If you struggle with getting eczema under control, you’re not alone. For many, it can be challenging to find the right treatment. One of the most common topical medications (applied on top of the skin) doctors prescribe for eczema is triamcinolone. If you’ve heard about this medication, you might be wondering how triamcinolone is used to treat eczema and if there are any drawbacks.
Here’s the lowdown:
What Is Triamcinolone Cream?
Triamcinolone is a steroid drug that mimics hormones naturally found in the body. It’s used to reduce symptoms such as itching, redness and dry, scaling skin for a number of different skin conditions including psoriasis and eczema. It’s available in various prescription strengths.
How Is Triamcinolone Used to Treat Eczema?
Triamcinolone calms an overactive immune response and lowers levels of inflammation in the skin, two factors involved with eczema flare-ups. This stops the damaging effects of inflammation and lets your skin heal.
Triamcinolone comes in different forms — cream, lotion, ointment and spray — and is usually applied to the affected area two to four times a day. “For many patients, triamcinolone is an effective, short-term treatment that helps ease symptoms during flare-ups,”
How Can I Get Triamcinolone Cream?
If you’re interested in learning more about triamcinolone cream, talk to your family doctor or dermatologist to see if it’s right for you. Note that steroid medications can cause side effects, even when applied topically. Triamcinolone may cause slowed growth and delayed weight gain in children.
In addition, up to 3% of people can experience an allergic reaction to triamcinolone. Learn what your doctor can do if this type of steroid is making your eczema worse.
You may want to consider natural home remedies before trying, or in addition to using, steroid creams like triamcinolone to help speed healing.
What Are Some Natural Eczema Alternatives?
Figuring out the most effective way to treat your or your child’s eczema can be a bit of a process. However, many people find success by taking these steps at home:
- Avoid triggers: You can prevent flare-ups by identifying your triggers and avoiding them.
- Reduce infection risk: When the skin barrier is damaged during an eczema flare-up, it’s prone to infection. Taking a bleach bath cuts down the number of bacteria present on the skin.
- Soothe irritated skin: After bathing, protect the skin barrier by sealing in moisture with eczema-safe creams (apply prescription medications like triamcinolone only to eczema outbreaks).
- Calm itchiness: After your bathing and moisturizing routine, cover your skin in eczema-friendly fabric like a medical top, bottom or body suit. For severe eczema, try wet wrap therapy, where you dampen the medical garment, or other non-irritating fabric, to create an overnight cool compress that reduces itchiness.
For more skin irritation solutions, check out our full line of eczema products.
NOTE: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for a consultation, diagnosis and/or medical treatment by a healthcare provider.