Is there a non-prescription alternative for Betnovate?

[me2oo]

A friend of mine has had good results with Betnovate and has suggested I ask my doctor for a prescription to help my 15 year old daughter who has small isolated areas of eczema on her ear lobes and one patch on the back of her neck.  I want to avoid having to obtain prescriptions if I can (I have to wait ages for an appointment and the clinic is always so busy I end up waiting hours for a 5 minute timeslot).  I wondered if there was a good alternative for Betnovate that can be bought over the counter?

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

Betnovate is a steroid application cream and any alternative steroid cream would need a prescription.

There are some other steps your daughter could take and see if it helps with her symptoms of eczema.

Wash the areas several times with fresh water. Do not use any cosmetic products at the sites.

Apply calamine lotion at the site of the lesions and see if it helps. She could take some oral antihistamine medications like cetrizine or loratadine. She needs to maintain a good personal hygiene .

Anti-itch drugs, often antihistamine, may reduce the itch during a flare up of eczema, and the reduced scratching in turn reduces damage and irritation to the skin.

For mild-moderate eczema a weak steroid may be used (e.g. hydrocortisone or desonide), whilst more severe cases require a higher-potency steroid (e.g. clobetasol propionate, fluocinonide).

Eczema can be exacerbated by dryness of the skin. Moisturizing is one of the most important self-care treatments for sufferers of eczema. Keeping the affected area moistened can promote skin healing and relief of symptoms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eczema

Let us know if you need any further information.

It would be advisable to consult a skin specialist for his symptoms and a proper clinical examination.

Let us know if you need any other information and post us on how she is doing.

Regards.

[VirtualE]

Remove gluten, any form of sugar (fruit and veggies are fine) from her diet and give her probiotic.  Creams and other items address syntoms, you need to focus on the route cause.
Make sure you research cleanses and detox tea. Everything starts from the gut.