Fluocinolone Acetonide

1 medicine

Fluocinolone acetonide is a topical corticosteroid used to treat eczema, dermatitis and other inflamed skin conditions. Prolonged use over large areas or under a dressing thins the skin and can suppress the adrenal glands, especially in children.

Synalar

Fluocinolone acetonide

0.025%

Synalar is a skin care medication containing Fluocinolone acetonide, available as 0.025% tubes.

from $18.70 / tube View

Key facts

  • Fluocinolone acetonide is a corticosteroid cream, ointment or oil applied to the skin to reduce inflammation, redness and itching.
  • Apply a thin layer only to affected skin, usually once or twice a day, for the shortest course that controls your symptoms.
  • Using it over large areas, under a dressing, or for prolonged periods lets more steroid pass through the skin into the body. This thins the skin and, especially in children, can suppress the adrenal glands, which make the body's own steroid hormone.
  • Seek urgent care for signs of a skin infection under treatment, or for symptoms of adrenal suppression such as unusual tiredness, weakness or fainting.

What fluocinolone acetonide treats

Fluocinolone acetonide treats inflammatory skin conditions including eczema, atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, and psoriasis. An oil form is used on the scalp for scalp psoriasis and seborrhoeic conditions. It reduces redness, swelling, and itching but does not cure the underlying disease.

How fluocinolone acetonide works

Inflamed skin conditions involve an overactive local immune response that causes redness, swelling and itch. Fluocinolone acetonide is a corticosteroid that enters skin cells and switches off the signals driving this inflammation, calming the response and easing symptoms. Stronger formulations and prolonged use push more of the drug through the skin barrier, which is why treatment is normally kept to the smallest effective area and the shortest possible course.

Before you take it

  • Tell your prescriber if you have a skin infection, since a steroid alone can let it spread while masking the signs.
  • Avoid use on the face, groin or underarms unless specifically directed, since skin is thinner there and absorbs more steroid.
  • In children, only use under medical guidance; their skin surface area relative to body size is greater, so a given amount absorbed has a bigger systemic effect.
  • Do not apply under an occlusive dressing or bandage unless told to, as this greatly increases absorption.

Side effects

Common effects: stinging or burning on application, dryness, and mild irritation at the site.

Seek urgent medical care for:

  • Thinning, fragile skin, stretch marks, or easy bruising that develops with continued use.
  • Signs of a spreading skin infection: increasing redness, warmth, swelling, or pus.
  • Signs of adrenal suppression: unusual fatigue, weakness, dizziness or fainting, particularly in children on prolonged treatment.
  • Vision changes, which can signal raised eye pressure if the medicine has been used near the eyes.

Safety essentials

  • Use the smallest amount, over the smallest area, for the shortest time that controls symptoms. Long-term use over large areas or under occlusive dressings, without direct medical supervision, raises the risk of skin thinning and adrenal suppression.
  • Children are more vulnerable to systemic absorption than adults, so treatment in children needs closer medical oversight and shorter courses.
  • Do not stop a long course abruptly if you have been using it extensively; ask your prescriber how to reduce use gradually.
  • Avoid covering treated skin with tight clothing or dressings unless instructed.

This page is educational and does not replace advice from a doctor or pharmacist who knows your health history.