Featured Review: Moisturizer for eczema

Applying moisturizers is an integral part of eczema treatment, but it is effective?Please see more resources at the bottom of this articleEczema is a chronic skin disease characterized by dry skin, intense itching, inflammatory skin lesions, and considerable impact on quality of life. Moisturizers are a cornerstone of eczema treatment, but it is unclear whether moisturizers are effective or whether one moisturizer is preferable to another.A team ofCochrane Skin authors based in Bahrain, Denmark, and the Netherlands assessed the effects of moisturizers for eczema. Their review includes 77 studies, with a total of 6,603 people with mild to moderate eczema, and an average age of 18.6 years. Of the 77 studies, 46 were funded predominantly by pharmaceutical companies.The review authors found that moisturizers appeared to have a beneficial effect, but the extent of the effect varied widely, and in only a few studies did moisturizers produce an important reduction in disease severity. There is a lack of convincing evidence that moisturizers improve eczema when used alone. However, the overall conclusion is that moisturizers are safe, prevent flares, prolong time to flare, reduce the amount of topical corticosteroids needed to achieve similar reductions in disease severity, and that topical active treatment is more effective when used in combination with moisturizer. Most of the comparisons included in this review were assessed in single studies, which did not allow the authors to as...
Source: Cochrane News and Events - Category: Information Technology Authors: Source Type: news