Virtually all medicines for the skin are topical or systemic. The topical medicines are applied directly into the affected area of the skin. The systemic drugs are ingested orally or injected and distributed throughout the body. On rare occasions, when you need a high concentration of a drug in the affected area, the doctor may inject a drug just under the skin, this procedure is called intradermal injection.

Some medicines for the skin require a prescription, others can be purchased without a prescription. Although generally are considered safer than those that require a prescription, OTC medicines should be used with caution. Implementing the wrong medication can worsen a disease skin or hide symptoms, making diagnosis more difficult for the doctor.

Topical preparations
The active substances (drugs) from a topical preparation are mixed with (suspended in) a vehicle (an inert carrier of the medication). . Consequently, among the topical preparations, the formulation and consistency vary widely. It is the vehicle that determines the strength of the product and makes the active compounds remain on the surface or penetrate the skin (if the preparation is thick and oily and watery or light). Depending on the vehicle used, the preparation will be an ointment, cream, lotion, a solution, a powder or a gel. Read the rest of this entry »