Had a family member who encouraged me to try using Ivermectin for my skin “troubles”, ie, rash, eczema, and psoriasis.
I am happy to share that the results are incredible.
Anyone else? Reading on Reddit, doctors there are all horrified about the right-wing people using Ivermectin for various illness prevention. One wished them “depopulate” from that usage. So much “do no harm” for the medical profession.
What opinion will The Atlantic assign to me regarding the use of Ivermectin today? (I’m almost on the level of RapAdmin, who enjoys diversity of sources to the mix, like NPR and The Guardian, for a well-balanced view ).
Conclusion: Not good.
But my own opinion is that I would need an evaluation with MR or RCT and preferably on hard endpoints, if there isn’t, maybe it takes up brain real estate for those that exist for the same condition(s).
All preclinical studies that have little generalizability for human in-vivo use.
Drug development is difficult, takes a long time, costs a lot, and is very unlikely to succeed.
My story with Ivermectin 2% cream. Had it prescribed for rosacea. Cost quoted at local pharmacies was $400 to $800 per 30gm tube. I ordered it from India (from a pharmacist that I use there) and it cost $2 for a 40gm tube. So I ordered 5 tubes! And yes, it does work well if your rosacea is caused by the demodex mite, but I was not interested in getting expensive testing for the demodex mite, so I just used the Ivermectin. Happy with it,
I used Ivermectin 2% cream for about 8 weeks. Two pics (1st day applied on 1-21-25 and today, 7-22-25) with both photos in the same bathroom with same lighting on. The most remarkable part of this experiment is that for many years, I would break out in small lesions that would sting (like a baby bee sting), then leak clear fluid, then crust over in the course of a day, but persist for weeks thereafter as a non-healing scab. I have had zero such lesions since I used Ivermectin x 8 weeks. Now I use it occasionally (maybe once weekly) as maintenance. Not sure my face looks much different, but I am happy not to have these recurring lesions that were usually toward my central face.
Don’t generalize. I am actually very OK with it going to OTC. Doctors were very reluctant to prescribe Ivermectin for COVID for a very simple reason.
Ivermectin actually failed in RCTs to meet endpoints for COVID treatment - so basically had no evidence that it would work in COVID. So if doctor did it prescribe off label for COVID and patient had an adverse reaction - the doctor would have hard time explaining their reasoning to the state board if complaint (or lawsuit) was filed.
Ivermectin has known antiparasitic use and emerging anti-inflammatory properties.
Study: Topical ivermectin applied in a mouse model of atopic dermatitis.
Findings:
Reduced allergic skin inflammation.
Decreased T-cell activation and inflammatory cytokines.
No major effect on dendritic cells.
Conclusion: Ivermectin has topical anti-inflammatory effects by modulating T-cell responses and shows potential for treating T-cell-mediated skin diseases like atopic dermatitis.
).
Benefits:
Evidence Quality:
