On 2/18/2007 Wings wrote:
I am glad to have found this site and hear someone elses stories about the side effects of this medication Efudex. I have 2 days left of treatment and I am about to rip my face to pieces. The itching and tightness and burning feeling of the skin and not to forget the REDNESS...looks like I was hit with napalm or thrown in a fire. Everyone just stares at me now when I have to somewhere, they can't imagine what the heck I have. Almost looks like a bad case of measles or chicken pox. I want to know if it's ok to try to put some kind of moisturizer on the skin after I finish the treatment or should I just ask my dermotologist? Right now after washing my face with soap and water...the cold water feels so good, and boy, does it hurt to pat dry my face. What should I expect to happen after the treatment is stopped? does the skin peel like a bad sunburn kinda peeling? and flaky stuff? Wish there was a way to post a picture of my face to see if anyone looks like me right now. It really looks bad !
After the treatments stop, in my case 2x a day for 4 weeks, your skin will dry, crack, peel and itch. The nurses station at my doctor's office recommended Aquaphor to relieve the discomfort and it worked wonders. Apply thinly to the most sensitive areas. It's very greasy so sleep with an old pillowcase. The Aquaphor will not impact your recovery. It will just make the recovery easier to handle and allow you to sleep at night. I am now on my third day of post-treament recovery and I can finally see new skin instead of that nasty redness.