Danger Of Mixing Triple Action Cream (Funbact A) With Body Cream (Shea Butter)

Body creams are cosmetic products designed to protect the skin and give it a beautiful look. Facial creams are to be applied only on the face because they are milder. Body creams are to be applied all over the body. The last are hair creams which are applied on the head and some parts of the body with hair. They can be applied from childhood to adulthood. They are sold in supermarkets.

Medicated creams are designed and developed to treat skin infection and disease caused by microorganisms and the environment. They are prescribed by a healthcare practitioner to be used on a part of the body over a period of time. They are dispensed by pharmacists.

Read Also: Treatment of skin infection

There is a common trend that is growing among Nigerians. They mix body creams and medicated creams together to be applied all over the body. This trend is made popular by marketers of these medicated creams. Though not marketed in public glare, they tell their clients that adding medicated creams to their regular body creams remove skin's condition and prevent future occurrence.

Triple action creams

Content Of Medicated Creams

The most common cream use is the triple action medicated creams. They are creams with the combination of three classes of active ingredients. They are antifungal, antibacterial and antiallergic in the form of a corticosteroid. The most commonly used triple action creams are the funbact A, epiderm, visita plus, skineal and dermovate.

They are used in treating mixed skin infections caused by bacteria, fungi and allergic conditions. They are to be applied only on the affected areas of the skin. Application must be stopped immediately when the skin is clear. Prolonged use exposes the skin to infection. How you may ask.

Using triple action creams over a long period of time destroys the skin normal flora. Normal flora are bacterias on the skin that protect the skin. That means that not all bacteria on the skin are bad.

When the normal flora has been destroyed, the skin is prone to infection.

Also, the corticosteroids in triple action creams must not be used for a long time. Corticosteroids use over a long period of time weaken the immune system exposing one to infection of both the system and the skin. The skin becomes light leading to bleaching. Such conditions can lead to injury due to minor abrasion, appearance of some skin conditions like acne, stretch mark, etc. This normally happens when the person experiences withdrawal syndrome. Withdrawal syndrome is a situation whereby the skin will react with different skin conditions on stopping the application of corticosteroids on the skin.

One more thing. Prolonged use of steroids lead to shrinkage of the adrenal glands. This leads the body to stop producing steroids.

Read Also: Non infectious skin disease

One unfortunate incident I see all the time is how mother's apply just any triple action creams on the body of their children. Most triple action creams around contain strong corticosteroids. These corticosteroids are not to be applied on the skin of children below 12 years of age. For example, funbact A and epiderm contain betamethasone dipropionate. Visita plus on the other hand comes with beclomethasone dipropionate. Skineal and dermovate come with clobetasol propionate. They are up to 600 times as potent as hydrocortisone. Adding them to the body cream if the child only exposes them to more problems.

The combination gives a pleasant look on first application. As time goes in, the negative effects start to rear its ugly head. Having heard some give positive feedback after two years of use. But not after. From the above reasons, it is medically wrong to add any quantity of triple action medicated creams to any type of body creams. This includes Shea butter.