PROTOPIC CREAM FOR ECZEEMA

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My son has been proscribed protopic cream for his ongoing eczema.
he is 21/2 yrs, has anyone used it?
in the hospital i was told that there has been links of skin cancer but very little. would you still use it /
any experience or suggestions welcome....
thnks

I'm afraid I don't know anything about protopic cream, but my family has really benefited from using chickweed cream.
It's natural and steroid-free, but seems to work wonders for my Dad, DH and DD.

thanks ruthchan, i ve never heard chickweed before where do get from?
i am going to google it now....

Protopic suppresses immunresponse, so if you put it on for too long, your body wouldn't fight cancer cells on the skin where you applied it. Also, if you keep rats on a protopic diet, some will develop kidney cancer (who wouldn't).
I used it quite a bit, and didn't have a problem, my nephew, 3 uses it for a spot of eczema, too.
I would use it sparingly and only if really needed in a kid that small, but then without fear. It does wonders for eczema.

Thnx Comma2,
I have been asked to use it for 3 months which should be gradually weaned off ..
Is that too much

What is the name of it? Or is it just protopic? Wondering if its the same stuff ds had.

it is just Protopic .

We have it for DS. I trust my dermatology nurse. She knows our family history so I would be really shocked if she thought there was a significant risk and still gave it to us.

She is great and very knowlegable.

We use it for DS's face when it gets bad. It has the advantage of being non steroidal.

If your doctor told you 3 months, I'm sure you are good. One doctor told me 2 weeks, two others said I can use it all the time. I'd do what the doctor said, because eczema is horrible for a kid. Keep him a bit out of the sun while the stuff is on, but no worries in genereal, I'd say.

I came across this website this morning as im researching eczema myself as my son who is 12 has it and its really bad and this treatment is amazing and something you can do at home for pennies...NO CREAM/STEROIDS..Yay!!!! You'll probably be shocked when you read it, I was but ask your nurse about it. Good luck with whatever treatment you choose though. x

www.allmothers.net/household-bleach-potent-treatment-for-niggling-eczema.html

My 3 year old is on Protopic too as the steroids weren't clearing the current flare-up up. He had it twice a day for about 3 weeks, and now twice a week on a maintenance basis - seems to make the skin a little irritated on the day it's on, but the day or two after is usually pretty good.

I heard about the risks too but I think there are tiny risks with all sorts of treatments, and you have to weigh up how bad the eczema is, and how much it's affecting his and your lives, and then choosing treatment appropriately.

Our other options were photo therapy, steroid tablets or immunosuppressant (sp?) cream and Protopic seemed to be the one with the least risk of side effects.

We buy chickweed cream from Napier Herbalists in Edinburgh/Glasgow. You can get it from them online too - the site's down for maintenance at the moment, but you can navigate through from their main page or call them for more info...
http://www.napiers.net/
Chickweed is also an ingredient in their Infant Starflower cream which we use for our daughters eczema.

I was to scared to use protopic on dd when given it from our dermatologist. He had not told me about any of the problems with it and, if anything, acted like it didnt have side effects like steriods. I came home researched and had a shock. Especially because I felt dd's eczema was controlled fairly well and he seemed to want me to use it on her dry area around her mouth which was not terribly trouble some. If her skin had been out of control and needing something different then it may have been another story in desperation butI do feel in this instance is should not have been given and feel its a bit of a new novalty to prescribe. We were only moisturising her at the time and not even using steriods. She is at the best shes ever been in years.