· Swedish researchers studied 4,089 newborns and reported in the September edition of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology that infants whose diet consisted of breastmilk for four months or longer had about a 20% reduced risk of eczema at four years old.

· Having eczema is expensive: it's official. A study by St Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, showed that sufferers spent an average of $425 (£179) per year alleviating their symptoms.

· Here's an odd one: German researchers at the Medical University Lübeck reckon that children who have had worms are significantly less likely to develop eczema.