Clobetasol®

What is Clobetasol?

Clobetasol is a topical corticosteroid. You’ll apply it to areas affected by dyshidrotic eczema to relieve swelling, itching, redness and pain caused by the flare-up. It’s more potent than other topical corticosteroids, like hydrocortisone, so could be a good choice if you’ve tried other options and they haven’t been effective.

How does Clobetasol work?

Dishydrotic eczema is caused when your immune system reacts to allergens and irritants in the skin on your hands. This causes inflammation, itchiness, and sometimes pain. Clobetasol works in a couple of different ways to relieve and prevent these symptoms.

The first is by causing the blood vessels near the surface of your skin to narrow, which means less of the substances in your blood that cause inflammation can reach the affected area. Clobetasol also mimics your body’s natural anti-inflammatory hormone, called cortisol, which increases the production of a protein called lipocortin. Lipocortin blocks the production of substances that cause swelling and redness, which should ease your symptoms.^[1] It also works to ‘switch off’ inflammatory genes that are activated by conditions like eczema to prevent inflammation.^[2]

How do Clobetasol doses work?

Clobetasol comes in one dosage, 0.05% w/w. That means every gram of treatment contains 5 mg of active ingredient. Topical Clobetasol is available as a cream, gel, or ointment for dyshidrotic eczema – so you can use the one that works best for your skin.

Clobetasol gel is available in the following sizes:

• 15 g
• 30 g
• 60 g

Whereas Clobetasol cream or ointment come in:

• 15 g
• 30 g
• 45 g
• 60 g

What is the active ingredient in Clobetasol?

Clobetasol is a generic medicine that gets its name from its active ingredient: clobetasol propionate. It’s a potent corticosteroid that has anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties. This means it helps to relieve swelling, redness and itching caused by overactive immune responses, like in the case of dyshidrotic eczema.

How to take Clobetasol

You should always follow your prescriber’s instructions when you’re using Clobetasol. Usually, you’ll gently rub a thin layer of cream, gel, or ointment into the affected area twice per day. Because it’s a potent corticosteroid, it’s usually not recommended to use it for more than two weeks at a time – and you shouldn’t apply more than 50 g per week.