Steroid-free eczema ointment guide

A steroid-free ointment for eczema, online

For adults 18 and older whose eczema a clinician already diagnosed in person. A doctor reads your answers and photos and may send one steroid-free ointment. We cannot examine your skin online.

Start online

Start a $59 online review for Eczema, steroid-free.

Crisaborole 2% is an ointment for eczema. It is sold as Eucrisa. It is not a steroid. You put a thin layer on your skin. In the studies on the drug label, about 3 in 10 people had clear or almost clear skin after 4 weeks. About 2 in 10 had that with an ointment that has no medicine in it. It does not work for everyone. This visit is for eczema that a clinician already diagnosed in person. We do not diagnose eczema. We do not order tests.

If treatment is appropriate, your physician can send a non-controlled prescription to your pharmacy and provide portal instructions for the next step.

Start this visit See response times

Already in ongoing care with us for this? Check-ins are $39 (your first one is free).

Quick facts

You must be physically located in Virginia or West Virginia at the time of request.
Starts at $59
No insurance needed
No app download
Physician review around the clock
Non-controlled prescriptions can be sent to your pharmacy when appropriate
A work or school note can be included when medically appropriate
Response times apply 24/7, every day

Common symptoms

Dry itchy patches
Red inflamed skin
Cracked or irritated skin
A flare that feels similar to past eczema or dermatitis

May fit online care

Adults 18 and older
You are 18 or older
A clinician already diagnosed your eczema in person
Your rash looks like your usual eczema
You have a reason to avoid a steroid: a steroid cream did not help enough, a steroid is not a good fit for the place, you need steroid courses again and again, or you want to avoid steroids
Your eczema covers about 2 hands of skin or fewer
You have none of the warning signs below

Look for another care setting

If more than one of these fits, follow the first one.
Rapidly spreading redness. It may also be warm, swollen, or painful, or come with fever. Call 911 or go to the ER now.
Grouped small blisters, punched-out sores, or widespread painful blisters on your eczema, especially with fever. Call 911 or go to the ER now.
A rash near the eyes with vision changes. Call 911 or go to the ER now.
Eczema over most of your body, with hot, tight, painful skin, and you feel feverish or very ill. Call 911 or go to the ER now.
Red streaks that go from an eczema area toward your lymph nodes, with fever. Call 911 or go to the ER now.
Skin that has turned dark, is numb, or smells foul. Call 911 or go to the ER now.
Signs of a severe allergic reaction: swelling of the face, eyelids, lips, mouth, tongue, or throat, throat or chest tightness, feeling faint, or hives over a large part of your body. Call 911 or go to the ER now.
Trouble breathing or wheezing. Call 911 or go to the ER now.
Do not drive yourself. Do not wait for our reply. Stop using the ointment (crisaborole) until a doctor says it is safe.
Since you started the ointment, you have swelling, hives, or severe itching with redness, where you put it or somewhere else. Your usual eczema itch does not count. If you think it may be an allergic reaction, it counts. You do not need to be sure. This is true even if another doctor gave you the ointment, or if you stopped it and still have these signs. Go to urgent care or the ER now.
Stop the ointment now and get medical help right away: go to urgent care or the ER now. Call 911 if you have trouble breathing or wheezing, swelling of your face, eyelids, lips, mouth, tongue, or throat, throat or chest tightness, feeling faint, or hives over a large part of your body. Do not wait for our reply. Stop using the ointment (crisaborole) until a doctor says it is safe.
A fever. Go to the ER or urgent care today.
Pus or yellow crusting. Honey-colored crusts count too. Go to the ER or urgent care today.
Severe swelling. Go to the ER or urgent care today.
Painful skin that looks infected, or you think your skin may be infected. It may have more pain, warmth, or redness. Go to the ER or urgent care today.
Widespread raw or deeply cracked skin. Go to the ER or urgent care today.
A rash near the eyes with swelling, swelling of the eyelid, or eye irritation. Go to the ER or urgent care today.
A history of cold sores or herpes and a new eczema flare. Go to the ER or urgent care today.
A weak immune system, and your eczema is flaring or showing signs of infection. Go to the ER or urgent care today.
New blisters on your eczema, even without a fever. Go to the ER or urgent care today.
Eczema getting a lot worse, or spreading to new areas of your body. Go to the ER or urgent care today.
Oozing or weeping skin that is getting worse despite treatment. Go to the ER or urgent care today.
The ointment got in your eye, and after you rinse your eye with clean water, it still hurts, is red, or looks blurry. Go to the ER or urgent care today.
Stop using the ointment (crisaborole) until a doctor says it is safe.
You are under 18. See a doctor in person today.
You are pregnant, might be pregnant, or plan to become pregnant. The label has too little data on pregnancy. See your pregnancy doctor. If you are pregnant or might be and you already use crisaborole, stop it until a doctor says it is safe.
Before you start the ointment, see your own doctor if any of these is true.
A clinician has not diagnosed your eczema in person, or you are not sure.
This rash is not your usual eczema. It looks new or different.
Your eczema covers more than about 2 hands, or you are not sure.
Your eczema is severe. The itch is intense and keeps you from sleeping or doing your daily activities on most days.
After you start the ointment, see your own doctor if this is true.
Once you have started the ointment, this rash is not your usual eczema. It looks new or different.
Stop using the ointment (crisaborole) until a doctor says it is safe.
Eczema on your eyelids, on the skin right around your eyes, on your lips, inside your mouth, or on your genitals or anus. This ointment is only for the skin. Do not use it in your eyes, mouth, or vagina. See your own doctor. Stop using the ointment (crisaborole) until a doctor says it is safe.
You ever had an allergic reaction, even a mild one, to crisaborole, Eucrisa, or anything in the ointment. That reaction is over now. The ointment has white petrolatum, propylene glycol, mono- and di-glycerides, paraffin, butylated hydroxytoluene, and edetate calcium disodium. See your own doctor.
You are not sure if you ever reacted to the ointment or to anything in it. See your own doctor.
You are breastfeeding. The label has no data on the effect on a breastfed baby. See your own doctor.
You use a steroid cream, and the skin under it is thin, has stretch marks, or bruises easily. See your own doctor.
Stop using the ointment (crisaborole) until a doctor says it is safe.
None of the reasons for this ointment fits you. The reasons are a steroid that did not help enough, eczema on your face, neck, or skin folds, the need for steroid courses again and again, or wanting to avoid steroids. Use our eczema visit.

What to have ready

Who diagnosed your eczema and about when
Which steroid creams or ointments you tried, for how long, and what happened
Clear photos of the eczema: a close-up and a wider photo
Every medicine, cream, vitamin, and supplement you use now, including any steroid cream

What happens next

Standard

$59

Within 6 hours

Priority

$99

Within 3 hours

Rush

$149

Within 1 hour

Start the request on the website, answer a few questions to check that this visit fits you, and choose how fast you want an answer (the response window). If your concern still fits this service, a physician reviews it and sends you a secure update after you sign in. When appropriate, non-controlled prescriptions can be sent to your pharmacy, and a basic work or school note can be included at physician discretion.

Your physician

Every visit is personally reviewed by Ankur Fadia, MD. He is board-certified, has extra training in heart care (a cardiology fellowship), and is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, a medical honor society. He is licensed in Virginia and West Virginia, and your care is never handed off to someone else.

About Ankur Fadia, MD Verify Virginia medical license Verify West Virginia medical license Verify board certification

What does the ointment do?

Crisaborole 2% is an ointment for eczema. It is sold as Eucrisa. A pharmacy may have a generic called crisaborole. It is not a steroid. In the studies on the drug label, about 3 in 10 people had clear or almost clear skin after 4 weeks. About 2 in 10 had that with an ointment that has no medicine in it. It does not work for everyone. The most common side effect is pain where you put it, such as burning or stinging. There can be other side effects.

Who is this visit for?

Adults 18 and older. Eczema here means atopic dermatitis. A clinician (a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant) already diagnosed your eczema in person. A diagnosis made only by video, phone, or online does not count. You also have a reason to avoid a steroid. Your eczema covers about 2 hands of skin or fewer. To measure, use your own hand with the fingers. One hand-sized patch on one elbow is 1 hand. A patch that size on each elbow is 2 hands.

Why do you not order tests, and can you examine my skin online?

We cannot examine your skin online. We have no exam and no tests. The doctor reads your answers and your photos and decides if the ointment is safe for you. Tell us about all your medicines, creams, vitamins, and supplements. Tell us about any steroid cream you use now. Tell us who diagnosed your eczema and when. Tell us what you tried and what happened.

How does it work, and how many tubes can I get?

Put a thin layer of the ointment on your eczema twice a day. Wash your hands after, unless your hands are being treated. If the ointment gets in your eye, rinse your eye with clean water. Keep using your moisturizer. Your first tube is 60 grams, for 28 days. You get a free short form to fill out. It opens 10 days after your visit and is due by day 14. It does not send more ointment. Before each new tube, you do a check-in. A check-in is a review. The doctor may send another tube only if every safety answer is clear. You can get 3 tubes in all, about 12 weeks. There are no automatic refills. Do not stop or change any other medicine unless the clinician who prescribes it says so.

What does it cost?

The visit price is shown before you pay. This medicine is sold under a brand name. Without insurance coverage it can cost a lot. Your pharmacy or plan may ask for a prior authorization. Ask your pharmacy for the price before you pay for the visit. Your free form costs nothing. Each later check-in is priced as shown at the check-in. You pay the pharmacy for the ointment. We add nothing else.

When does the plan end?

After your third tube, about 12 weeks, the plan ends. Your own doctor or a skin doctor (a dermatologist) takes over. We do not send a fourth tube.

Other conditions we treat

Not quite what you have? Here are other conditions we treat.

Acne keloidalis nuchae Acne or breakouts Chickenpox Hand eczema (already diagnosed)Chronic hives Cold sores