Steroid cream almost ruined my skin

[Anyechka]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? N.Y.

In October of 2007, I developed dry skin around my chin and upper lip. Because I wasn't able to see a doctor right away, it got worse and started cracking and bleeding. At the time I believed it was my lifelong eczema spreading to my face. When I was finally able to see my doctor in January, she prescribed me Alclometasone Dipropionate Cream USP, 0.05%. It initially had the desired results, but then I noticed my skin wasn't going back to normal.

I used to have very soft, rosy, milky skin, and ever since then, it's been dry, red, irritated, and washed-out. I spent hundreds of dollars on products to try to fix it, including some that made it worse because I still believed this was because of eczema and not from this steroid cream. I have never in my life needed moisturizers and creams for the skin on my face, since it was always so naturally flawless. Since I had never needed these things for my face before, I wasn't aware of steroid creams causing thinning and scarring of the skin.

Nothing works longterm to take my skin back to normal, and my boyfriend hasn't even kissed me during our entire 20+ month relationship because of the condition of the skin around my mouth. It's extremely frustrating to be able to do nothing about what happened to my skin and see people who have skin that looks the way mine used to.

 

[justalayman]

I didn't see a question there but I did notice you seemed to be concerned about the dry skin around your mouth, which is why you went to the doctor who gave you the cream to start with so, you already had problems with your skin developing before you used the cream.


was there something else?

 

[Adalaide78]

Have you been back to the doctor since you originally got the cream? The fact that it is still dry, red and irritated would likely be caused by eczema and not by the cream. Your dermitoligist can probably help by pointing you to the products most likely to help. Mine even helped me by recommending a brand of cosmetic to try that is very effective in covering the issues cause by eczema without further irritating my skin. Also, if your boyfriend hasn't kissed you in nearly two years because your skin is red and irritated you need to ditch the *******. Don't say he isn't one, because it would clearly be a lie.

 

[Antigone*]

I didn't see a question there but I did notice you seemed to be concerned about the dry skin around your mouth, which is why you went to the doctor who gave you the cream to start with so, you already had problems with your skin developing before you used the cream.


was there something else?

I think she wants to know if she hit the law-suit because her skin is no longer milky, supple, radiant and flawless.

 

[Anyechka]

The problem I had with my skin prior to using this cream was entirely different. It was getting chapped and cracked, and now it's dry and irritated where it never was before. In hindsight it probably would have gone away with something like Neosporin. I wanted to know if there's a case against the company who made this product for not explaining what side effects might occur, and for making a product that can have such a bad side effect that also causes emotional pain and suffering.

 

[ecmst12]

You experienced a known side effect, so there is no cause of action for you. Not only that, it's a GENERIC drug, so there is no manufacturer for you to sue even if you DID have a cause.

 

[justalayman]

why did you not stop using the cream once your face had healed? If you take aspirin all the time you can cause an ulcer so you quit taking aspirin when you don't need it anymore to prevent such a problem. You should have quit using the creme when you skin was healed.

I must reiterate:
you state your skin was flawless and supple and perfect yet you had to go to the doctor for dry skin which even cracked and bled and then you blame the medication for your skin not being flawless anymore.

Ever consider the possibility the problem you experienced was the beginning or your skin changing, as all of ours does as we age and it has not returned to its' supple and flawless condition because you are now older.

 

[ecmst12]

And what did your doctor say when you reported your symptoms?

 

[justalayman]

this is from the manufacturers information included with the prescription:

http://www.fougera.com/products/documents/1247.PI.pdf

Information for Patients: Patients using topical corticosteroids should receive the following information and instructions:
1. This medication is to be used as directed by the physician. It is for external use only. Avoid contact with the eyes.
2. This medication should not be used for any disorder other than that for which it was prescribed.
3. The treated skin area should not be bandaged, otherwise covered or wrapped so as to be occlusive, unless directed by the physician.
4. Patients should report to their physician any signs of local adverse reactions.
5. Parents of pediatric patients should be advised not to use alclometasone dipropionate cream in the treatment of diaper dermatitis.
Alclometasone dipropionate cream should not be applied in the diaper area as diapers or plastic pants may constitute occlusive dressing
(see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION).
6. This medication should not be used on the face, underarms, or groin areas unless directed by the physician.
7. As with other corticosteroids, therapy should be discontinued when control is achieved. If no improvement is seen within 2 weeks, contact the physician

.

ADVERSE REACTIONS: The following local adverse reactions have been reported with alclometasone dipropionate cream in approximately 2% of
patients: itching, burning, and erythema. The following additional local adverse reactions have been reported infrequently with topical corticosteroids,
but may occur more frequently with the use of occlusive dressings. These reactions are listed in approximate decreasing order of occurrence: folliculitis,
acneiform eruptions, hypopigmentation, perioral dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, secondary infection, skin atrophy, striae, and miliaria

so, how long did you use the cream and did you notice the skin atrophy inclusion, which sounds like your problem? The striae would also be seen as similar to what you defined as well.

 

[Anyechka]

I didn't realize what was causing the problems on my face, since I had discontinued the cream and was moving on to other products that I thought would work better. I was mistakenly convinced that this was eczema, but I was told by a dermatologist, when I was finally able to see one, that there was more seborrheic dermatitis than eczema. Because I thought it was eczema and eczema only, I used products that probably shouldn't have been used on other skin conditions. The products I was given by my dermatologist are for eczema and seborrheic dermatitis, but there wasn't that big of an improvement, and they dried out my skin as well.

I used the cream for about a month and initially it worked well, but then my skin got worse than ever and I went back to using it, not knowing how else to treat it. I never would have used it if I'd known that it would damage my skin.

Also, if your boyfriend hasn't kissed you in nearly two years because your skin is red and irritated you need to ditch the *******. Don't say he isn't one, because it would clearly be a lie.

He's actually the sweetest and most thoughtful person I've ever known. He has some issues which most men don't have to deal with, and we've worked to improve them. We're well aware of how certain things about our relationship, and about us as people, look odd to outsiders and that we're not like most people, but at the end of the day, we know the reasons for these things, and they make sense because of our own situation. We believe in dating for marriage and would never have stayed in a relationship this long and wasted so much time if we were unhappy with any aspect of it.

 

[justalayman]

I used the cream for about a month and initially it worked well, but then my skin got worse than ever and I went back to using it, not knowing how else to treat it. I never would have used it if I'd known that it would damage my skin.

.

did you notice the literature says to use it for 2 weeks and if no improvement, contact your doctor?

 

[ecmst12]

You tried to self-treat using the cream for longer then it was intended for, and for different symptoms then it was intended for...if you had gone back to the doctor when your symptoms didn't improve/reappeared the first time, you might have gotten everything taken care of 2 years ago, and you might not have caused the damage that you caused.

 

[csi7]

skin issue

Good Morning,

I self-medicated my eyebrows, and after an insect bite caused my face to swell up at work, was treated with steroid cream-with this warning by the doctor - which he made me repeat and sign the bottom of the patient sheet, use sparingly, and stop it after two weeks, no matter what. I was given two referral numbers to contact at the end of the two weeks and to use the reason I was calling to be the steroid cream. I used it only for the two weeks, and the area was healed on the top layer, so I just had to be careful of patting the area dry as needed, being careful until the entire area healed, which took eight weeks.

I also had to keep a food, exercise, and activity journal to find the root cause of the problem. I am currently using psoriasin gel, I have used ichthammol ointment, triamcinolone acetonide cream in the past.

Good luck finding a solution. I came onto this site to find an alternative suggestion to lawsuit since a lawsuit lasts a long time and can create tension in a community that lasts far longer than the lawsuit.

 

[Zigner]

You experienced a known side effect, so there is no cause of action for you. Not only that, it's a GENERIC drug, so there is no manufacturer for you to sue even if you DID have a cause.

C'mon ecmst12 - the stuff didn't just appear out of thin air! There IS a manufacturer. I'm not saying our OP has a case, because I don't believe s/he does. However, there most definitely IS a manufacturer of the product.