Oilatum Bath Oil- Slippery As An Eel. (Oilatum)

Member Name: ButterBear

Product:	Oilatum
Date:	08/03/08 (465 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Designed to sooth skin conditions

Disadvantages: Didnt work for us, leaves grimey layer

Christopher, my 3 year old son, gets terrible eczema, some times it just affects his legs but on other occasions his whole body is coated in it making his skin feel like sandpaper. Over the years we have been given many different suggestions and treatments for his condition which include Oilatum.

Oilatum is a liquid treatment that is added to bath water in place of regular bubble baths and is designed to cleanse and rehydrate the skin as well as soothe itching and irritation during a flare up of the condition. The oil disperses in the water rather then forming oily patches on the waters surface and this ensures a more even coverage of the treatment for your skin. The liquid is cloudy white and free flowing, not thick or gloopy like many bubble baths can be, and it has no scent meaning that there are no unnecessary perfumes that could aggravate a skin condition.

The product can be used for children and adults and though there are specific lines available now depending on your age range they are designed with the same task in mind. The Junior range is naturally slightly gentler and more suitable for young skin, so while I would say that adults could use the Junior range I wouldn't reverse that and use the adult range for children, better be on the safe side there. How much liquid is needed will vary depending on the age of the user, more because an older patient will use more water but the general rule is ½-2 capfuls for babies, 1-3 for children and 2-3 for adults, you simply add the liquid to the water as you're running the bath. After 10-20 minutes soaking in the water you can then get out and pat yourself dry with a nice towel.

We got our Oilatum on prescription from the doctor so it didn't cost us anything, however it can be purchased separately with prices ranging from £5.25 for a 200ml bottle. There is quite an advanced range of bath oils, lotions and creams available now from Oilatum so you're best having a good shop around for the best price and product for you.

Sadly for us the Oilatum doesn't quite live up to it's promise, ok it did clean Christopher's skin and yes it was scent free, yes it dispersed nicely in the water ensuring that all important even coverage but it did little to soothe Christopher's skin, in fact after bathing in Oilatum his knees are more red and inflamed then they were before going in the bath. We persevered for a while using the oil but when it seemed like there was no chance of a different reaction or any improvement we had to stop using it.

There are several disadvantages to Oilatum other than the simple fact that it didn't work for us including the fact that there are no bubbles, now where is the fun in a bath for a toddler when there are no bubbles. The lotion also leaves a nasty grimy layer around the bath when the water has drained away requiring quite a bit of elbow grease to remove it, you have to be careful to properly clean the bath out after use otherwise an oily film will be left coating it and will be dangerous for the next person using the bath as they could slip over. Then of course there's the carnage it will create if you leave a non-slip bath mat in during use, the lotion will begin by leaving horrible black stains on the mat which then start to eat away at the plastic, there's no cleaning it off once it's started it's attack so you'll be left literally with one bath mat down the drain.

So it was back to the GP for another shot at treatment for Christopher and bye bye to our bottle of Oilatum, still we didn't have to pay for the treatment which I guess is a blessing. If it's recommended as a treatment for you by all means give it a go but I'd wait for GP advice first instead of simply buying it independently and if, like us, you notice it makes your skin worse then abandon it as soon as possible.




Go to- http://www.oilatum.co.uk/consumer/junior/index.asp for more on childhood eczema or oilatum.co.uk for general eczema information and product advice.

Summary: Give it a go if supplied by your doctor but it's no miracle cure.