Regular use of moisturisers or emollients on infants probably does not prevent the onset of eczema but does appear to increase the risk of skin infections, a Cochrane review has found.

Several small studies had suggested the same skin care interventions used to treat eczema also had the potential to prevent eczema from an early age.

The Cochrane reviewers said that, if borne out, this could mean a “simple, cheap, and safe intervention for primary prevention of two common and burdensome conditions”, both early-onset eczema and closely-linked food allergies.

But their review of 33 randomised controlled trials involving 26,000 patients concluded that skin care interventions for infants under one year “probably” did not change their risk of eczema or time to eczema onset.