Dovobet Helping in a Hurry
from Dennis H.

Hello fellow flakers.  This week sees the first of a two week blitz of Dovobet.  Day two and this stuff is really working already.  Day three and it looks good, the only problem is the ointment is so thick it’s like the old days of Dermovate mixed with paraffin which is no fun.  And the wife ain’t a fan. Day 3 tomorrow.  Looks good so far may even be able to go swimming! -Dennis H.

*****

Ed’s Response:  Glad you are reacting to Dovobet so fast, Dennis.  Hope it lasts and you get to go swimming!

Dovobet is the U.K. formularized combination of Dovonex and betamethasone dipropionate (a.k.a. Diprolene in the U.S.). 

Dovonex is calcipotriene (a.k.a. calcipotriol in Europe), a topical version of vitamin D3.  According to the National Psoriasis Foundation literature, it works best at flattening lesions and reducing scales and less well for reducing the inflammation that makes lesions red.  Topicals for P that don’t have long-term adverse side effects are rare, but Dovonex is one of them.  Many derms like to try it as a first course treatment for people with mild to moderate P because, if it works, it can be used as needed indefinitely. 

Betamethasone dipropionate is a strong topical corticosteroid with a short list of adverse side effects, the most common of which is thinning skin.  When it works it quells inflammation, hence reducing plaques and stopping flaking.

Theoretically, the combined use of betamethasone dipropionate and Dovonex should provide a “safer and more effective solution” for mild to moderate flakers than use of either topical singly.  Before Dovobet, some derms were prescribing alternating daily between the two active medicines; e.g., one in the morning, the other in the evening.  According to the manufacturer of Dovobet, simply glombing the two unguents together and then slathering them on lesions doesn’t work, meaning the Dovobet formulation is superior.  (Would we expect to hear anything different from the manufacturer?)

We’ve heard many more good things than bad about Dovobet here at FlakeHQ.  -Ed

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