Ingredient

Aluminum Acetate (Domeboro)

An astringent soak for weeping, blistered or soggy skin. It is not the same thing as aluminium chloride, which is the antiperspirant — that confusion is constant.
At a Glance

Aluminum acetate, sold as Domeboro and also called Burow's solution, is a powder you dissolve in cool water to make a soak or a compress. It is astringent — it dries and tightens weeping, oozing or soggy skin so that creams have something to stick to and the surface can start to heal. It is cheap, has been in use since the 1850s, and does one job well. It has no antifungal, antibacterial or anti-inflammatory power worth relying on, so it is almost always used alongside something else rather than instead of it.

Key Facts

What It IsAn astringent solution made by dissolving aluminum acetate powder in cool water. Also called Burow's solution
Best ForWeeping or blistered skin — blistering athlete's foot, soggy skin between the toes, oozing intertrigo, broken sunburn blisters, weeping contact dermatitis, an inflamed nail fold
Typical StrengthOne or two packets per pint of cool water, giving roughly a 1:40 or 1:20 dilution
Rx RequiredNo
Cost$8–$15 for a box of 12 to 100 packets. One of the cheapest things in the pharmacy

How It Works

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Aluminum acetate is an astringent, which means it makes proteins at the surface of the skin contract and bind together. On weeping skin that produces a thin, tightened film that slows the leaking of fluid, reduces swelling in the top layer and dries the surface. On skin that has gone white and soggy between the toes or in a fold, the same effect firms it back up. It is mildly antibacterial too, but nowhere near enough to treat an infection.

Practically, the point of a soak is to change the surface so that something else can work. An antifungal cream applied to a wet, macerated web space simply runs off; applied to skin that has been dried by a fifteen-minute soak, it stays put. A dressing over a weeping fold slides; over a dry fold it holds. Aluminum acetate is the preparation step, not the treatment, and expecting it to be the treatment is the commonest mistake with it.

What It Treats

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Limited evidence
Aluminum acetate soaks dry and soothe a weeping nail fold. They are a supportive measure and do not address the embedded nail edge.
Limited evidence
Aluminum acetate compresses dry weeping, macerated skin. In intertrigo they are used for a few days at the start when the fold is too wet for a cream to stay put.
Moderate evidence
Aluminum acetate is an astringent used to dry vesicular and macerated tinea pedis before topical antifungal therapy. It has no antifungal activity of its own.
Limited evidence
Aluminum acetate compresses dry and soothe weeping skin. In sunburn they are used mainly at the broken-blister stage rather than on an intact burn.

How to Use It

Making it up
  • Dissolve one packet in a pint of cool water for a compress, or two packets per pint for very wet skin. Stir until it has fully dissolved. Make it fresh each time.
  • For a foot soak, scale up — two to four packets in a quart or two of cool water in a basin.
As a compress
  • Soak a clean cloth — a folded cotton flannel or a piece of gauze — wring it out so it is wet but not dripping, and lay it on the skin.
  • Fifteen to twenty minutes, two to four times a day. Re-wet the cloth every few minutes as it warms and dries.
  • Do not cover a compress with plastic. Evaporation is part of the point.
As a soak
  • For feet, hands or a nail fold, put the affected part in the basin for fifteen to twenty minutes, once or twice a day.

Pairing & Conflicts

What to pair it with

An antifungal cream, for blistering athlete's foot and for a weeping fold. Soak, dry, then apply. That sequence is the whole approach.

A topical steroid, for weeping contact dermatitis and acute eczema. Same order.

A zinc oxide barrier paste in a skin fold, once the surface is dry.

Plain moisturizer afterwards and on the surrounding skin, once the weeping has stopped. Soaks dry skin, and the skin around the problem does not need drying.

What not to mix

Dry, cracked or fissured skin. It is a drying agent, and drying already-dry skin makes fissures worse. This is the commonest misuse.

More soaking, once the skin has stopped weeping. Stop.

Plastic wrap or an occlusive dressing over a compress. Evaporation is part of the mechanism.

Hot water. It increases itch and swelling.

Aluminium chloride. That is the antiperspirant used for excessive sweating, applied at night to dry armpits, hands and feet. Aluminum acetate does nothing useful for sweating, and aluminium chloride would sting badly on weeping skin. Different salt, different job.

An infection that needs an antibiotic. Spreading redness, warmth, pus, fever or a rapidly worsening area needs treating properly, not soaking.

Side Effects

This is about as low-risk as topical treatment gets. It has been in use since the 1850s.

Common and expected
  • Dryness of the treated skin — the intended effect overshooting.Mild stinging on raw or broken skin. Tightness, or a slightly papery feel afterwards. Cracking, if it is continued after the skin has already dried out.
Tell your doctor
  • Weeping that has not improved after two or three days of proper soaking.Skin that is drying and cracking rather than settling. A rash that spreads beyond the soaked area. Allergy to aluminum acetate is rare but has been reported. Any weeping wound in someone with diabetes, poor circulation or a weakened immune system. That needs assessment, not a home soak.
Stop and get care
  • Spreading redness, warmth, swelling, pus, or a red streak running away from the area.Fever alongside a weeping skin problem. A rapidly spreading or blistering rash. An ingrown nail fold or a foot wound in someone with diabetes that is not improving within a couple of days.

Who Should Avoid It

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Do not use it on dry, cracked or fissured skin. It will make it worse. This is a treatment for the wet phase only.

Do not use it on a deep wound, a burn beyond superficial, or a surgical wound without direction.

Do not soak a foot with a diabetic ulcer or with reduced sensation without a clinician involved. Long soaks soften tissue further, and a foot that cannot feel the water temperature is a foot at risk.

Do not use it as the only treatment for something infected.

Do not drink it. The packets are for dissolving in water for use on the skin.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding are not a barrier — essentially nothing is absorbed from a skin soak.

Beyond that there is no group who cannot use it. It is one of the safest things in the pharmacy, provided it goes on the right kind of skin.

How Long Until It Works

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Within one soak. Weeping visibly reduces and the skin feels less raw. Itch often eases during the compress itself, partly from the cooling.

Twenty-four hours. A blistering athlete's foot or a soggy web space is noticeably drier. An oozing fold has stopped soaking through.

Two to three days. Most acute weeping should have settled. This is the point to stop soaking and switch entirely to the treatment underneath.

Five to seven days. The longest a normal course should run. Anything still weeping at a week needs looking at, because it is usually infected or it is not what you thought it was.

There is no long game here. Aluminum acetate does not treat the underlying problem, so there is no timeline for the condition itself — that belongs to the antifungal, the steroid or whatever else you are using. If you stop soaking and the weeping comes straight back, the underlying problem is not being treated.

FAQ+
Is Domeboro the same as aluminium chloride antiperspirant?No, and this is the confusion that comes up most. Aluminum acetate is an astringent soak for weeping skin. Aluminium chloride is a different salt used at night to reduce sweating in the armpits, hands and feet. They are not interchangeable in either direction.
How long do I soak for?Fifteen to twenty minutes, two to four times a day, for two to seven days. Stop when the skin is no longer weeping.
Can I use it on dry, itchy skin?No. It is a drying agent, so on dry skin it makes things worse. If the skin is not wet, this is the wrong product.
Do I need to apply anything afterwards?Yes, and this is the step people skip. Pat dry, then apply the actual treatment — the antifungal, the steroid, the barrier paste. The soak clears the way for it.
Does it kill fungus or bacteria?Only weakly. It is mildly antibacterial, which is a bonus rather than a treatment. Blistering athlete's foot still needs an antifungal cream.
Can I make it with hot water?Use cool or lukewarm. Hot water increases itching and swelling.
Can I reuse the solution?No. Mix a fresh batch each time. Standing solution loses strength and can grow bacteria.
Is it safe for children?Yes, for short use on weeping skin. Keep soaks brief, use cool water, and check before using it over large areas of a small child.
Is it the same as an Epsom salt soak?No. Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate and are not astringent in the same way. Aluminum acetate is the one with the drying effect.
Why is my skin cracking now?You have soaked past the point of usefulness. Stop, and moisturize.