Skin covering when treating with Efudex or the combo of Efudex/Dovonex
Does your dermatologist tell you to occlude the area, i.e. cover it with Tegaderm or plastic wrap or put on gloves if treating your hands? Mine says to do it and sometimes I need to ask for help if I am trying to cover a hard to reach area. How do you make it stay on? Sometimes it just sticks to itself but sometimes for example on my wrist I might put an ace bandage around it to keep it from coming apart.
I'm 48 hours into treating the backs of my hands with Efudex/calcipotriene, and haven't seen or felt anything yet (well maybe the barest tingling). I'm not sure if the cream is staying on - I'm applying twice a day, letting it dry for 15-30 minutes, then wearing light sun protection fingerless gloves. My Derm mentioned applying Aquaphor on top, but it seems like that'd be pretty messy. Am I doing this right? Should I be applying Aquaphor regardless? Is the cream just beginning to work?
Sorry, I replied yesterday but my computer went a little bonkers and it didn't send. First of all, I think that might be too soon to see the redness you want to get. Also, I think sun protection gloves are not want you want. I think they might be absorbing the cream instead of holding it in. You want to either wear exam gloves or wrap each hand in plastic wrap such as Glad or Saran or other. You might need some help to do this, so exam gloves also do the trick for me. Also, I have only heard of Aquafor or Vaseline after you're done. If you are on Facebook, you can ask to join a support group for Efudex users and see what some of them do. There is a separate group for the combo cream but I think the type of answer would be the same. Good luck to you and report back to let us know how you are doing! https://www.facebook.com/groups/191070307590515
