Due to mounting costs of prescription medications and hefty copays, some patients are now looking for creative ways to treat their skin problems. You may have seen the recent news stories explaining that some rosacea patients are applying horse deworming medication to their skin because it contains ivermectin – the same active ingredient in prescription Soolantra.
Obviously, I could never recommend to use non-FDA-approved medications intended for animals on humans. However, it is a very common practice. It is important to remember that just because two medications have the same active ingredient does not mean they are formulated the same way.
Ivermectin and Rosacea
Soolantra contains 1% ivermectin and is applied topically to the skin to kill Demodex mites that are believed to contribute to rosacea. Ivermectin is the same ingredient in many anti-parasitic pastes used to treat horses and other farm animals. These products are readily available online and in stores for $5 to $15. The concern is that most horse pastes contain 1.87% ivermectin, compared to Soolantra’s 1%. The medications used for horses are also intended to be ingested by the horse, so they also contain other ingredients such as apple flavoring that could irritate the skin when used topically. Duramectin, a commonly used horse paste, comes in a syringe and is very thick and hard to spread, yet some people are using it topically on the face to treat rosacea. It contains propylene glycol that can irritate the skin – but so does Soolantra, the FDA-approved $500 version for humans!
These animal medications have not been tested for topical use on humans and are a different formulation. The ingredient list might be very similar or even identical, but the way those ingredients are combined together is entirely different, resulting in a much different finished product.
Patients who have admitted to trying the horse paste themselves instead of their prescription rosacea treatments reported varied results. Some say they have not seen the results they’ve seen from Soolantra and other FDA-approved rosacea medications, while others swear by the horse paste.
Rosacea Skin Care Advice
In addition to using prescription treatments – whether that’s Soolantra, Rhofade, Finacea, or others – rosacea patients need to take special care when using other skin care products to avoid redness and inflammation. The good news is that the ideal skin care regimen to manage rosacea can make a huge difference if you sue the proper products for your Baumann Skin Type.
Rosacea patients should use a calming barrier repair moisturizer to help strengthen the skin barrier, reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and clam inflammation. Mineral-based sunscreens also tend to work well for sensitive skin types, as these are not absorbed into the skin but rather act as a physical barrier on top of the skin.
For anti-aging purposes, rosacea patients can use retinoids, but they will need to introduce them to their skin very slowly. Retinoids can be diluted with a barrier repair moisturizer to help minimize side effects when patients are using them for the first time.
In Summary
Even though it may be considerably cheaper than Soolantra, using horse de-wormer to treat rosacea is unproven. First, try downloading the GoodRX app and see if you can find Soolantra at an affordable price.
If you have had experience with Duramectin or other alternative treatments for rosacea, please share your ideas with Baumann Cosmetic on Facebook.
©2019 Metabeauty, Inc.