First of all Brandyn has had about 10+ MRSA infections in the past 9 months onhis scalp. Since we started using tazorac we haven't had one in almost 2 months!!!!! I am so excited I have also started to use it on his hands and feet because the skin is so tight there and I figured it might help the mobility of his hands in particular and WOW the skin looks amazing and I have noticed a great improvement with his ability to use his hands. He's also standing on his own so well and I think he'll walk anyday ( not that he wouldn't walk without it but it has really helped I think!)

Sooo do you think I should try and use it on other very scaly parts? I haven't because I know it would only really be for cosmetic purposes and we don't need that at this stage but my thinking is less scale = more comfortable skin and maybe less itch?? What do you think?

Hi! I also love Tazorac but because i also take Accutane or a generic on a daily basis I am no longer allowed to use the Tazorac at the same time as I take the Accutane. I myself would only use the tazorac in the spots that it is completely necessary and if you want to use it on more then consult with your derm first. Even though I am the only one who decides what I use on my skin I always like to bouce ideas off of my derm and she is very good about doing her research about products and gicing me her honest feed back. I have also had a few MRSA outbreaks that didn't get taken care of through the oral antibiotics but after I got rid of the outbreaks the derm gave me a cream to rub in my nostrils to try and kill MRSA and it worked.

Is tazorac over the counter? Is it a cream?

Hi Kim, no it's prescription only cream. It's a topical retinoid

We use tazorac, too. Good stuff, but we're REALLY cautious with it given how the oral steroids cause problems. Especially with a child, I would and do use it as sparingly as possible. The paperwork on it says that what is absorbed takes about 19 hours to clear out of the body, so using it daily could potentially have the same retention/side effect problems. One of my friends with LI had to stop using soriatane due to side effects, switched to Tazorac and now can't take it either becuase the side effects came back.

If it works, use it, just keep in mind the long term potential with it, especially in a young, growing child. For us, we apply it to the neck and armpits once every few months just to clear buildup, and maybe about every 6 weeks on my husband. At that level of exposure, we're not too worried about side effects.

If I were you, I'd call my dermatologist, or if you don't have a good one, pose the question to the FIRST medical advisory board. I'm sure they'd be interested in the MRSA-killing potential of the steroid.

Hi Jennifer, I just wanted clarify that the tazorac doesn't kill MRSA, it just removed nearly all of the scales on his scalp which were trapping bacteria. Sorry for the confusion I will post more on this later, I'm running after a crazy toddler at the moment lol!

how fast does it work for you? When we put it on, it doesn't seem to do anything for 2-4 days, then suddenly we have 3 or 4 days of itching and peeling and it gets a bit raw. It only works on certain places. My husband tried it on his really thick knees and palms, but even repeated doses didn't make anything happen.

Hi Jennifer, when we put the tazorac on the scales peel off within24 hours and it never gets raw. Brandyn skin seems to "grow" so quickly though and we have to use it everyday to maintain it. I am scared to death hearing about your friends ill effects from it though. We thought this was a good alternative to the oral retinoids our derm has been pushing for awhile. We saw dr. Milstone a few months ago while visiting my parents and he suggested using it on brandyn's hands ( so I went ahead with his feet as well). He told us not to bother with putting it onto his legs because they are quite affected and he didn't think it would do much good. Brandyn's derm here in Sydney is quite conservative ( which is good!) but he's also very pro oral retinoids and I sometimes think he doesn't suggest other options if you know what i mean. I can't fault him, he's great and I have great respect for him. Unlike your husband and children there is just no way that applying the tazorac other than every day or every other day would do anything, I have tried to use it as sparingly as possible.
Dr. Milstone couldn't really give us a definitive answer about the absorbsion rate of tazorac because there isn't anyway of measuring it apparantly...