Study looks into water softeners and baby eczema - 12 January 2009
Soft water may help baby eczema
Researchers are testing out the theory that hard water can exacerbate baby eczema symptoms by getting a number of families to fit water softeners to their taps.
The families, who each have youngsters affected by moderate to severe childhood eczema, will use the water softeners for 12 weeks. The softeners will then be removed whilst the study runs for a further 4 weeks.
The eczema irritation and itching experienced by the babies and children throughout each period will be monitored through a daily diary kept by the families as well as a computerised bracelet which checks levels of night-scratching.
The children will not stop using their usual eczema treatment whilst the study is being carried out so that any changes in their eczema are likely to be down to the water softener rather than a change in treatment.
The chief executive of the National Eczema Society commented: “Anecdotally there are years of reports of people saying soft or softened water was helpful.”
She added that washing softened water requires less soap or detergent, which may benefit people with eczema as contact with these chemicals can irritate their skin.
At the time of writing there are still spots free in the study for families affected by baby eczema to take part. You can find out more information at
http://www.swet-trial.co.uk/.
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