Skin emollients should not be recommended for prevention of atopic dermatitis in infants because there is insufficient evidence to support their effectiveness and some suggestion of harm, researchers say.

Their conclusions, drawn from two studies published in The Lancet last week, contradict findings from earlier pilot studies that reported a 30%-50% lower risk of developing atopic dermatitis when daily emollients were applied to the skin of high-risk infants.

One of the Lancet studies, a large randomised trial conducted in the UK, found no evidence that daily emollient application in an infant’s first year of life prevented eczema and some evidence to show it increased the risk of skin infections.

The study involved parents of 1394 newborns at high risk of developing eczema who were randomised to apply emollients to their baby daily and receive best-practice skin care advice, or to receive skin care advice only.