Back to Homepage
Topical steroids, when used appropriately, when used as prescribed by a board certified dermatologist or pediatric dermatologist, are a hallmark of proper treatment of eczema. They do not thin the skin. They do not get systemically absorbed. They do not harm your child if used appropriately. The steroid phobia that I see out there is actually doing more harm than it is good. I see more children that are undertreated for eczema than I do over-treated because of this unnecessary fear of topical steroids. Now, yes, it’s true. If you use too strong a topical steroid, if you pick something out of your medicine cabinet that was intended for use for poison ivy on a 50 year old man, and you use that on your infant, of course you can run into trouble. But if you’re using a topical steroid that’s prescribed by your dermatologist or pediatric dermatologist and used in the way that they intend you to use it, there’s no way you’re going to harm your child with topical steroid use. But you can harm your child by under-treating their eczema.
