Oatmeal in dermatology: a brief review.

The purpose of this review is to gather and summarize in vitro, in vivo, and clinical trials on oatmeal preparations and their uses in dermatology. Literature searches have been carried out to collect in vivo and in vitro studies as well as clinical trials on this subject. The results suggest that oatmeal possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and its administration is effective on a variety of dermatologic inflammatory diseases such as pruritus, atopic dermatitis, acneiform eruptions, and viral infections. Additionally, oatmeal plays a role in cosmetics preparations and skin protection against ultraviolet rays. Although some promising results citing the use of oatmeal to treat numerous dermatologic conditions have been found, the complete efficacy of oatmeal has not been sufficiently explored. This paper proposes accurate and useful information concerning the use of oatmeal in clinical practice to dermatologists.