Pre skin cancers are called actinic keratosis which is a common precancerous skin lesions that is caused by the prolonged exposure to sun.
Actinic keratosis can appear as rough, scaly or crusty patches of skin and is often red, pink or brown in color and they may feel like sandpaper and are often found on areas of the skin that are exposed to the sun such as the hands, arms, scalp and face.
Actinic keratosis is highly treatable if treated soon enough to prevent them from turning into cancer.
Treatment for actinic keratosis include freezing also known as cryotherapy, photodynamic therapy, surgical excision and a topical cream called 5 fluorouracil.
If actinic keratosis is left untreated it can turn into skin cancer like squamous cell carcnioma which can be deadly.
5 fluorouracil that is applied topically is absorbed into your body and stays in your system for several days and gradually breaks down and it may take up to a week or so before the topical fluorouracil fully leaves your system.
If you're getting the 5 fluorouracil through and IV infusion it is rapidly eliminated from your system and body and has a half life of around 8 minutes to 24 minutes and most of the 5 fluorouracil is metabolized and then excreted in your urine within 24 hours.
Topical fluorouracil cream is used to treat skin conditions called actinic keratosis which is a type of precancerous growth and is also called solar keratosis.
The skin condition actinic keratosis can create rough scaly patches that often appear on the skin of your face, ears or scalp and can be caused by too much sun exposure.
You can put Vaseline over fluorouracil after the fluorouracil has been absorbed by the skin which is often 1 hour after applying the fluorouracil.
Applying Vaseline over the fluorouracil can help soothe and moisturize your skin and can really help during the recovery phase.
You can also put some Aquaphor over the fluorouracil after it's absorbed into the skin after an hour.
Fluorouracil is a chemotherapy agent which is used on your skin to treat skin cancer as well as certain kinds of skin conditions which could become cancer.
Fluorouracil ma be used for other purposes as well and can be used to treat rough, raised areas of heavily sun exposed skin also known as actinic or solar keratosies and can also treat skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma.
Common brand names of fluorouracil are Fluroplex, Efudex and Tolak.
Fluorouracil works by killing fast-growing cells such as the abnormal cells in actinic keratoses and basal cell carcinoma.
Fluorouracil is in a class of medications called antimetabolites.
Once you start using fluorouracil cream it often starts to work within 2 to 4 weeks for actinic keratosis and skin cancers although it may take 1 to 2 months for full healing.
During the initial response when using fluorouracil you will often notice redness, irritation and even possible scabbing within a couple days to a couple of weeks of starting treatment with fluorouracil which is normal as the fluoruracil cream destroys the damaged cells.
The possible side effects that can occur when iusing topical fluorouracil are local skin reactions like skin dryness, redness, burning, itching, pain and even possible swelling at the site where you applied fluorouracil cream.
If you have any of these side effects you should let your doctor know.
Fluorouracil cream is often applied for 2 to 4 weeks although you may need to use it longer depending on the condition being treated and your doctor's instructions.
Even after you stop using fluorouracil cream it may take several weeks for your skin to fully heal and for the treated areas to return to normal.
And your skin may also be more sensitive than normal to sunlight during and after treatment with fluorouracil so you should protect the treated area from sun exposure.