Moisturising Creams

Moisturising creams form a barrier over the skin to protect the skin and keep control of eczema. They help to:

• Stop eczema flare-ups by keeping out things that may irritate the skin
• Make the skin soft by locking water in the skin
• Stop itching
• Reduce soreness
• Keep out infections, which are more likely in dry skin

Scientific evidence on the benefits of moisturising creams

In 2017, a research team looked at all of the scientific evidence on moisturising creams. They wanted to see whether moisturising creams helped people’s eczema. The team looked at 77 different research studies from across the world. Moisturising creams had benefits for people with eczema. People in the research studies using moisturising creams had better eczema, felt less itchy, and were less likely to get a flare-up. These people also did not need to use as much flare control cream. People who used moisturising creams and flare control creams had better eczema than the people who just used flare control creams. The research did not find that one moisturising cream was better than another.

Research article: van Zuuren, E.J., Fedorowicz, Z., Christensen, R., Lavrijsen A.P., Arents, B.W. (2017) Emollients and moisturisers for eczema. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2.

Yes, moisturising creams are very safe. They are mainly a mixture of oils and water. They don’t harm your skin. Millions of families across the world use them on their babies and children.

Scientific evidence on the safety of moisturising creams

Moisturising creams can catch fire if they soak into clothing, bedding, or bandages and then come into contact with fire (e.g. from a candle, cigarette or cooking hob). Although the risk of this happening is low, you should take extra care if you are using them in large amounts and your child lives with a smoker. Try to keep away from fire, flames, and cigarettes.

Try to keep your child away from fire, flames and cigarettes. Wash your clothes and bedding regularly at the highest temperature allowed for the fabric. This temperature will be written on the fabric’s care label. Try to use plenty of washing detergent and an extra rinse cycle if you have one. Washing like this will reduce the build-up of moisturising creams on fabrics, but will not remove it completely.

The fire risk is very small if you follow the advice above. If you are worried about using these creams, then you may want to speak to your pharmacist, doctor, or nurse.

Some children don’t like having creams put on. Some parents find it helpful to involve their child in the moisturising cream routine. One way of doing this is to get your child to put cream on a doll or action figure while they are having their own cream put on. This can be pretend cream if you want to avoid the mess! You could also make it more fun by turning it into a game or asking your child to help you put the cream on.

If you would like more information and advice on this, you can try the sections ‘managing stress for parents’, ‘beat the itch‘ and ‘making treatment times easier’.

Moisturising every day can take time. Many families find it difficult to fit moisturising creams into their daily routine.

This usually becomes a lot easier once a routine that works for you is set up and you start seeing for yourself how this can help your child’s eczema.

You may find it helpful to look at the ‘studying and work’ section where these issues are discussed in more detail.

Moisturising creams may sometimes sting the skin when first put on. This will happen when:

• the skin is very dry or cracked
• your child is having an eczema flare-up
• you have not yet got control of your child’s eczema using flare control creams

Stinging normally settles down after a few days as your child’s skin repairs itself. If the stinging is severe or keeps happening for a few days, then you may want to tell your doctor. It may be that your child is having a reaction to an ingredient in the cream. Stinging is not harmful but if it continues it is better to try a different cream.

There are plenty of different creams to try, so you don’t need to settle for the first one. You can try the 2 week challenge later in this section to help you find a moisturising cream that works for your child.

Some children can get sore red spots after using moisturising creams. This is because thicker moisturising creams can sometimes block the natural holes (pores) in your child’s skin. It is more likely to happen on body parts with hair, such as your child’s legs.

These spots should settle on their own. If they don’t or get worse, then you should talk to your doctor or nurse. Your child may need medication to treat them. You may also want to ask your doctor for a thinner moisturising cream.

Later in this section, there will be advice on the best way to put on your child’s creams to stop this from happening again.

Lots of families find that moisturising creams rub off onto their or their child’s clothes. This won’t damage your or your child’s clothes or affect your or your child’s skin in any way, but you may not like the way it feels or looks. It may also mean you need to wash your or your child’s clothes more often.

One way to stop moisturising creams rubbing off onto your child’s clothes is to leave a little more time to let their creams soak in before putting on their clothes. It usually takes about 5-10 minutes for the cream to fully soak in.

You could taking your child into a warm room to make their creams soak in quicker. Some families with eczema find it helps if their child wears loose clothing.

No, your child’s skin does not ‘get used to’ the moisturising creams.

Using moisturising creams every day is the best way to look after your skin and prevent eczema flare-ups. Moisturising creams do not stop working the more you use them.

If your child is having a flare-up, then you will also need to use flare control creams, as well as the moisturising creams, to get control of the eczema.

You can find out more about this in the ‘flare control creams’ section in the menu bar above.

Some families worry about this. You may find that some moisturising creams can make the skin look shiny.

The skin might also look shiny if their moisturising cream has not fully soaked in. You may want to leave a little more time to let the creams soak in before taking your child out. This usually takes about 5-10 minutes.

Some families find it helpful to use lighter creams when they take their child out and thicker creams when they are at home.

You may find it helpful to look at the ‘managing stress for parents‘ section from the main menu where these issues are discussed in more detail.

It’s so easy to forget to put on moisturising cream every day, especially when you are really busy.

Many families find it easier to remember if they make putting on moisturising creams part of their daily routine. You may find it helpful to put on moisturising creams at the same time each day. Perhaps your child has a bath or before your child goes to bed.

You can try the 2 week challenge later in this section. This can help you get into the habit of using your moisturising creams every day. You can also set up email or text reminders so you don’t forget!

Top Tip!

Many families find it helpful to set themselves a reminder. You could try setting an alarm on your phone or put a reminder on a post-it somewhere you will walk past to remind you.

Different moisturising creams smell and feel different. Most moisturising creams do not smell. If you or your child don’t like the way yours smells, you may want to ask your doctor for a different cream. There are many different moisturising creams you can try.

They come in different levels of thickness and greasiness. People who use thicker or greasier creams find that they last longer and are good for very dry skin. It doesn’t really matter which cream your child uses, as long as they use it at least once a day.

If you find the cream is too greasy, then you may want to try using a thinner cream on your child. You could also use a thinner cream in the daytime and a thicker one in the evening.

This section will give you advice on how to find the right moisturising cream for your child.

Many families find that their child’s skin improves if they use moisturising creams at least once a day. You may need to use them more often if your child has very dry skin or more severe eczema.

It can take a while to notice improvements in your child’s skin. If you’ve used moisturising creams regularly for 2 weeks and it’s still not working, it may be worth going back to your pharmacist, doctor, or nurse to try another one. It is important to find a moisturising cream that suits your child. Why not take part in our 2 week challenge? You can find out more about this later in this section.

If yes, then moisturising creams may not be enough. You may need to get control by using flare control creams as well. You can find out more in the ‘flare control creams’ section.

Even if you are using your creams correctly, there are things that can be making your child’s eczema worse that are out of your control. For example, the weather, or stress.

The best thing you can do is to keep using your creams as part of your daily routine to keep your child’s eczema under control.