Protopic and Novitil

My friend has vitiligo on his lips. He is on protopic now and applies two times a day. I have heard good things about Novitil and recommended he try this. Would you let me know if using Novitil and Protopic at different times of the day would be advisable.


This discussion is related to Hypo-pigmentation.

[Dr_Aparna]

Hi,
As an ointment (Protopic), tacrolimus is a recent addition in the treatment of eczema, particularly atopic dermatitis. It suppresses inflammation in a similar way to steroids, and is equally as effective as a mid-potency steroid. An important advantage of tacrolimus is that unlike steroids, it does not cause skin thinning (atrophy), or other steroid related side-effects. It may therefore be used continuously on the body (clinical trials of up to one year in length have occurred), and applied to the thinner skin over the face and eyelids.
Patients should minimize or avoid natural or artificial sunlight exposure. Skin infections should be cleared prior to application, and there may be an increased risk of certain skin infections.
ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protopic

For Novitil to be effective it requires sun exposure for each treatment and increase of the  exposure by 5 minutes every day until  30 minutes is reached per treatment.
ref:http://www.dermabest.com/products.aspx?type=1&pID=1

The two cannot be used at the same time, even at differing time intervals, since they require opposing conditions to be effective.
I would recommend that you start with either one and if there is no improvement seen in the specified time limit then you can opt for another treatment.