Diprolene Cream (betamethasone dipropionate) is a corticosteroid used to treat a variety of skin conditions. It helps to reduce pain, swelling, redness and itching when caused by inflammatory conditions responsive to corticosteroids, such as eczema or psoriasis.

Note that this medication lowers immune system response. It should not be applied to skin that is infected, broken, burned or otherwise injured; it will delay healing and may make the condition worse.

Diprolene cream should also not be applied to the face, groin, armpit, or atrophied skin.

Cream or Ointment?

Diprolene is available as a cream or an ointment, both of which contain betamethasone dipropionate. It's important to understand the difference between them, to choose the best treatment:

• Diprolene Cream is both oil- and water-based; it is quickly absorbed and easily washed off. It's best for moist or weepy areas of skin.
• DiproSone Ointment is oil-based; it's thick and greasy compared to the cream, and relatively difficult to wash off. It's best for dry, scaly patches of skin.

Both products are used the same; the differences are due to inactive ingredients.

Using Diprolene Cream

Diprolene cream is easy to use, though some caution should be exercised to ensure it's not used in excessive quantity or for too long. In patients age 13 years old and up, the cream can be used to treat:

• Atopic eczema
• Allergic contact dermatitis
• Irritant contact dermatitis
• Seborrhoeic dermatitis
• Psoriasis
• Photodermatitis
• Lichen planus
• Erythroderma
• Prurigo nodularis

Treatment typically consists of:

• Gently rub in a thin layer of the cream directly on the affected areas once or twice per day.
• Continue until the condition is under control.
• Do not exceed 50 grams of the cream in one week.
• Do not use the cream for more than two consecutive weeks.

Most patients find their condition clears up before the two-week mark, though a few aren't so lucky. If there's no improvement at all the condition likely isn't responsive to corticosteroids; a doctor may be able to correctly identify it and recommend a more suitable medication. If the condition has improved significantly but isn't quite gone, a doctor may recommend using Diprolene Cream a little longer. This should only be done with doctor permission, however, as it can produce serious side effects.

Other things to avoid without a doctor's explicit permission:

• Do not cover the application site with airtight dressings or tight clothing; this will increase the amount of medication absorbed by the skin.
• Do not use on the face, groin, armpits, or where skin regularly touches or rubs together.
• Do not use on mucous membranes, especially near the eyes---Diprolene Cream can increase pressure in the eyes.

Patients are often tempted to use Diprolene Cream (or other corticosteroids) on the face. This should be avoided in all but the most severe circumstances, as using corticosteroids can cause more problems than they fix---and this is especially true of potent versions, which Diprolene Cream is. Use on the face can cause:

• Rosacea, especially in women
• Reduction in collagen, leading to thinning of the skin
• Telangiectasia, in which blood vessels cause red lines on the skin
• Purpura, in which small blood vessels leak blood, causing purple spots
• Perioral dermatitis, in which the skin around the mouth becomes inflamed
• Opportunistic infection from the many types of microbes that contact the face

If other methods of treatment have failed, a corticosteroid can be used on the face for up to two weeks at a time, avoiding use on the particularly delicate skin around the eyes. Two-week treatment sessions should be followed by at least a month of no-treatment, and should only be done with the involvement of a doctor.

Other Considerations

Diprolene Cream is a very potent medication. Little of it is absorbed through the skin when used properly; however, improper use can cause serious side effects, most notably suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

HPA axis suppression is when the release of adrenal hormones is depressed. Symptoms are often very subtle, but the condition can be detected easily with a simple blood or urine test. In most cases the condition is reversible after treatment ends. In the rare cases it's not, the patient will likely need glucocorticoid supplementation.