Medication | Dose | Notes |
Barrier repair creams/moisturizers/emollients | Not applicable | Low pH products may be particularly useful |
Topical corticosteroids | Variable | Not directly antipruritic, may be useful in pruritus due to inflammatory skin dermatoses |
Topical calcineurin inhibitors | Tacrolimus 0.03% and 0.1% ointment | Particularly useful in anogenital pruritus, may experience transient burning and stinging |
Pimecrolimus 1% cream | ||
Doxepin | 5% cream | Avoid in children, 20 to 25% risk of sedation |
Menthol | 1 to 3% cream or lotion | Useful in patients who report cooling as an alleviating factor |
Capsaicin | 0.025 to 0.1% cream | Particularly useful in neuropathic itch, may experience initial transient burning |
Salicylic acid | 2 to 6% | Useful in lichen simplex chronicus, avoid in acute inflammatory dermatoses and children |
Local anesthetics | Pramoxine 1 to 2.5% | Useful for pruritus on face and that associated with CKD |
Lidocaine patch 5% | Useful in neuropathic pruritus | |
Eutectic mixture of lidocaine 2.5% and prilocaine 2.5% | Useful in neuropathic pruritus | |
5% urea + 3% polidocanol | Both moisturizing and anesthetic properties, not available in the United States | |
Ketamine 5 or 10% + amitriptyline 5% + lidocaine 5% | Compounded agent; may be useful for various forms of chronic pruritus |
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