07 Apr 09 UNDERSTANDING ALLERGY: A NOTE ABOUT SKIN MEDICATIONS
Your dermatologist may feel that your problem calls for a topical ointment or oral medication of some kind. Dr Fisher cautions that preservatives such as parabens and ethylenediamine and other common ingredients of topical salves are common causes of allergy and can therefore prolong rather than heal the disease. Another doctor tells of one person with skin allergy who was treated with one medication after another by many doctors, with no relief – until parabens were considered. ‘Within twenty-four hours of application of a parabens-free cream, his skin began to heal for the first time in seven years,’ says William F. Schorr, dermatologist at the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin (Journal of the American Medical Association).
Dr Schorr points out that benzocaine, widely used for dishpan hands and other irritating skin problems, is a very common cause of allergy. In fact, he strongly advises against use of any topical ending in ‘caine’. So if treatment calls for a topical medication, it’s important that doctors prescribe only creams that are free of potent allergens.
For a similar reason, doctors strongly discourage people with any kind of skin allergy from buying over-the-counter medicated lotions.
You should also stay away from corticosteroid creams or ointments – they may cause a non-allergic-type inflammation, further compounding skin problems. Yet some dermatologists are rather quick to prescribe oral doses of corticosteroids, like prednisone, for allergic skin problems. Non-drug approaches may make steroids unnecessary, says Dr Schorr.
‘It has been my experience . . . that it is rarely necessary to treat the average patient with contact dermatitis with systemic corticosteroids,’ Dr Schorr states. The one exception, he says, is poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac, common in the United States. They’re such intense allergens that the disease continues to spread long after the initial contact. And the blisters and swelling produced can keep you out of work or school for longer than most people can afford. Under those circumstances, Dr Schorr sees little risk in a ten-day to two-week course of prednisone, in decreasing doses (Minnesota Medicine).
Another exception to the no-drug rule may be antihistamines prescribed to be taken in the evening. They prevent you from scratching in your sleep, which would delay healing.
Overall, though, you should try non-medical means of relief if at all possible. There certainly are enough tried-and-true means available. Total relief, however, is only possible if you stay away from the allergy-provoking items. After you’ve got the itching under control, the next step is to find out what started it in the first place.
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Tags: Allergies
