Eczema affects millions of individuals a day. Most often, atopic dermatitis presents itself in childhood or infancy but doesn’t follow you into adulthood. Sometimes it can follow people into adulthood and can be extremely tricky to treat. Treatment options vary, depending on how quickly it was identified by a physician.
Home treatments can be effective, by applying ointments to keep the skin moist and making sure it stays clear of infection. Eczema makes skin inflamed, red, and sometimes cracked. Proper washing of the skin and applying of fragrance-free ointment to semi-damp skin, is the beginning stages of treating eczema.
If just the ointment isn’t working, you can apply a topical over-the-counter low-dose steroid cream to the skin, in addition to the ointment and proper washing. Bandages can also be used to make sure that the creams are properly absorbed into the skin, and will protect the skin from potential infection and bacteria.
Physicians can also prescribe higher doses of steroids, but for short periods of time. It’s not safe to take these strong steroids for long periods of time.
Dupixent Dupilumab Eczema Treatments
Dupixent is the first medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) for adults that have moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. Physicians will only prescribe this when topical treatments were not effective.
Dupixent works on two interleukins believed to contribute to atopic diseases. It blocks IL-4 and IL-13 from binding to their cell receptors. The drug limits the immune system from overreacting, which lowers the symptoms of atopic dermatitis. Patients are supposed to continue taking the drug until the symptoms have gone away.
Dupixent is taken by injection every week or every other week, after the initial dose. There are normal risks with this drug, like every other injectable medication on the market.
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