How do you know when to stop using Aldara?
Aldara should not be used for more than 16 weeks at a time. It usually takes 8-10 weeks for your warts to disappear but warts may clear as early as 4 weeks. If your warts reappear, talk to your doctor. If your skin reacts badly to Aldara, your doctor may recommend that you stop treatment for a few days.
How do I know Aldara has worked?
You may have redness, swelling, burning, itching, and tenderness. As the skin starts to heal, you will see scabs and flaking. These reactions indicate that the medicine is working. When a patient does not have a reaction, imiquimod tends to be ineffective.
How long do you leave Aldara on?
Aldara is usually applied 2 times per week (such as Monday and Thursday, or Tuesday and Friday) for a full 16 weeks. Apply the cream to the treatment area in a thin layer, and rub in the cream until it disappears. Use the medicine before going to bed and leave it on for 8 hours.
How long do you leave on imiquimod cream?
Rub it in gently. Allow the medicine to stay on the treated skin for 8 hours (for actinic keratosis or basal cell carcinoma) or 6 to 10 hours (for genital warts).
How quickly does Aldara cream work?
It usually takes 8-10 weeks for your warts to disappear, but warts may clear as early as 4 weeks. If your warts reappear, talk to your doctor. If your skin reacts badly to Aldara, your doctor may recommend that you stop treatment for a few days.
What does Aldara do to healthy skin?
Aldara cream stimulates the immune cells in the skin to attack the abnormal cells, which shrinks the cancerous growth. Actinic keratoses are rough areas of skin caused by sun damage over many years, eg from sunbathing or using sunbeds, or working outdoors.
Does Aldara make you tired?
minor skin pain, irritation, itching, redness, dryness, flaking, scabbing, crusting, scaling, or swelling where the medicine was applied; changes in the color of treated skin (may be permanent); headache; tiredness; or.
When do you stop using Aldara cream for BCC?
To treat BCC, you usually put imiquimod cream on to the affected area once a day, 5 days a week for 6 weeks. You usually leave the cream on the skin for about 8 hours. You shouldn't shower or bathe during this time.
Does Aldara burn skin?
Common experiences after applying Aldara include stinging, burning, tenderness and itching of the skin. While uncomfortable, these reactions indicate that the medication is working by stimulating the immune system to destroy the targeted cells.
Can you take a break from imiquimod?
This is quite common when you first start using imiquimod cream. Usually the area will look worse before it gets better. Tell your doctor if this becomes very uncomfortable or very sore. You may need to take a break from treatment.
Do you rub in imiquimod?
Apply a thin layer to the affected area of the skin just before bedtime. Rub it in gently. Allow the medicine to stay on the treated skin for 8 hours (for actinic keratosis or basal cell carcinoma) or 6 to 10 hours (for genital warts). Do not take a bath, swim, or get the treated area wet during this time.
Does imiquimod cream make you tired?
In a safety trial where imiquimod was used in 800 patients with actinic keratosis, the most commonly reported systemic symptoms were headache (6.0%), myalgia (2.4%), and fatigue (2.3%).