn't choose to need this kind of care. Do what you can from home and don't beat yourself up - that's adding to your stress!