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Treatments for Eczema Treatments for Eczema: What's Right for You? What is Eczema?

Children's Health

Everyday Management of Eczema

Summary & Participants

Eczema may not be a life-threatening condition, but it is life altering. Learn how people can manage eczema by avoiding triggers and treating flare-ups.

Medically Reviewed On: June 10, 2008

Webcast Transcript

SHEILA FRIEDLANDER, MD: If they're used for prolonged periods, particularly if there are high-potency steroids used in a large surface area for long periods, that the patients can suffer from a number of things. One is thinning of the skin, atrophy of the skin or the development of large blood vessels over that area. The other is if, let's say a young child was smeared in these topical corticosteroids, they could absorb it and it could have an affect on their growth. It could suppress glands in the body, the adrenals. So we know that too much steroid for too long is dangerous.

ANNOUNCER: Severe eczema may have to be treated with an oral steroid. Far more potent than the steroid creams and ointments, the side-effects from oral steroids can be far more serious.

ALICE GOTTLIEB, MD: You can get problems like death of bone, it's called osteonecrosis; diabetes; hypertension; growth retardation in children. Because they have so many broad undesirable side effects, there has been a real push to develop topical, non-corticosteroid agents. And we have two now.

SHEILA FRIEDLANDER, MD: One is Elidel; the other is Protopic. Both have been found to be very helpful in patients, particularly patients who fail usual topical corticosteroid treatment. Thus far, they appear to be relatively safe drugs.

ALICE GOTTLIEB, MD: Protopic is in an ointment and Elidel is in a cream. And I often ask patients, "Which one do you prefer?" Ointments are more emollient so that they're greasier; therefore, if you have a very dry skin condition, many patients will prefer an ointment because it's more soothing ultimately.

Also, in some cases drugs penetrate better in ointments than creams. However, people live in the real world and they have to put clothes on and they can't afford to sit there two hours a day with nothing on waiting for the ointment to go in. And so creams are a good compromise between convenience and greasy formulation.

ANNOUNCER: There are several ways that these new treatments can be used since their safety and convenience mean they are long-term options.

SHEILA FRIEDLANDER, MD: In particular, Elidel, which has been studied as a means of preventing flares.

ALICE GOTTLIEB, MD: I actually use it as a maintenance treatment that I ask the parent or the child or adult to apply twice a day, as background maintenance. And when there is a flare, they can add a corticosteroid to that.

ANNOUNCER: Having new options in the battle against eczema means patients can have more effective and safer choices that they can use.

SHEILA FRIEDLANDER, MD: Now we have new medications; if you didn't respond to things that were used in the past, perhaps you will respond to some of the newer agents.

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