CKS is no longer commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE remains committed to providing a replacement service for CKS and is currently reviewing its options. In the meantime, although CKS content is now not being maintained, it still remains relevant and will continue to be made available. CKS content was generated under a programme of topic creation and update. To check if the topic you are viewing is current or out of date, please refer to the topic publication details by clicking on the 'How up-to-date is this topic?' link in the left hand menu on individual topic pages.
Corticosteroids - topical (skin), nose, and eyes - Management
How should topical corticosteroids be applied?
- A thin layer of topical corticosteroid should be applied once or twice daily, adjusting the potency to control symptoms. For many conditions, once-daily application is usually sufficient.
- The corticosteroid should typically be used in bursts of 3–7 days in order to achieve control. Once a clinical response is seen, withdraw gradually. Some improvement may be seen within 2–3 days.
- If an emollient is being used, instruct the person to apply this first and then wait 30 minutes before applying the topical corticosteroid (that is, after the emollient has been fully absorbed).
- Most products are supplied with an information leaflet specifying the number of finger-tip units (FTUs) needed to treat specific body areas.
- One FTU is the length of cream or ointment expelled from the tube equivalent to the distance from the tip of the adult index finger to the first crease. One FTU is about 500 mg and is sufficient to treat a skin area about twice that of the flat of the hand with the fingers together.
- See Finger tip units (FTUs) for adults and Finger tip units (FTUs) for children for the approximate amount of topical corticosteroid that should be applied to different areas of the body.
© NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement