Are Elidel And Protopic Safe To Use On My Child's Skin?

— -- Question: Are Elidel and Protopic safe to use on my child's skin and why do they have a "Black Box" warning?

Answer: Elidel and Protopic are two relatively new topical medications for use in atopic dermatitis. They are non-steroid medications that are currently approved for use in children as young as two years of age. Their label states that they should not be used as first-line treatment and that they should be used intermittently rather than continuously. They are among the best-studied drugs in dermatology. In fact, they have been studied in thousands of patients around the world for prolonged periods of time.

While the FDA did issue a "Black Box" warning, the language of that warning states that there is no currently causal relationship established between the use of topical Elidel and Protopic and any sort of cancer malignancy. These drugs continue to be studied, including in young children, and so far there haven't been any concerns reported.

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