What do systematic reviews say?

Moisturisers vs no treatment (no moisturiser)

Moisturisers may leads to lower number of participants who experienced a flare compared with no treatment (no moisturiser) (low certainty).

• Emollients and moisturisers for eczema 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.4 [0.23, 0.7]
  2 studies · 87 participants
  Low

Moisturisers vs vehicle, placebo or no moisturiser

All moisturisers probably leads to lower number of participants who experienced a flare compared with vehicle, placebo or no moisturiser (moderate certainty).

• Emollients and moisturisers for eczema 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.33 [0.17, 0.62]
  6 studies · 607 participants
  Moderate

Oat‐containing moisturisers vs vehicle or no moisturiser

Oat‐containing moisturisers may leads to lower number of participants who experienced a flare compared with vehicle or no moisturiser (low certainty).

• Emollients and moisturisers for eczema 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.31 [0.12, 0.77]
  1 study · 43 participants
  Low

Urea‐containing moisturisers vs vehicle, placebo or no moisturiser

Urea‐containing moisturisers may leads to lower number of participants who experienced a flare compared with vehicle, placebo or no moisturiser (low certainty).

• Emollients and moisturisers for eczema 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.47 [0.24, 0.92]
  1 study · 44 participants
  Low

Glycerin/glycerol‐containing moisturisers vs vehicle or placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Emollients and moisturisers for eczema 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  Studies not reported
  No studies found

Atopiclair vs vehicle

Atopiclair probably leads to lower number of participants who experienced a flare compared with vehicle (moderate certainty).

• Emollients and moisturisers for eczema 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.18 [0.11, 0.31]
  3 studies · 397 participants
  Moderate

Licochalcone‐containing moisturiser vs hydrocortisone acetate 1% cream

• Emollients and moisturisers for eczema 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  1 study · 30 participants
  Low

Vehicle treatment + daily moisturiser vs fluticasone propionate twice weekly + daily moisturiser

Vehicle treatment + daily moisturiser probably leads to higher number of participants who experienced a flare compared with fluticasone propionate twice weekly + daily moisturiser (moderate certainty).

• Emollients and moisturisers for eczema 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 2.17 [1.51, 3.11]
  4 studies · 718 participants
  Moderate

Topical active treatment in combination with moisturiser vs topical active treatment alone

Topical active treatment in combination with moisturiser may leads to lower number of participants who experienced a flare compared with topical active treatment alone (low certainty).

• Emollients and moisturisers for eczema 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.43 [0.2, 0.93]
  1 study · 105 participants
  Low