Compounding pharmacists continue to improve both the aesthetic and therapeutic aspects of customized medications by offering alternatives and advantages for dermatology. Medications can be compounded into cosmetically appealing creams, topical sprays and powders, as well as create customized oral dosage forms (such as flavored troches or lollipops) and various preparations for other routes of administration. Well-matched drugs can be combined into a single dosage form to make a medication administration schedule simpler and improve compliance. USP approved chemicals can be utilized to increase the absorption of topically applied medications. Generally, physicians prepare unique formulations that are developed to meet specific needs of their patient population, or “tried and true” formulas learnt during medical training.

Head Lice and Scabies

Concerns about emerging resistance and the possible harm of using permethrins have encouraged a search for effective pediculicidal therapies that are safe to children with repeated use. A herbal formulation has been revealed to be effective for head lice. Ivermectin can also be compounded for topical application, or as an oral dosage titrated for each patient for the treatment of head lice and scabies.

Molluscum Contagiosum

The following investigation found that 5% KOH aqueous solution proved to be as helpful and less irritating when compared to the 10% KOH solution. This experiment also emphasizes the effectiveness of topical KOH in the treatment of molluscum contagiosum, sparing those children affected from more aggressive physical modalities of treatment.

Nail Removal

Although surgical removal is the most popular method for removing nails, the use of concentrated urea plasters applied under occlusion may be better. The use of urea plasters has natural advantages – they are reasonably priced, several nails can be treated in one session, and the procedure is almost painless. A variety of synergistic combinations and topical medications with penetrated enhancers can be compounded for antifungal treatment. Topical medications generally have a lower unfavorable drug-reaction profile as compared to the systemic medications.

Onychomycosis

Management of onychomycosis, a fungal infection of the fingernails and toenails, typically consists of systemic antifungal medications, topical therapy (e.g., desiccating solutions, urea ointment, keratolytics, vital dyes), or surgical intercession (e.g., laser therapy, and nail plate avulsion).

Topical prescription antifungal formulations, containing the active ingredient of your choice, may be less liable to cause the serious systemic side-effects that can happen with oral antifungal therapy and can provide a more cost-effective alternative, as lower doses are required when the medication is applied topically at the site.

Penetrated enhancers can be included in the preparation to improve the effectiveness of topical antifungal.

Pigmentation Abnormalities

Patients with vitiligo have high levels of hydrogen peroxide in association with low catalase levels in their epidermis. Topical application of a UVB-activated pseudocatalase cream can effectively remove epidermal H2O2 resulting in an extraordinary re-pigmentation.