What are the effects of water softeners on eczema?
This has been a question that has been debated numerous times and has resulted in an official test – called The Softened Water Eczema Trial (SWET).
There is much anecdotal evidence that having a water softener installed can have a beneficial effect on both adults and children’s eczema. If you live in an hard water area which many people do throughout the UK, more soap and detergent is generally used for both bathing and washing clothes purposes. When a water softener is used, both calcium and magnesium salts which are known to irritate the skin of eczema sufferers are stripped out from the water which makes the water feel softer. Thus the basis for many people to feel that their skin improves once these elements are removed.
The SWET trial which was completed in Feb 2011 took place over 12 weeks followed by a 4 week observational period and involved 336 children with eczema. The study took place in areas of the UK where the water is naturally hard (London, Nottingham, Cambridge, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Leicester and Lincoln/Boston).
Participants were randomised into two groups where Group A received immediate installation of an ion-exchange water softener plus their normal eczema care/treatment and Group B used just their normal eczema care/treatment alone.
The trial was designed to evaluate whether installing an ion-exchange water softener into the homes of children with eczema could help to reduce the severity of the condition. The trial concluded that water softeners provided no additional benefit, although small statistically significant differences were found in some secondary outcomes as reported by parents.
If you would like to find out more about the SWET trial click here
Information written by the talkhealth medical panel
Last Reviewed: 4 May 2012
Next Review Date: 4 May 2014
