Treatment

Treatment is focused on healing the skin and relieving itching, while minimizing adverse side effects of medications. Your doctor will likely prescribe one or a combination of the drugs:

• Corticosteroids. The most common treatment is prednisone, which comes in pill form. But long-term use can increase your risk of weak bones, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and infection. Corticosteroid ointment can be rubbed on your affected skin and causes fewer side effects.
• Steroid-sparing drugs. These drugs affect the immune system by inhibiting the production of your body's disease-fighting white blood cells. Examples include azathioprine (Azasan, Imuran) and mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept). If your signs and symptoms involve the eyes or upper digestive tract, the drug rituximab (Rituxan) may be used if other approaches haven't helped.
• Other drugs that fight inflammation. An example is methotrexate (Trexall).