Hello Group,

I have been discussing topical treatments designed by compounding
pharmacies. As Chuck pointed out they can be a real resource to
rosacea sufferers wanting to test out theoretically safe
medications. I personally used one to compound a 2% noritate cream
several years ago with very good success. I have also had them
compund topical dilators that I was playing with in my lab for pre-
laser flushing.

However, I must caution you that 99.9% of compounding pharmacies do
not understand rosacea or sensitive skin. They have three or four
base creams or gels that they compound everything into -- creams
usually contain 10% to 30% alcohol and the gels contain high
concentrations of propylene glycol and other penetration enhancers.
When questioned, most compounding pharmacists will tell you that
these creams and gels are suitable for the most sensitive
skin .........when in reality they are not. So, while we can
utilize these great resources, we must stress to them to use a known
rosacea friendly base or a cream/gel that you have used with success
in the past. They may need to tweek the formulation slightly to
make sure the active medication dissolves into the cream or gel and
that the medication does not precipitate out, but that is one of our
constant burdens. We must teach others what our faces can and
cannot tolerate.

Regards,

Geoffrey
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Dr. Geoffrey Nase
Ph.D. Neurovascular Physiologist
http://www.drnase.com
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