Protopic and Redness: What Users Say

• Hap...
• May 18, 2016

For Atopic Dermatitis "A drug may work well for some, and not so well for others. I am happy to report that Protopic is pretty much a miracle drug for me. I had developed a severe case of blepharitis, or contact dermatitis, around my eyes. They were red, itching, flaking, burning, and swollen. I looked and felt like hell. Within 24 hours, I was 75% better. And a few days later, symptoms were pretty much gone. I continued to use it for approximately 3 weeks. Now, when a symptom starts to flare up, I apply it for only a day or so to control it."

• Itc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 1, 2017

For Atopic Dermatitis "I developed eczema on my eyelids and originally treated it with a Eucerin cream. While that moisturized the area well, my eyelids were still swollen and constantly itchy. My doctor later prescribed this to treat it and warned me about the burning sensation during the first 24 hours. As many people have mentioned, after the first application, the skin begins to feel like it's burning, and mine became very red, it was miserable. However, after the first day, that goes away, and within a week, I had normal eyes again! I am so happy with this ointment, I honestly thought I would never have normal eyes again."

• Anonymous
• November 28, 2016

For Atopic Dermatitis "Used this for my eczema around my mouth, instant regret as soon as I applied it. Washed it off immediately, but it continued to burn for 3 days. It was red in that area for a few days too. In the shower, and every time I breathed out of my nose, the heat seemed to ignite the burning. It was torture!"

• Jud...
• May 12, 2017

For Perioral Dermatitis "I've been using Protopic (0.1% ointment) for about six years to treat facial seborrheic dermatitis. On the plus side, Protopic ended five miserable years of itching, redness, and burning that no cream seemed to help, and for that reason, I am truly thankful. On the downside, it's very greasy (similar to Vaseline), which means it stays on the skin all day if applied in the morning. Drinking alcohol is a definite no-no too, as a tiny amount causes an awful reaction, making the skin immediately burn bright red. Annoyingly, if I don't use Protopic for about two weeks, when I reapply it, the skin burns and itches intensely for a few hours (REALLY uncomfortable). Using it more often, say twice a week, does however resolve this problem."

• Mol...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 9, 2020

For Atopic Dermatitis "The first time I used this, I only put it around my nose and down to my lip. It burned so bad immediately. I cleaned it off after an hour as the heat and the burning were bad. Even after this, it burned all night, I had to have a fan blowing on me, but that didn't help much. My whole face (not just the area I put it on) burned for over 24 hours, even after washing multiple times. A month later, I tried it again after my skin had calmed a bit, and this time was much better. I didn't get the same burning, just a slight heat from it. Another side effect I've had is that when the room I'm in gets warmer, my whole face burns and gets very red, this lasts for hours. I've been using this for a month now, but I've seen very little improvement with my skin. It's still sore, tight, and burns and itches."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 22, 2020

For Atopic Dermatitis "I started using this cream on my hands a couple of weeks ago, almost immediately, my hands started burning, but I put it down to the dermatitis. After a few days, there was improvement on my hands, so I carried on using it once a day. Last weekend, I drank wine, and my goodness, my face and neck started burning and went really red. I never correlated it to the cream, I just thought I'd developed an allergy to the wine. That evening, my whole body started tingling, it was quite scary. Still didn't think it could have been the cream, so I carried on using it once a day. The tingling carried on all week, it was driving me to despair. Yesterday, I read the patient leaflet, and to my horror, the common side effects are the ones I was suffering from. I do have sensitive skin, so maybe that's why I reacted so badly. I didn't use the cream last night, still tingling skin today, but not as bad. Hopefully, it will be out of my system soon. My advice is don't use this cream if you have sensitive skin."

• qrk...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 21, 2017

For Atopic Dermatitis "Applied this to treat what looked like a mix of folliculitis and atopic dermatitis flares (but which turned out to be just atopic dermatitis) on both lower legs, especially the shins. Itchiness, redness, and dryness abated about 80% after one week without any initial irritations or burning sensation. There is no feeling of soreness or increased sensibility whatsoever, I've basically just stopped thinking about those problematic parts of my skin, so there's that passive psychological boost, too. Only 9/10 because long-term results are still unknown and because it's pretty greasy."

• Arc...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 4, 2022

For Atopic Dermatitis "Like rubbing lava on my skin, makes me feel like I'm on fire, makes my skin redder and worse. Increases my stress levels, causing me to scratch more. The worst thing I have ever been prescribed for this condition."