Anthralin is used to treat people with psoriasis. This medicine controls the rapid growth of skin cells so it is very effective in treating large and scaly patches of skin, known as psoriasis in the arms, legs, and torso. Anthralin comes in two forms, one is in the form of a greasy ointment and another is in the form of a non-greasy and vanishing cream.
When used alone, anthralin is already effective in itself and when a patient decides to combine it with another therapy especially the ultraviolet light therapy, psoriasis can be significantly reduced in a matter of two to three weeks. You should note though that while anthralin may sound like a form of cortisone, it is not. Rather, anthralin is a medication that can even make the skin worse because of soreness and irritation when it is not used properly.

In line with this, here are some directions and precautions you should take before using anthralin:

1.Don’t let anthralin come into contact with your eyes. Anthralin can cause severe eye irritation so be sure to wash your hands after using anthralin so that you will not accidently put this medicine on your eye.

2.Don’t apply anthralin in any skin-fold areas around your body such as the groin, the armpits, the genital, and the rectal areas because it can cause severe irritation.

3.Apply very small amounts of anthralin. You need to gently rub this small amount into the areas that is affected by psoriasis. Be sure to wash it off after a 30 minute contact with your skin although you can increase this length of time to one hour depending on the requirement.

4.Wash anthralin off immediately when it irritates your skin. When you feel any irritating or burning sensation on your skin after you had applied anthralin, you need to wash this medication off as soon as possible.

5.If you experience severe irritation, stop this treatment immediately and contact your doctor.

You can only expect this medication to work immediately; you will need to wait for a period of several weeks before you can see results. One of the best advantages of anthralin compared to cortisone though is that once psoriasis is cured; it will stay that way for a longer period of time unlike in the case of cortisone when psoriasis may reoccur again and again. It is for this reason that anthralin is a very popular treatment for psoriasis.