Medicines and Products for Dermatitis

Modern dermatitis medicines are effective, well-studied and - used correctly - safe. The biggest medication problem in India is not the steroid cream; it is the fear of it, and the fair-and-lovely counter selling mystery creams.

The foundation: moisturisers

• Emollients are medicines here, prescribed or not: liquid paraffin, white soft paraffin, ceramide-based creams, urea or lactic acid lotions for thick dry skin - applied liberally, 3-4 times daily, every day, flares or not

The flare controllers

• Topical corticosteroids: the correct strength for the body site (mild for face and folds, stronger for palms and thick patches), once-twice daily, for the shortest effective course - safe and transformative when used this way. The damage stories come from wrong strength, wrong site, or months of unsupervised use
• Topical calcineurin inhibitors (tacrolimus, pimecrolimus): steroid-free options for face, eyelids and long-term control - prescription only
• Antihistamines at night: sedating ones help break the night itch-scratch cycle; they treat the itch, not the rash

For infections and severe disease

• Antibiotics when scratching has infected the skin (yellow crusts, pus, fever)