[ ARC forum 2 ]
Written by Max at 15 Apr 2002 17:01:03: Re: cream
As an answer to: cream written by Joe at 14 Apr 2002 03:42:07:
>Max or anyone,
>does any of you know anyone (no matter where they are) who i can contact to get the cream for stretching without seeing a specialist?
>JoeThe cream you need is what's known as a corticosteroid. Corticosteroids have several functions: the main one is healing, in that they encourage replacement cell growth; a secondary function which arises from this is that they lead to the skin thinning and thus becoming more elastic. (Whenever you buy this cream, either over the counter in a pharmacy or by way of a doctor's prescription, the dispenser should warn you that continued application will lead to skin thinning, and this is one of the main reasons why it is not easily available 'just for the asking'.)
One of the most common forms of corticosteroid is known as hydrocortisone, and you can ask your pharmacist for a product which contains this in a cream or a lotion, and which is available without a doctor's prescription. In some countries this may not be available, but it is available over the counter in the UK in a product known as HC45 Cream (don't get E45 by mistake -- that's HC45 without the HC!).
Elsewhere on these pages there are various recommendations for products such as Betnovate, which are stronger than HC45 and are unavailable without prescription. Hydrocortisone will do the trick. It may take twice as long, but, hey, what's an extra couple of weeks in the grand scheme of things?
max