Olux Foam Cleared P Beyond Scalp
from Mike

Hi.  I have tried up to 15 different medications for my P. Some worked better than others, but none completely cleared it. Olux foam did! My mother uses it on her scalp. I thought, why wouldn't it work on my elbows and knees? So I tried it.  Three weeks later my P was all clear. My skin is soft and natural looking. Olux isn't cheap ($145.00 for 100g). Luckily I have insurance. Thanks for the great site for people with and without P.  One more thing:  What do you use for P (in case Olux quits working for me)? Thank you, -Mike

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Ed’s Response:  The Olux foam created quite a stir when first introduced.  Its active ingredient is clobetasol propionate and its base is a specially engineered foam.  At the NPF Web site the foam is described this way:

Foam-based medications are designed to liquefy and absorb quickly when they are applied to the skin. When the foam is applied, body heat causes the foam structure to break down. Water and alcohol in the formulation vaporize, while the steroid is absorbed deep into the skin, leaving little residue.  - http://www.psoriasis.org/topicals.htm

I’m not surprised the compound worked on your knees and elbows, because clobetasol propionate is the strongest corticosteroid prescribed for psoriasis in the U.S.  A few years ago, it was the unmentioned ingredient in the over-the-counter product “Skin-Cap” that made it work so well.  When Skin-Cap was found out and banned in the U.S., I lamented that Glaxo Dermatology  (manufacturers of Temovate, another legal form of clobetasol propionate) showed no signs of trying to package their clobetasol propionate in a spray. (See Ed's Take on Skin-Cap.) It appears Connetics — makers of Olux — may be close to doing just that.  According to the same article at the NPF web site, they intend to (or may be, by now) testing a spray-based version of the product.

You should probably share your good fortune with your dermatologist (if you haven’t already).  The fact that Olux foam isn’t recommended for bare skin lesions (only scalp) means bare skin dosage instructions don’t exist.  You don’t really know how much clobetasol propionate is getting into your skin, or how deep it’s going.  The fact that, rather than going to bare skin trials with the foam, Olux is purportedly working on a spray (presumably foamless) for bare skin application, makes me scratch my head.  What is it about the foam that makes it inappropriate for use on bare skin other than the scalp?

Anyway, you asked what I use on lesions.  When the systemics fail me (currently methotrexate) — and I have half a dozen lesions right now that are ignoring the MTX — I use — tah dah! — clobetasol propionate.  Or I have been up until this coming Tuesday, when I switch to an Ultravate/Dovonex combo therapy.  The bad news lately, for me, has been the apparent uselessness of the clobetasol propionate.  I’ve been gooping it on these recalcitrant lesions for at least six months now (probably longer) and it seems to have lost its effectiveness.  But this is nothing new.  Sustained use of any topical always wears itself out on me.  I have to stop using any topical for several months and then I can, usually, return to it with good results once again.

Let us know how things proceed for you, Mike.  Meanwhile, I’ll be keeping an ear to the ground about a clobetasol propionate spray.  -Ed

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