If your child has eczema and you have gone looking for a probiotic, you have almost certainly come across LactoGG — the green box sold in every pharmacy here. It is one of the few children’s probiotics that prints its strain code on the front.
This page is about the LactoGG product:
- What is in it
- What is the research behind the strain
- How much to give at each age
- How it differs from the product on the shelf (Lactokids.
Why a Probiotic at All?
The reasoning behind giving a probiotic to a child with eczema is sound.
In eczema the gut flora is usually skewed:
- Fewer of the beneficial bacteria
- More of the inflammatory bacteria
- Leads to leaky gut lining
- Inflammatory signals reach the bloodstream
- Skin that is already reactive flares up even more
Beneficial Lactobacilli work the other way:
- They produce short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate
- They tighten the gut barrier
- They support regulatory T cells — the immune cells that stop an overreaction becoming a flare
That is the theory, and that is how probiotics for eczema is being marketed.
What matters most here is whether anyone has actually tested the organism in the bottle. Which brings us to LactoGG.
What Is LactoGG, and What Is Actually in It?
LactoGG is made by Paedicare, formulated in the USA, and sold in Singapore through retail pharmacies like Watsons, Guardian and Raffles Health. It comes in two formats, and the difference matters more than the branding suggests.
The capsules:
Read the front of the box and it tells you the one thing most probiotic labels do not: Lactobacillus GG (ATCC 53103). That code is the organism. It is the important strain you want.
Each capsule carries 20 billion CFU of that single strain, plus FOS as a prebiotic. One strain, named, no blend to confuse you.
The sachets:
Same strain, delivered as a powder that dissolves into a drink or food. Also with FOS.
Which one you want depends on the age of the child, which is the question we get asked most.
One thing you must understand before proceeding:
- Both types of LactoGG contain FOS (a prebiotic fiber).
- A subset of infants react to prebiotic fibers independently of the probiotic bacteria.
- If your child has reacted to a supplement before, read inulin and FOS sensitivity first.
What the Research on LGG Actually Shows
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG is the most studied probiotic strain in eczema by a wide margin, and the research tells us 3 things.
1. LGG to treat eczema that has already appeared
Work on LGG in children with atopic dermatitis goes back to 2003, and the picture has been broadly consistent since:
- Modest reductions in severity
- Most reliable in the younger children
In 2023 Wang and colleagues pooled multiple studies of L. rhamnosus in children from infancy to 18 years old.
- Children taking it had less severe eczema than those who did not
- Across the whole age range, the effect is more significant for younger children.
2. LGG to prevent eczema before it starts
This is where LGG’s evidence is strongest, and it is not about the child at all.
The same authors found that when a mother took LGG both before and after delivery, the incidence of atopic dermatitis in her baby fell significantly.
The mother has to take it prenatally and postnatally to get this result — one without the other does not appear to do it.
Biggest takeaway: If you are a couple and both of you have a history of eczema and planning to have a child, this is strongly reason for the mother to start using LGG prenatally and postpartum.
3. LGG to cure eczema
Lacto GG does not cure eczema, and it does not permanently change allergy risk. It only:
- Reduces how often and how badly the skin flares
- Works in some children, for as long as it is being taken
Anyone promising more than this is overstating its curative effects.
LactoGG or LactoKids? What Actually Differs
Now for the box next to it. Search for LactoGG in Singapore and you will very quickly meet LactoKids — similar name, similar shelf, similar promise.
The most common question we get about LactoGG is whether LactoKids is LactoGG.
Let us explain how they are not the same parent company:
- LactoGG is a Paedicare product, made in the USA and sold in Asia through retail pharmacies like Watsons and Raffles Health.
- LactoKids is made by LactoWell.
Two companies, two products, similar names, same pharmacy shelf.
| LactoGG | LactoKids | |
|---|---|---|
| Strains | One — L. rhamnosus GG | Nine species |
| Strain code printed | Yes — ATCC 53103 | No — none of the nine |
| CFU | 15–20 billion | 10 billion total, not split by strain |
| Also contains | FOS, a prebiotic fibre | Colostrum, calcium, vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, D3 |
| Species on the histamine list | None | L. casei, L. fermentum, S. thermophilus |
| Dairy | No | Colostrum is milk-derived |
LactoGG prints ATCC 53103 on the front of the box, beside the product name. This is upfront and transparent.
Let’s evaluate LactoKids next.
- LactoKids does contain a Lactobacillus rhamnosus. What it does not do is tell you which one. We don’t know if ATCC 53103 — the strain in LactoGG — is in there. It could just be some other strain of Lactobacillus rhamnosus. Nothing on the label lets you find out, and that is the first problem with this product.
- 3 of its 9 species also sit on the histamine list we go through in the label-reading guide. Without strain codes, we can’t be sure that those 3 are safe.
- Colostrum is a milk derivative. Milk protein allergy is common in children with moderate to severe eczema — this alone settles the question of whether to buy.
None of this makes LactoKids a bad product for a child with a healthy gut and no milk allergy. It makes it difficult to be claiming that this product is safe for kids with eczema.
How Much LactoGG, and at What Age?
Dosing is the question we are asked most, usually with an age attached — my 21-month-old, my three-year-old, my eight-year-old. Here is what the research this page cites actually used, stage by stage.
| Stage | What the studies used | What they found |
|---|---|---|
| Pregnancy and breastfeeding | LGG daily, before and after delivery | Significantly lower rate of eczema developing in the baby. The strongest prevention signal in the whole literature. |
| Infancy, under 1 | 1–5 billion CFU daily | Prevention and early treatment. Give it in milk or on food. |
| Under 2, with micronutrients | 1 billion CFU LGG + 0.01 mg vitamin D3 + 0.6 mg zinc | Significant SCORAD reduction over two years, with less topical steroid and antihistamine use. |
| 1 to 3 years | 1–5 billion CFU daily | The window where LGG’s treatment evidence is strongest. |
| 4 to 18 years | Varies by trial | The 2023 meta-analysis still found less severe eczema across this range, though the effect is smaller than in the early years. |
What dose are we using? A LactoGG capsule delivers around 20 billion live cells; the sachets a minimum of 15 billion. The trials that produced these results mostly used 1 to 5 billion.
So the product gives somewhere between four and twenty times the studied dose. That is not a reason to avoid it — LGG has an excellent safety record, and manufacturers overshoot deliberately because live cells die off in storage.
That said, we just want you to know that a bigger CFU number is not always a better product.
Give it three months before you judge it.
And after the early years, the following are going to be just as important than any probiotic supplement:
- Skin barrier care
- A diverse fibre-rich diet
- Not reaching for antibiotics unnecessarily
Using LactoGG With Vitamin D3 and Zinc
One trial is worth knowing about here, because it is the only one that tests LGG as part of a combination rather than on its own.
In 2020, children under two were given 1 billion CFU of LGG with 0.01 mg of vitamin D3 and 0.6 mg of zinc. Over two years the combination group had a significant SCORAD reduction and used less topical steroid and fewer antihistamines than controls.
Why those three
They act on different parts of the same problem.
1/ LGG works through the gut — short-chain fatty acids, a tighter barrier, regulatory T cells damping the Th2 inflammation that drives eczema.
2/ Vitamin D3 works on immune tolerance and the skin barrier itself, and supports the antimicrobial peptides that keep secondary infection down. Deficiency is common in young children here despite the climate, largely because of sun avoidance.
3/ Zinc is structural. It is needed for keratinocyte turnover, wound healing and tight junctions; too little and skin stays permeable, heals slowly and weeps for longer.
Gut, immune tolerance, barrier repair. That is why the combination outperformed the probiotic alone, and it is a reasonable thing to raise with your paediatrician — particularly the vitamin D, which is worth measuring rather than guessing at.
Do You Need a Prebiotic With LactoGG?
Short answer: no, and LactoGG has already made the decision for you.
A prebiotic is a fibre that feeds beneficial bacteria. Pair one with a probiotic and you have a synbiotic, which in theory helps the organism survive and settle. One Russian study looked at LGG with prebiotics in children with eczema and supported the combination, though it did not say which prebiotics were used.
In practice you do not need to go looking. LactoGG already contains FOS.
And if you really want to supplement, just know that the common prebiotics — FOS, GOS and TOS — are in ordinary food:
- Chicory root
- Jerusalem artichoke
- Garlic
- Onions
- Leeks
- Asparagus
- Bananas
- Oats
- Flaxseed.
A child eating a reasonable range of vegetables is getting them.
There is a more important caveat running the other way. Prebiotic fibre is itself a common cause of reactions in infants, independently of the bacteria — see inulin and FOS sensitivity in infants.
Beyond LGG: What Else Has Evidence
LGG is not the only strain with evidence behind it. If LactoGG does not suit your child, it is worth knowing what else exists.
Lactobacillus salivarius LS01: the best-supported alternative
Trials on LS01 show measurable effects in atopic dermatitis, and it does not carry the histamine concerns attached to some other Lactobacillus species. If you want a single named strain that is not LGG, this is the one to look for.
Bifidobacteria: a more complicated story
The Wickens 2008 work found Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis showed no significant benefit where L. rhamnosus did.
More recent work in 2025 found Bifidobacteria are two-faced:
- As the infant grows, different species will dominate
- Supplementing with bifidobacteria is akin to aiming at a moving target
That is the practical reason this page is about LGG.
It is not that nothing else works — but LGG is the strain where (1) the evidence, (2) the labelling and (3) the consistent response is assuring to the user.
For a verdict on other strains you are likely to meet on a label, see the strain-by-strain guide.
Buying LactoGG: Format, Price and What to Check
LactoGG is widely stocked in Singapore — Watsons, Guardian, Raffles Health, and through Glovida online. Prices sit around S$21 for thirty capsules, which makes a proper three-month trial genuinely cheap.
Capsule or sachet?
- Under one years old: capsule, opened, powder stirred into milk or cooled food. It gives you control over the amount.
- One to six years old: sachets, if the extra cost is worth not decanting a capsule every morning. It is a convenience decision, not a clinical one.
- Six and up: capsule, swallowed whole.
Check the box before you pay
- The strain code. ATCC 53103 should be on the front. If a box only says Lactobacillus rhamnosus, you are not buying the same thing.
- The expiry. CFU counts fall over shelf life. A box close to its date is a weaker product.
- Storage. LactoGG does not need refrigerating, but heat still kills bacteria. Not in a damp humid place, not next to window facing the sun.
If you are weighing it against other products rather than just buying it, we have compared seven LGG products on price, dose and format. And if you want to be sure a different bottle is what it claims, how to read a probiotic label goes through 7 real ones.
The Verdict on LactoGG
LactoGG is not a treatment for eczema. No probiotic is. What’s good about it is that LactoGG is the least uncertain option amongst all the probiotics supplements for kids.
- It names its organism. ATCC 53103, printed on the front. Many probiotic supplements don’t do this, and without the strain clearly stated on the label, you can never be fully sure of the safety of the product.
- The strain has the deepest evidence in eczema — twenty years of it, and a 2023 meta-analysis covering children up to 18 years of age.
- Its strongest use is prevention, not treatment, taken by the mother before and after delivery.
- It is single-strain, so if your child reacts you know exactly what to stop.
- The dose is generous — 20 billion against the 1 to 5 billion the trials used. Harmless, but not a reason to pay more elsewhere.
Give it three months at a steady dose, change nothing else while you do, and judge it honestly at the end. If it helps, you will know. If it does not, stop — and the strain-by-strain guide will tell you what else is worth trying.
And keep it in proportion. Emollient, trigger control and treating flares early still do more for a child’s eczema than anything you can put in a glass of milk.
Why Is Chinese Doc Writing About Probiotics For Children?
At our clinic, parents bring in their children mid-flare — mostly toddlers, sometimes infants. The child is in excruciating pain, the parents have run out of answers, and somewhere along the way someone told them to try probiotics.
Then comes the same question, nearly every time: which probiotics should we use?
This page is written for that parent.
I’m Dr Mark Chern, and I treat childhood eczema with Chinese herbal medicine at Chinese Doc Singapore.
Any probiotic you want to ask us about? Ask us below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I give my child probiotics for eczema?
It depends — but there is a reasonable case for trying it, particularly in younger children. The research suggests probiotics are more useful as a preventive tool than a cure. If your child already has eczema, probiotics may help reduce flare frequency and severity by calming the gut–immune–skin axis, but they are unlikely to eliminate eczema on their own. Think of them as one tool among several, alongside skin barrier care, diet, TCM or medical treatment.
Which strains should I look for?
The two strains with the most relevant evidence for children with eczema are Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) and Lactobacillus salivarius LS01. LGG has the largest body of research behind it across infants and children up to 18 years old. L. salivarius LS01 has shown meaningful reductions in SCORAD scores in both children and adults, and appears to work well in combination with a prebiotic. Bifidobacterium strains are more complicated — some are protective in very early infancy, but this effect does not reliably persist, and some later-appearing types may even be associated with higher eczema risk. For this reason, we tend to be more cautious about recommending Bifidobacterium supplementation as a standalone approach.
How long should my child take it?
Most clinical studies run for 12 to 16 weeks, which is a reasonable trial period to assess whether your child is responding. The evidence is strongest for early intervention — ideally starting in pregnancy, continuing through infancy, and into the early toddler years. That said, there are studies including children up to 18 years old that still show benefit. If your child is older, a 3-month trial at a sensible dose is worth considering.
There is no strong evidence for lifelong supplementation. After early childhood, dietary fiber, food diversity, and avoiding unnecessary antibiotics may do more for long-term gut health than a daily probiotic capsule.
What does this mean for parents, practically?
Three things to keep in mind.
First, the strain name on the label matters enormously — “Lactobacillus rhamnosus” and “Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG” are not the same thing. Always look for the full strain designation.
Second, dose matters less than you might think — clinical studies typically used 1 to 10 billion CFU daily, and many products exceed this significantly without adding proportional benefit.
Third, not every probiotic marketed for children is appropriate for children with eczema — some contain histamine-producing strains that may quietly worsen symptoms in sensitive children.
If you are unsure where to start, LGG in a single-strain product, without unnecessary additives, is currently our most straightforward recommendation for this age group.
