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    NHS guidelines recommend 'ineffective' bath emollients

    Posted on 12/12/2007

    New NHS guidelines say that bath emollients are a suitable treatment for eczema in children, despite a recent report that questioned their effectiveness.

    The guidelines, published yesterday by NHS watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), state that children should be offered a choice of emollients to be used every day 'for moisturising, washing and bathing'.

    However, a recent report published in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) said that while emollients applied to the skin had been shown to treat the condition, there was a lack of evidence that bath emollients were effective. The report added that they may even endanger patients by making the bath tub slippery.

    Responding to the NICE guidelines, DTB editor Ike Iheanacho told BBC News: 'We have seen nothing to change our minds on this and we would still question the basis for using them.

    'Unfortunately there is no incentive for drug companies to carry out clinical trials when so many organisations - now including NICE - are prepared to accept that they work despite the lack of evidence.'

    The National Eczema Society (NES) welcomed the new guidelines, however. Chief executive Margaret Cox said: 'We hope that the guidelines will help healthcare professionals to encourage discussion of the various treatment options and to make them available as well as to understand the importance of discussing psychological factors.'

    NES guidelines on emollient use recommend wiping excess oils from the bath and warning other users that the tub may be slippery.



    Category: Healthcare


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