Treatments for Eczema Video Transcript

Webcast Transcript

LAWRENCE EICHENFELD, MD: Both Protopic, which is tacrolimus, which comes as an ointment, and Elidel cream, which is pimecrolimus, which comes as a cream, are highly useful as agents that can control the acute inflammation, the active rashes of eczema, even though there's no topical steroid in it.

They're also really useful for long-term use. So for patients who have frequent flares of their disease and who were sort of always on a week or two of topical steroids, trying to get off of it and within a few days or a week, they're flaring again, the new topical medications are tremendous breakthroughs, because it can really maintain a person disease-free for months and years at a time.

ANNOUNCER: These treatments can be used long term without hesitation.

MEDWIN MINTZIS, MD: About the only drawback is they're certainly not as strong as the strongest cortisone-based products.

LAWRENCE EICHENFELD, MD: Protopic is an ointment. Elidel comes as a 1% cream; it rubs in drier than the ointment might be. The incidence of stinging and burning appears to be less with Elidel, and they both appear to be pretty effective for eczema. Where Protopic has been approved for moderate to severe eczema as compared to the Elidel, which has been approved for mild to moderate eczema.

ANNOUNCER: What many experts suggest is a two-pronged attack.

LAWRENCE EICHENFELD, MD: If there's a patient with very mild disease, you can use intermittent, low-potency topical steroids, even over-the-counter stuff with moisturizers. On the other hand, you have the option of using some of the non-steroidals, especially in young children. And then if you have patients who have very frequent flares, maybe you use a non-steroidal, and then when there's real severe flares, you use topical steroids on top of that.

ANNOUNCER: So while it's never a great time to have eczema, at least today another weapon has been added to fight off the symptoms.

MEDWIN MINTZIS, MD: It's always a balance between getting a disease in control quickly versus greater side effects, as opposed to perhaps taking a little longer and having less possibility of side effects and where that equation lands up varies from patient to patient.

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