Does Eucrisa Ointment Work For Eczema (My Unbiased Review)

(I may earn a small commission on the products linked to in this post.)

If you have eczema chances are you’ve tried a lot of products in hopes to relieve your red, itchy skin. You’ve probably found that most ointments don’t work, and if they do they contain synthetic ingredients that can cause side effects.

I know this because I’ve experienced eczema my whole life.  Reluctantly, I’ve tried just about every medicine and lotion on my skin.

I’ve tried natural products and prescriptions containing synthetic ingredients, but generally, I try to avoid products that could have lasting side effects.

Eucrisa is a relatively new topical ointment that has received a lot of praise in the dermatology field. It also happens to be super expensive.

Recently, I received Eurcrisa samples and a prescription from my allergist. If you’re wondering if Eucrisa ointment works for eczema, I’ll give you my unbiased review over a span of 10 days. I’ll also share photos of my progress.

Does Eucrisa Ointment Work For Eczema: My Eucrisa Review

Brief Background Of My Eczema

It’s important to understand that eczema can flare for various reasons. Ask any medical professional and you’ll hear responses ranging from stress to sweat, to climate, and allergies.

My eczema has always been provoked by allergies in my environment. One day I’ll feel great and go for a bike ride, and the next day I’ll wake up with scratch marks on my arms and neck.

The dry skin of eczema doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is when the eczema is bright red – it’s obviously irritated by something!

Because I’m allergic to so many things in the environment, I can always find red, irritated skin somewhere on my body. The most common places are my eyelids, behind my ears, the sides of my neck, fingers, and around my mouth.

As a child, I used over-the-counter cortisone cream as well as prescription cortisone cream and ointment. Unfortunately, I used them for many years and now I worry about the long-term effect they had on my skin (thinning).

As an adult, I was prescribed Protopic as well as Prednisone pills to control my eczema. Both worked but had their uncomfortable side effects as well.

For the last several years I’ve avoided prescription medicine and used grapeseed oil and Cetaphil lotion. Although they do a good job of keeping my skin hydrated, they don’t do much to stop my eczema flares.

Eucrisa was mentioned during my last visit with my allergist. The clinic new I would resist taking a prescription medication with synthetic ingredients, but after some assurance, I was persuaded to try this new medicine. I was given samples and a prescription to submit to my local pharmacist.

Eucrisa was developed by Anacor Pharmaceuticals and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration since 2016. It’s a non-steroid ointment so it won’t have the bounce back side effects of cortisone cream or ointment.

If you’re familiar with Protopic you might wonder if it’s similar, however, Eucrisa has a much safer rating and can be used on adults and children over 2 years old – this was reassuring for me because I didn’t have a great experience with Protopic.

Needless-to-say I figured I’d give Eucrisa a shot. I was pleased when I heard from my allergist that I’d only need to apply the ointment 2x per day and if I stopped using the ointment there wouldn’t be a “bounce back” effect.

I was told that I could use Eucrisa for 3-4 days and once the eczema was under control I could stop using it.  For this article, I used the ointment 2 times per day for 10 straight days.

On days, 1, 5, and 10 I took a photo of the progress. I’ll share my results below.

My Eucrisa Review: Day 1

The day after my doctor’s appointment I began my Eucrisa review.

Day 1 began with an application in the morning. I used a very small amount of ointment and spread it thinly. I gave the ointment 10-15 minutes to soak in before applying my daily later of lotion (Cetaphil) and I went to work as usual.

About 30 minutes after applying the Eucrisa ointment I felt a slight burning sensation (I’d say it was more of a tingle). By no means was it uncomfortable and I was reassured that I had applied enough of it. Within an hour or so it had gone away.

As expected, there was no immediate, visible effect but I assumed the ointment would begin to do its thing.

In the evening my skin looked the same. I cleaned up and before going to bed I applied another thin layer of Eucrisa ointment, waited for a while, then applied lotion.

Besides the slight burning sensation, I hardly realized it was there. Years ago, when I tried Protopic, I experienced serious burning of the skin and sensitivity to light. This sensation with Eucrisa was nothing compared to Protopic.

My Eucrisa Review: Day 5

A few days passed and I continued to apply Eucrisa ointment in the morning and before bed. It was easy to apply and because I was careful about how much I applied, it wasn’t greasy nor did it make my hands look shiny.

I noticed that the skin on my fingers was peeling and I saw this as a good sign. For me, red irritated skin gets thin and red but once the healing process begins I commonly see dry, peeling skin. 

There was, however, still red skin on my fingers. I hoped after 5 days of using the ointment, the redness would be gone but it wasn’t (this has always been a problem specific to me).

Here’s why:

My eczema flares because of the allergens in my environment. No matter the ointment, cream, or lotion, my eczema will continue to flare as long as I’m exposed to the allergen.

After only 5 days, I could tell the Eucrisa ointment was “working”, however, I could also tell my allergies were still causing my eczema to flare. Think of it as those birthday candles that are impossible to blow out.

My Eucrisa Review: Day 10

Day 10 arrived and I was still experiencing eczema. My skin wasn’t as red and irritated as it was when I began using Eucrisa, but it still wasn’t healed.

I could tell Eucrisa was reducing the amount of inflammation and allowing my skin to heal and I could also tell that my body was still having a strong inflammatory response to whatever allergens were in my environment. 

In the photos, you can see some dry skin on my fingers. It is in the healing process but still has a ways to go. I’m curious if 15 or 20 days would have a better effect than only using 10 days (I was optimistically hoping my skin would be clear after 3-4 days and I could stop using the ointment).

Side Effects Of Eucrisa

While using Eucrisa I only experienced 1 side effect; a slight burning sensation. Most of the skin on my hands if pretty tough, so I’m curious if the burning sensation would be more intense if Eucrisa was applied to more sensitive areas like the face.

After 10 days of use, I experienced no “bounce back” effect. This was nice compared to when I’ve used cortisone cream my skin – it often becomes worse when I stop using it.

I also felt reassured by my allergist regarding the lack of harmful side-effects.

Did Eucrisa Ointment Work For Me

Eurcrisa did work for me but it didn’t work as well as I’d hoped. I believe most people with eczema just have dry itchy skin. If these are your symptoms I think Eucrisa will work great.

My problem is that my eczema is being irritated from something in my environment and as long as the allergen is present my eczema will continue to flare.

I could feel the ointment working, but I could also feel my eczema erupting from inside my skin.

I will definitely keep some of the ointment on-hand in case I need to deal with a flare in the future but I won’t be using it for long periods of time. To me, Eucrisa seems like a better option than both steroid-based creams and Protopic.

Below is Eucrisa’s commercial (I don’t endorse it, I’m just sharing the information).

Conclusion

Eczema is something I’ve dealt with my whole life. If you’re like me you’ve tried the quick-fixed and prescription medicine. As a kid, I used over-the-counter cortisone cream like it was a lotion. These days I avoid it whenever possible.

During my last appointment with my allergist, I learned about Eucrisa. I had never heard of it before and I was immediately skeptical. The last thing I want to do is apply another synthetic cream to my skin without knowing how it may be affecting my body.

My allergist seemed to think I could use it in small amounts to control my eczema flares and it would help get my eczema under control. I agreed and decided a do a Eucrisa review.

Over the past 10 days, I’ve used Eucrisa as directed. It was easy to apply 2x per day and it seemed to work, however, my eczema continued to flare based on the allergens in my environment. I think it would be perfect for people with eczema who don’t experience allergies and I bet it would clear up dry skin quickly.

It wasn’t the miracle I had hoped for but I will add it to my medicine cabinet as a good option to reduce my eczema flares.