Efudex: (Fluorouracil) and shaving

[Maximus]

Just started a 21 day regimen of Efudex on my face to treat all those pre cancerous actinic keratosis sites. YouTube reveals some very agitated and inflamed faces. For those who have used it do you give up shaving at a certain point?

 

[Lakedog]

Only used it on the upper half of my face so no shaving impact but I would expect shaving may become a problem if the lower portion of your face has much reaction to the treatment.

 

[zinger1457]

Not sure what the strength is of Efudex, I used Carac which is only .5% and although there was skin peeling had no issues shaving, need to limit sun exposure. The price of Carac sky rocketed after I used it, went from ~$50 for a small tube to ~$2500, that was a few years ago so not sure what they want now.

 

[donheff]

Here I am at day 19. 19 was so itchy I needed oxy. By 23 I was almost clear. I had to scrub my face with a wet paper towel before reapplying. But, as a kid, I got sunburned all the time. I used to peel sheets of skin off. I circulated that photo to my nephews and nieces as a cautionary tale about the need for sunscreen. I did keep shaving with an electric razor IIRC.

 

[RetMD21]

I Googled and it looks like electric shaver or skipping shaving is the usual. A lot of us should have been more careful in the old days

 

[Koolau]

Only used it on the upper half of my face so no shaving impact but I would expect shaving may become a problem if the lower portion of your face has much reaction to the treatment.

Same here.

I would not have shaved had my lower face been treated. I have an electric trimmer that would have w*rked to cut back my beard to about a 3-day had that been necessary. Just be aware that this is a necessary treatment and shaving just may be one of the casualties. No big deal as no one will be looking at your beard when you do this treatment.

 

[Maximus]

Here I am at day 19. 19 was so itchy I needed oxy. By 23 I was almost clear. I had to scrub my face with a wet paper towel before reapplying. But, as a kid, I got sunburned all the time. I used to peel sheets of skin off. I circulated that photo to my nephews and nieces as a cautionary tale about the need for sunscreen. I did keep shaving with an electric razor IIRC.

Don, you must have been very miserable. I am on day seven. Tried shaving with razor on day five. Total no go. I have two more weeks of applications and then healing time before I shave again. Thanks for the info.

 

[Koolau]

Everyone stick with it. It's worth it in the long run.

Hoping I don't have to do it again. Dermatologist always compliments me on staying out of the sun - and that ain't easy in Paradise!

 

[bmcgonig]

For those contemplating this you might try the following instead. You use it for 5 days instead. Worked for me. It’s a combination of fluorouracil and vitamin D.

By day 4 I had red splotches which disappeared by day 10. Redness gone by day 14. Much easier than the flourouracil alone.

https://www.spotcheck.clinic/treatments/fluorouracil-calcipotriol


There’s no downside. If it doesn’t work well enough you can always do the other

 

[zinger1457]

For those contemplating this you might try the following instead. You use it for 5 days instead. Worked for me. It’s a combination of fluorouracil and vitamin D.

By day 4 I had red splotches which disappeared by day 10. Redness gone by day 14. Much easier than the flourouracil alone.

https://www.spotcheck.clinic/treatments/fluorouracil-calcipotriol


There’s no downside. If it doesn’t work well enough you can always do the other

I've got an appointment with my dermatologist in a couple weeks and might be interested in this. Were you prescribed this in the US? The clinic link you included is located in Australia.

 

[bmcgonig]

I've got an appointment with my dermatologist in a couple weeks and might be interested in this. Were you prescribed this in the US? The clinic link you included is located in Australia.

Yes, I just googled it for an example and that came up first.

Yes, I’m in Bay Area and was prescribed it. It’s not covered by insurance but it only costs $45 or so. There’s a company called Pure Science that compounds it. The dermatologist sent the prescription there and it was then mailed to me.

Another link

https://www.aad.org/dw/dw-insights-...ve/september/calcipotriene-and-5-fluorouracil

 

[zinger1457]

Thanks, I'll mention it during my appointment if they suggest I should do the fluorouracil treatment.

 

[bmcgonig]

Thanks, I'll mention it during my appointment if they suggest I should do the fluorouracil treatment.

Worst case I think is it will work partially but not as well as the full burn. But that’s an easy assessment.

 

[Koolau]

Worst case I think is it will work partially but not as well as the full burn. But that’s an easy assessment.

Heh, heh, keep us informed, please. I'm sure I'm about due for another treatment. Dermatologist keeps burning off individual suspicious spots each year. Sooner or later (if I live so long) she's gonna say it's time for another treatment.

Totally off topic but a few years back, she said she wanted to biopsy about 5 spots that year. She turned me over to a nurse who began numbing me. That nurse got called away (no idea why) and another nurse came in but didn't realize not all my "spots" had been numbed. When the doc came back in with her set of steak knives, er, scalpels. I asked her if she was gonna numb me up first. She assured me that the nurse already did that (and she seemed concerned that I had "forgotten" according to the look on her face.) I told her about the nurse being called away and things got "awkward" for a while. Returning you now...

 

[Purslane]

Here I am at day 19. 19 was so itchy I needed oxy. By 23 I was almost clear. I had to scrub my face with a wet paper towel before reapplying. But, as a kid, I got sunburned all the time. I used to peel sheets of skin off. I circulated that photo to my nephews and nieces as a cautionary tale about the need for sunscreen. I did keep shaving with an electric razor IIRC.

What % Efudex did you use?

 

[donheff]

What % Efudex did you use?

It was about 18 years ago so I can't remember. I do know that I applied it twice a day, which accelerates the effects. Some doctors had patients apply it once a day. I had a boat load of keratosis or whatever the pre-cancerous cells are called that the efudex kills. Sunscreen didn't come into use until I was 20 or so. And I have pale, Irish skin so I burned and peeled all summer long.

 

[Koolau]

JUST finished a round on my nose, only. Not too bad, but looks pretty gross.

 

[latexman]

I've done one round (2X a day for 7-10 days). The reaction was not severe, so I kept shaving with gel and Mach 3 razor. No problem.

 

[MrMikeCT]

Starting a round of Efudex today. Twice a day for 2 weeks. Usually the Dermatologist freezes the precancer on me but she thought this may work a little better. Last time I used it was 10 years ago and my face was lit up like an irritated tomato. Looks like I won't be removing my hat over the next couple of weeks.

 

[Purslane]

Starting a round of Efudex today. Twice a day for 2 weeks. Usually the Dermatologist freezes the precancer on me but she thought this may work a little better. Last time I used it was 10 years ago and my face was lit up like an irritated tomato. Looks like I won't be removing my hat over the next couple of weeks.

what % were you prescribed?

 

[Lorenzo]

Thanks for the thread resurrection, @Purslane. In my case, it's been two weeks since I stopped a course of 5% fluorouracil on my scalp, twice daily for three weeks. Yes, it itched like crazy after the first week. After three weeks I couldn't take it anymore with the peeling and itching. All better now.

 

[rpguy4]

My dermatologist wanted me to use the Fluorouracil cream about every other year or 2
I have very fair complexion, and as a kid, had way too many sunburns.
Its best to use the cream during cooler/colder weather. Also, just because you use it once, doesn't mean the skin cancer won't come back at the same place.

 

[Looking4Ward]

Like another poster, I can remember peeling off sheets of skin when I was a kid because I would get really bad sunburn so often.

Paying the price for it now, still have a tube of 5% that was prescribed to me a few years back. The first time I used it I misunderstood the derm's instructions and applied it all over my face (instead of "dabbing" it on visible spots). By the fourth day I looked like I had done a laser peel.

I still use it from time to time when spots develop but am going to have to start applying it to my scalp because over the last year I've been getting a lot of AK spots there that they freeze off at every office visit but then come back with a vengeance.

 

[MrMikeCT]

what % were you prescribed?

5%

 

[Badger]

I lost count of the number of times I have used Efudex over the past 25+ years. Mine was mainly on my scalp. By the 3rd day the burning was harsh like I had been burned with boiling oil and I still had 3 weeks or more to go. Then a few years ago the dermatologist suggested a blue light treatment where a chemical was applied, then a 2.5-3 hour wait, then I sat under a blue light for 17 minutes. By the end of the first minute it was getting painful but she had a cold air blower I could direct at my scalp that helped a little. After 17 minutes it was over and the residual discomfort only lasted about 3 days and it was done. Much better. I also use a thin Fluorouracil liquid between blue light treatments that is not as bad as the Efudex cream.
I usually have to have something done every 6 months. If not a treatment that I mentioned then it would be liquid nitrogen. It is getting better than it has been.