BATHE
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Bath Additives for the Treatment of cHildhood Eczema (BATHE)
IRAS ID
139925
Contact name
Miriam Santer
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Eudract number
2013-004589-32
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN84102309
Research summary
Eczema is a skin condition that is very common in young children. It causes itching and sleep problems which lead to distress for the child and the rest of the family. The main treatment is emollients which moisturise the skin, and steroid creams/ointments to treat flare-ups. A NICE guideline on childhood eczema has recommended ‘complete emollient therapy’ – a care package that includes directly applied emollient, soap substitute and bath emollient (liquid added to the bath). However, the guideline highlighted that there is little evidence on whether adding a bath emollient is helpful.
While health professionals agree about the benefits of directly applied emollients, there is less confidence in the benefits of bath emollients. It is possible that they help because they are easy to pour in the bath and they come into contact with all of the skin. But it is also possible that the emollient effect is much less than directly applying emollients to the skin, and not enough to produce any benefit. Bath emollients can have adverse effects as they sometimes cause stinging and redness of the skin and potentially cause accidents through leaving the bath slippery. Furthermore, there is concern that some families view bath emollients as an alternative to directly applied emollients and are therefore using a less effective therapy instead of something that would help their child’s eczema.
This trial will measure whether bath emollients help children with eczema. Children aged 1 to 11 will be randomly allocated to 2 groups: (1) standard eczema management with bath emollient and (2) standard eczema management without bath emollient. We will ask parents or carers to complete weekly diaries including a short questionnaire about eczema severity for the first 4 monthsand will check how many flare-ups of eczema are recorded in their GP records over 1 year.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NE/0098
Date of REC Opinion
7 May 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion