Study finds moisturiser does not prevent eczema in newborns

Despite recommendations by many healthcare workers to use moisturisers to prevent eczema in newborn babies, the study found no evidence that daily use in the first year of life could prevent the skin problem.

The Barrier Enhancement for Eczema Prevention study (BEEP), by researchers from the University of Nottingham, with contributions from Imperial College London and the Universities of Bristol, Dundee, East Anglia and Sheffield, looked at 1,394 newborn babies who were born to families with eczema, asthma or hayfever

Parents of one group of babies were advised to apply moisturiser all over their baby every day until their first birthday. The other group was asked not to use moisturiser, while both groups were given general skin care guidance.

The experiment, funded by the National Institute for Health Research’s health technology assessment programme, and published in The Lancet, found no evidence that the daily use of moisturiser during the first year of life prevented eczema in the studied children.

There was however, a small increase in the risk of skin infections. The results also showed early indications that daily use of creams may increase the risk of food allergy.

Eczema affects around one in five children in the UK. It usually starts in infancy, and generally dry skin is often one of the first symptoms in babies who go on to develop the condition.

It is thought that a faulty skin barrier could be the first step in the development of eczema. Moisturisers improve skin barrier function by providing a covering to the outermost layer of skin and trapping water inside.

Professor Hywel Williams, a dermatologist at the University of Nottingham, who led the study, said, ‘Much progress has been made in recent years on the treatment of severe eczema, but the goal of preventing eczema from developing in the first place remains elusive. Other small studies suggested that moisturisers from birth might prevent eczema, and we were surprised when our large study showed no effect at all. 

‘Whilst this is disappointing for sufferers who thought that was an option for their children, we can now recommend that this advice is not given to parents and begin looking at what other possible preventative options there may be.’

However, he added, ‘It is important not to confuse our study on moisturisers for eczema prevention with the use of moisturisers for people who have eczema, where the evidence of benefit is much greater.’