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Can salt help soothe eczema misery? Does softened water hold the answer to relieving the suffering caused by one of the most distressing of skins conditions – eczema? Millions of people in the UK – many of them children – suffer from eczema, experiencing symptoms which make their lives miserable. Up to one in five schoolchildren and one in 12 adults have the condition. Many sufferers believe that ion exchange water softeners, using salt in their regeneration, help to relieve the symptoms of eczema. Now clinical research is being undertaken to prove if softened water holds the answer. The Salt Association is one of a number of bodies funding trials by Nottingham University on the effects of softened water on eczema sufferers. The three-year Softened Water Eczema Trial (SWET) recruited 310 children who suffer from eczema. Ion-exchange water softeners are installed in their homes, and all water is softened, except one tap supplying drinking water. Peter Sherratt, General Secretary of the Salt Association, said: “Eczema is a distressing condition. Its severity can vary - with dry, hot and itchy skin in mild forms and broken, raw and bleeding skin in more severe forms. It can be particularly distressing in children. “Many eczema sufferers seem to notice benefits from the use of softened water, but eczema is a complex condition. A team of researchers from Nottingham University found that eczema is more common in UK primary schoolchildren living in hard water areas compared with children living in soft water areas. The reasons are not properly understood, so in response to these findings scientists are running a clinical trial to see if eczema in children can be improved by deliberately softening all water used in the home. “We decided to help fund this trial because, if water sofened with an ion-exchange unit regenerated with salt really does relieve eczema, sufferers will want proper scientific evidence.” The study is a single-blind, randomized controlled study, meaning that the parents (and children) know which group they are in, but the research nurses are blinded to the intervention. The trials recruited children between the ages of 6 months and 16 years who had moderate to severe eczema, and who lived in hard water areas in Nottingham/Leicester, North London, Cambridge and the Isle of Wight. Each child will be in the study for 16 weeks. All of the homes where the children live will have a water softener installed for either four or 12 weeks. During the 16 week study period, the child’s eczema is assessed at regular hospital clinic visits.
Ends SWET Trials web site Notes to editors
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