An RCT of children aged 1 to 11 years with atopic dermatitis (children with mild eczema and who bathed less than once per week were excluded) were randomised to emollient bath additives for 12 months and a control group asked not to use additives.1 As all outcomes
were either reported by participants or collected on a clinical record review template, the outcomes were not blindly assessed.
The additives included Oilatum (63% light liquid paraffin), Balneum (85% soya oil) or Aveeno (contents not given) to be used regularly at parental discretion. There was a range of the number of baths per week from 1-2 (32% of group) through to ≥ 7 (14%).
Overall there was no benefit on any of the outcomes. The authors advise to stop using bath emollients but to keep using leave-on emollients and to use them as soap substitutes.
