What Is Fucidin H Cream Used For?
Reviewed on 3 Nov 2023
There is a wide range of topical treatments for infected skin conditions available on prescription, including one of the most popular, Fucidin H cream.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about using Fucidin H cream. This includes the most frequently asked questions, helping you to decide whether it could be the right medication for you.
What is Fucidin H Cream used for?
Fucidin H cream is a skin cream that is most commonly used to treat infected eczema and other infected skin conditions.
The medication contains two vital ingredients: hydrocortisone and fusidic acid.
Fusidic acid is an antibiotic. This means it kills bacteria and germs that cause infection on the skin. Hydrocortisone is a corticosteroid. As such, it reduces swelling, redness, and itchiness of your skin.
Together, hydrocortisone and fusidic acid provide an effective treatment for skin conditions that cause inflammation and infection.
In the UK, Fucidin H cream is available as a prescription-only medicine in 30g and 60g tubes.
What is the difference between Fucidin H Cream and Fucidin?
If you suffer from infected eczema or another type of skin infection and you’re researching suitable treatments, you might have noticed that there are two types of Fucidin cream — Fucidin H cream and Fucidin cream.
Both topical treatments are very similar, containing the active ingredient fusidic acid, which helps to quickly and effectively treat infected eczema and a range of other skin conditions.
However, there is one key difference: Fucidin H cream contains the additional ingredient, hydrocortisone. Hydrocortisone is a mild steroid (or corticosteroid) that helps to reduce inflammation, swelling, redness and itching. In turn, this helps to prevent itching, which can further irritate and infect the problem area.
As such, Fucidin H cream is a more potent treatment option to effectively combat skin infections compared to Fucidin cream.
On the other hand, Fucidin cream is appropriate for many people looking to treat milder infected eczema and other skin conditions.
You can buy Fucidin cream here at The Independent Pharmacy if this treatment is better suited to your skin condition. To find out more about this topical cream and which conditions it can treat, head over to our Fucidin cream uses page.
What is the difference between Fucidin H cream and Fucibet?
Fucibet cream is another similar treatment to Fucidin H cream. The only difference, in this case, is that Fucibet cream contains a more powerful steroid, betamethasone.
For this reason, Fucibet cream is used to treat severe skin conditions, and in instances where the skin has become infected and there is more severe inflammation.
Fucibet cream is available to buy here at The Independent Pharmacy.
You can find out more about Fucibet cream and its uses on our Fucibet cream uses page.
How does Fucidin H Cream work?
Fucidin H cream has two ingredients that combine to treat skin conditions such as eczema.
As a topical corticosteroid, hydrocortisone prevents skin cells from releasing inflammatory substances. In doing so, the medication stops blood cells from widening, which reduces skin swelling and redness. Hydrocortisone can also help reduce itching and scratching that irritates the skin and makes eczema worse.
An antibiotic medicine, fusidic acid is used to treat bacterial infections. Fusidic acid works by blocking skin bacteria from producing proteins that allow them to spread and grow. Without these proteins, harmful skin bacteria die or are killed by the immune system.
As a prescription medicine, your doctor will offer advice on how much Fucidin H cream to use. However, the most common course of treatment is one to two weeks and involves applying the cream to the problem area twice a day.
When using Fucidin H cream, It should take no longer than a couple of days to see a noticeable difference in the condition of your skin. If there is no improvement after a week, you may need to go back and see your doctor for further advice or alternative eczema treatment.
How do you apply Fucidin H cream?
Fucidin H cream is easy enough to use — it just needs to be applied to the affected skin with your fingers. Try to avoid the surrounding healthy skin if you can.
The easiest way to measure how much Fucidin H cream to apply is by using your index finger as a reference.
After removing the lid of the Fucidin H cream, squeeze the tube so the cream inside runs along the tip of your index finger to the line of the first joint. This is called a fingertip unit (FTU).
On average, you will need the following number of FTUs for different areas of the body when applying Fucidin H cream:
- Face and neck: two FTUs
- Back: seven FTUs
- Front torso: seven FTUs
- Front and palm-side of your hand: one FTU
- Either leg: six FTUs
- Either foot: two FTUs
If you are using Fucidin H cream on a child, you should use around half of the fingertip units listed above. However, you should still use an adult finger to measure out the required amount of Fucidin H cream FTUs needed.
Who can use Fucidin H Cream?
Fucidin H cream is suitable to use for most people. This includes adults, senior citizens, children, and babies. When applying Fucidin H cream to children or babies, you shouldn’t apply the cream to large areas of the skin.
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, it is recommended that you don’t use the medication for an extended period of time. You should always check with your GP or midwife before using any medicines when you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
It’s important to note that Fucidin H cream should only be applied in accordance with instructions from your doctor. Your doctor will tell you the recommended dose of cream to use and instructions on how to apply the correct amount.
Does Fucidin H Cream have side effects?
As a rule, the effects of medications can be unpredictable. Reactions to Fucidin H cream can vary between people, and even for the same person on different occasions. That said, the vast majority of people who use Fucidin H cream are fine. Some, however, will experience side effects.
Common Fucidin H cream side effects
Localised skin reactions are the most usual Fucidin H cream side effects.
Affecting an average of one in 100 people, the most common side effects associated with Fucidin H cream include:
- Skin irritation
- Redness and rashes
- Itchy skin
- A burning sensation
Rare Fucidin H cream side effects
When using Fucidin H Cream, serious side effects are extremely rare. If you experience any of the following side effects after applying the cream to your skin, it’s possible that you have had an allergic reaction to Fucidin H cream and you should contact your doctor immediately:
- You have difficulty breathing
- Your face or throat swell
- Your skin develops a severe rash
- Blurred vision
- Worsening of your eczema
Other side effects caused by Fucidin H Cream
Some more serious side effects are known to be caused by an adverse reaction to hydrocortisone, one of the two main ingredients of Fucidin H Cream. These include:
- Glaucoma
- Thinning of the skin
- A Red spotty rash around the mouth or chin
- Stretch marks
- Small veins near the surface of the skin become visible
- Skin redness
- Lightening of your skin colour
- Changes in the growth of your body hair
- Excessive sweating
If you experience any of the side effects listed above, stop using Fucidin H cream immediately and talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
Can you use Fucidin H cream with other medications?
Before using any other topical medications in addition to Fucidin H cream, you should consult your doctor. They will be able to tell you if the combination of medications you want to use is both safe and effective.
If it is safe to use other topical medicines, it is recommended that you wait at least 30 minutes between using Fucidin H cream and any other medications. This will allow your skin to fully absorb the first medication you use, reducing the chances of them mixing and causing an adverse reaction.
It’s also important to note that certain skin moisturisers can dilute Fucidin H cream, reducing its effectiveness. Again, it’s advisable to wait 30 minutes before applying moisturisers to your skin after using Fucidin H cream.
If you should experience any undesired effects when taking this medication with another treatment, please talk to a doctor or pharmacist immediately
Summary
Fucidin H cream is a fast-acting and effective medication that is used to treat infected eczema and a range of other skin conditions and infections.
The vast majority of people can use Fucidin H cream without experiencing side effects and have a very positive experience.
In time, an untreated skin infection or infected eczema can get worse, which is why it is important to treat it.
If you have eczema or another infected skin condition, you can buy Fucidin H cream directly from The Independent Pharmacy. Available after a free consultation with a trained pharmacist, you can receive your medication the next day, delivered straight to your door in plain and discreet packaging.
Sources
- Patient Information Leaflet: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/files/pil.5511.pdf
- https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/f...
- https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/...
- https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/h...
- https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/5511/smpc
- https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/hydrocortisone-with-fusidic-acid.html
Authored by
Andy is a co-founder and the Superintendent Pharmacist and Director at The Independent Pharmacy.
Reviewed by
Dan is an experienced pharmacist having spent time working in both primary and secondary care. He currently supports our clinical team by providing robust clinical governance review of our internal processes and information.
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