Softened Water Eczema Trial (SWET)

Most treatments for eczema only suppress the condition and often have unwanted side effects.

Many families have reported that water softeners help their eczema, although we cannot be sure from individual cases if this is true.

This double-blind, parallel group randomised controlled trial aims to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of water softeners for the treatment of atopic eczema in children from six months to 16 years of age.

The study was funded by the Department of Health Research and Development Health and Technology Assessment Programme and was led by a research team at the University of Nottingham.

Recruitment took place at eight centres with the Isle of Wight team also recruiting in Portsmouth. Three hundred and ten children were required in total. Recruitment is now complete with the Isle of Wight team recruiting 84 participants.

Further Information

For further information about SWET and initial findings from the study, please visit the SWET website at: http://www.swet-trial.co.uk/