Sudocrem Antiseptic Healing Cream (SAHC) – a 15.25% zinc oxide emulsified water in oil cream – has been used by healthcare professionals for over 80 years and is probably best known for its treatment of incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) in babies and older people. It is also licensed to treat eczema, bedsores, acne, minor burns and surface wounds.
Three clinical studies of SAHC in the 1980s showed positive results with paediatric and geriatric patients: effectiveness at improving and healing infant IAD (Mitchell 1982)1; performance in managing IAD in a geriatric population (Anthony D et al, 1987)2 and a double blind controlled cross-over study of treating IAD (Malone-Lee et al, 1984)3. A 2004 publication showed no significant difference in the potential to clog pads using SAHC over competitive products (Bolton et al, 2004)4.
The last few years have seen a new generation of research into SAHC, using a very 21st century approach. We wanted to see what was happening in the real world when parents and carers used Sudocrem on infant IAD and to understand how quickly they saw results. And where better to find some mums and dads with real world experience – at all times of the day and night – than Facebook? The SURE Study (Sudocrem Real World Evidence) took place in February 2015. Over 2000 people answered the detailed research questions and the results demonstrate why Sudocrem remains such an important medicine to families and healthcare professionals more than 80 years since its launch.
1.Mitchell JK (1982) The Treatment of Paediatric Rashes. Clinical Trials Journal; 19, 1, 17-19
2.Anthony D et al (1987) A clinical study of Sudocrem in the management of dermatitis due to the physical stress of incontinence in a geriatric population. Journal of Advanced Nursing; 12: 5, 599-603
3.Malone-Lee et al (1984) Incontinence Dermatitis. Journal of District Nursing
4.Bolton et al (2004). Assessment of Pad Clogging. Journal of Community Nursing,18, 6
