At a time when the use of probiotics to treat eczema is increasing, a meta-analysis involving data from 781 children performed by UK researchers suggests that there is no evidence they can relieve the symptoms of this itchy skin condition, but they may occasionally cause infections and gut problems.
"Some doctors are recommending probiotics as a cheap treatment for eczema but, having carried out a systematic review, we have found no evidence that they work for treating eczema," said lead researcher Robert Boyle, of the UK's Imperial College.
The Cochrane Researchers looked at 12 studies that compared severity of the disease in children given live bacteria versus placebo and found that probiotics provided no significant health improvement. Moreover they found that in separate studies 46 patients had been reported to suffer side effects from using probiotics, including infection and bowel damage. As similar strains were used researchers could not rule out the possibility that other strains might be beneficial.
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