One of the more typical treatments for eczema is Protopic, containing the active ingredient tacrolimus in a 0.1% and 0.03% concentration ointment for adults and a 0.03% concentration ointment for children two years of age and older. It is a nonsteroidal (meaning not cortisone) ointment indicated for patients with moderate to severe eczema and for whom standard eczema therapies such as cortisone creams have not worked or are not considered healthy. Plus, with repeated use, cortisone can cause thinning of the skin and prematurely age skin. Another version of this same class of active ingredients is pimecrolimus, and some research has shown it to be as effective as tacrolimus in the treatment of eczema. (Sources: Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, December 2008, pages 1153-1158; Clinical Experimen – talDermatology, November 2008, pages 685-688; and Cochrane Database System Review, “Topical Pimecrolimus for Eczema,” October 2007, 17(4): CD005500.)
What makes tacrolimus and pimecrolimus unique is that they have been used primarily orally to prevent transplant rejections due to their action as immunomodulators. In other words, by suppressing the immune system they prevent the body from rejecting a transplanted organ. They are thought to work the same way topically in some cases of moderate to severe dermatitis because of their effect in preventing the skin’s own immune reaction from causing red, itchy, inflamed rashes. (In other words, in this form of eczema, it’s as if the person’s own immune system is attacking the skin, causing the itching, blistering, and irritation.) By stopping this immune reaction, they eliminate the problem.
Both of these topical medications can increase sun sensitivity, so sun protection is vital (but you already know that sun protection is vital each day regardless of what else you put on your skin).
Another interesting study on eczema, presented in the Archives of Dermatology (January 2001, pages 42-43), reported research in Japan that demonstrated that two-thirds of the patients with eczema improved after a month of drinking a liter of oolong tea daily. According to the study “118 patients… were asked to maintain their dermatological treatment. However, they were also instructed to drink oolong tea made from a 10-gram teabag placed in 1000 milliliters of boiling water and steeped for 5 minutes. After 1 month of treatment 74 (63%) of the 118 patients showed marked to moderate improvement of their condition. A good response to treatment was still observed in 64 patients (54%) at 6 months.” The study concluded that “The therapeutic efficacy of oolong tea may well be the result of the antiallergic properties of tea polyphenols.” While the study didn’t look at the effect of tea drinking if the topical treatments were stopped, the patients did receive some benefit. So by combining topical treatments (moisturizers and possibly Protopic) with some oolong tea, perhaps the positive effects of both will add up, and those with eczema can breathe a sigh of relief.