None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Eczema is a skin condition which affects the lives of many children and their families. Skin infections are common in people with eczema and can often make the eczema worse. The skin of people with eczema often contains high numbers of bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus. Lots of eczema treatments have been developed to reduce Staphylococcus aureus however it is not clear how well these treatments work. Household bleach has been safely used for many years to help treat infected wounds after surgery. Recently it has been recommended for people with eczema to help reduce Staphylococcus aureus. Although it is being recommended for people with eczema there is little long-term evidence to show if household bleach is effective in improving eczema. We want to see if there is an improvement in eczema in children who add a small amount of bleach solution to their bath. We will compare them to a group of children who add bath oil to their bath. The results of this project may influence the care of eczema in the future. We hope 74 children who have moderate to severe eczema will take part in this project. Thirty-seven children will be asked to add a small amount of bleach solution to their bath and the other 37 children will be asked to add bath oil to their bath. The project will run for 6 months. The project will measure the severity of eczema before and after using the bleach solution or bath oil.
Interventions
Participants in the treatment arm will be asked to bathe in dilute bleach baths everyday for 1 week, then 3 times a week for 23 weeks. Participants will continue standard treatments for managing eczema.
Standard treatments for managing eczema include bathing daily with an emollient (other than the study emollient) added, application of moisturiser at least twice a day, the use of topical corticosteriods to eczema areas, and systemic antibiotics and wet dressings as required.
Sponsors
Royal Children's Hospital
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
6 Months to 18 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
aged between 6 months and 18 years, moderate to severe atopic eczema (SCORAD >25) at time of randomisation
Exclusion criteria
Known allergies to bleach or liquid paraffin, treatment with bleach baths, salt baths, antispectic oils or antibiotics 4 weeks prior to randomisation
Outcome results
None listed