HOW TO USE EFUDIX 5% CREAM (5-FU / Efudex) | 5-fluorouracil - PLUS SIDE EFFECTS

I am 89 and had a basal carcinom surgically removed from my forehead about 20 years ago. Several similar lesions appeared recently and have been treated by efudix cream over 4 weeks. There has been some bleeding, irritation and a less than pleasant appearance, but now after about 2 months the skin is clear and normal - a big improvement over the previous treatment.😂.

Applied it twice a day to 3 areas on my face for 4 weeks following biopsies confirming basal cell carcinoma and sun damage. It became inflamed and crusty as predicted, but, was completely effective and after stopping the treatment my skin is clear again. Highly recommend.

5 ⭐ These details are the most important for a person under treatment. Thanks. From Luanda,Angola

@Dr O’Donovan So pleased I found your video! I have just been prescribed Efudix 5% cream for a patch of Bowen’s disease on my lower leg. The dermatologist at my local hospital told me to apply it once a day for 6 weeks, using a cotton bud, to the red centre of the lesion. He stressed not to get the Efudix on the surrounding unaffected skin. After the 6 weeks of treatment have finished, I’ve got to wait a further 6 weeks to see the full results. I was told that a further 6 weeks of treatment could be considered if the Bowen’s lesion hadn’t been fully eradicated. Your video has really highlighted what side effects could be experienced - I now feel more comfortable about starting the self treatment. Thank you! ☺️

I’m so glad I found this video! Just one question how do i use it for the lips?

Fantastic advice - many thanks as I have spent hours trying to find the advice I wanted snd here it was all in one video!!

Yes, this a good description of my experience. It does look terrible while you are going through this treatment, but I explain to family and co-workers what is going on so nobody gets scared off thinking I have some horrible disease. Because they know me well, they are understanding. But stringers and acquaintances don't understand so I try to keep everything covered up and if they look uncomfortable, I quickly explain and that often helps.

I used it this year. I was a lifeguard and am blonde with blue eyes and fair skin. I've had several basal cell cancers removed. I used this cream on one shoulder that had an actinic keratosis (precancerous) and used it on a spot over my eyelid and about one forth of my chest area. The chest area definitely flared up, as did the spot on. my shoulder and over my eyelid. It wasn't nearly as bad as shown in the video though and after 6 weeks once a day, I let it heal for two weeks. So I have a very slight scar that's still a little red over my eye. am very glad I did it and will use it on more of my chest area in the fall so it won't look quite as bad when I wear summer tops. I used makeup concealer when I needed to cover the red spots so no big deal. NOTHING like the surgeries!

I have been using Efudex for 4 weeks have 2 more to go and was not told anything except how to use twice a day on my ear. It's terrible. The pain is unbelievable. Thank you this video.

Very helpful video...Thanks! I'm just ending my second week of a 3-week treatment (+/-). My Dermatologist said my condition was slight and that I was fortunate to address my condition early on. That said, I was amazed to see redness on my skin where I didn't believe I had an issue, which tells me that fluorouracil really does attack both the surface and underlying keratosis. Know that you will see, and feel, various red patches on your face, which appears as if heat blisters from a sunburn have popped. You will be stared at and asked "what happen to your face," which is an opportunity to make up a really cool story, causing the inquiring party to bugger off. On that note, however, using this medicine is 100% worth it. Other than looking like I was beat up by an angry octopus, my skin is on the mend. I'm looking forward to allowing my skin and immune system to do it's thing and repair the blotched areas after treatment. One final thought for anyone who reads this: never fail to use sunscreen. My many years of hiking, kayaking, skiing, sailing, etc., without sunscreen is why I have to come up with cool stories about the way I look during treatment.

Living in Florida my entire life, we used to go to the beach all the time, use baby oil and stay out all day. I can’t believe we did that. In 2011, I was recommended to use Efudex. This was my first time and I decided to apply it on my face, neck, and chest. What a mistake! My face started showing redness within 24 hours. After 14 days and having difficulty sleeping, I went to my doctor. He said, STOP. You got a great reaction all over. I still use Efudex for affected areas. This year I decided to do my entire face again since I was getting more cancers. It was nothing like my first. Use in moderation. Next year I will do my neck or chest again.

Thanks for a most helpful and informative video. I am currently two weeks into a three week course of Efudix, applied morning and evening to treat Actinic Cheilitis aka 'Sailor's Lip', in my case the upper lip. It is in fact the second course, the first was applied about ten weeks ago, if the second course does not work then I will need some other form of treatment. Anyone reading up on the use of Fluorouracil is likely to be wary when using such a potent ointment on the lips which are anyway so sensitive. I was told to expect a robust reaction and, after about a week my lips have become very sore with lesions which are prone to split and bleed. After the first course of treatment it took at least a week before the lips began to heal. Whilst the treatment is not pleasant I would certainly advise anyone prescribed it for Actinic Cheilitis to go ahead. I have a rather puritan streak in my nature and reflect that the problem is pretty much self inflicted and probably reflects years of rash over exposure to UV without sensible precautions. I will be more sensible in the future, and will encourage others to

I've used this on multiple occasions and would like to share my experience. During my second time using it I stopped the treatment early. I had an event coming up and didn't want a giant scab on my neck. Everything healed as I hoped it would and I thought I was in the clear. Well I stayed in the clear for a couple of months, but the lesion ended up coming back and it grew to the size it was before treatment fast! Needless to say, I had to start the treatment again from the beginning. Take it from me, it's NEVER a good time to start this stuff so don't even look at your calendar. You'll always find a reason to put it off or temptation to stop early. Just start it right away and stick to your doctor's prescribed treatment period until the very end and not a day sooner. It's not worth the risk of having to do it again. Unless of course you enjoy having oozing scabs on your body. That being said, it's excellent technology and very effective when used as prescribed. Remember to wear gloves or wash your hands thoroughly to minimize systematic absorption.

Over the past 5 years I've have had a succession of BCCs and SCCs, some of which have required excision, mostly from my face, requiring a skin graft in one extreme case. I was prescribed Efudix by my consultant dermatologist and used it to treat smaller areas of skin traumas. I found that it does work at keeping these lesions under control. I am currently taking a 10mg daily capsule of acitretin as part of a program to see if it will do the same job as Efudix. It requires more supervision by way of regular blood tests and there are side effects. Too much exposure to direct sunlight in a childhood spent in the Middle and Far East in th 1950s has obviously caught up with me in my 70s! I keep on at my grandchildren to do as I say, not as I didn't do, use a sunscreen or sunblock cream.

Watching this video helped massively as leaving the surgery I felt overwhelmed and needed someone like you to explain so thank you so much 😊

Very good video. Very informative, helpful and straightforward. Thank you.

The use description and expectations described in this video were more informative than I received from my Kaiser dermatologist. Thank you...

I am currently taking this medicine to treat top of hands and arms due to pre cancerous spots. I'm starting week 3 of treatments and seeing good results with 2 a day treatments. My main minor issues are itching and being tired. The main spots were treated with liquid nitrogen first and now the cream.

DIFFERENT RECOMMENDATION: My dermatologist and other scientific/medical sources recommend against applying cream or sunscreen over the skin during treatment. Consequently, I had my treatment done in the middle of the winter and I wear a wide-brimmed hat, face mask and large sunglasses when outdoors.

I’m currently using this again and into my second week. Rather than using a bare fingertip to apply the cream i snip off the fingers of those latex gloves I accumulated over lockdown. It’s hard work for sure , but well worth going through the discomfort with the knowledge its working well. Good luck to everyone using it.❤