When your doctor gives you a sample cream to put on your face, what does sample cream mean?

Question

Long story short, but I had gone to go see a Dermatologists for this rash I had/have on my cheeks. The doctor told me that I have Eczema and gave me two Locoid Lipocream, which is a sample cream to reduce the redness, scaly and itchiness rash. The thing is,I put it on twice a day as my doctor recommended, but I still have this rash. I've never had it in my life, but one day in mid-Sept I got it. Anyways, what does a sample cream mean? Like, am I a lab rat and the derm is experimenting me because she said to come back if I have this rash in the next couple weeks or what? I was expecting to get a prescription cream since my Eczema seems to come and go and with the winter season of dryness and cold weather is causing my rash to heal slower. Has anyone else had Eczema? If so, are there any over the counter creams that I can subsitute for the sample cream of Locoid Lipocream?

Answer 1

I kinda/sorta have eczema. It works best for me just to use the cream my doc prescribed. Mine seems to worsen when the weather gets dry. Good luck!

I feel your pain.

Answer 2

It is a free sample for a pharmaceutical company. They hope that if you get a free sample you will like the cream and either ask for a prescription for it or buy it over the counter if it is available that way. It is a form of advertising.

I suspect you may need a prescription cream to treat your eczema.

Answer 3

The company that produces the cream provided free samples to your doctor and your doctor passed the samples on to you to see if the cream worked for you. Your doctor did this to let you "try out" the product before writing a full prescription.

Your doctor is not experimenting on you. If you were part of an experiment (technically called a clinical trial) your doctor would be required by law to get your consent and you would be informed of all the details.

Answer 4

A sample means that the person, or company selling this product brought it to the doctor so that he can give it to his patients and see how well it works. If it didnt work for you, it is because probably the medication wasnt strong enough or the dosage wasnt enough. Just because it is a sample, doesn't mean it will cause you harm, it's just a way to get the stuff out there, and gives the doctor thought of continuing the use with the patient.

Answer 5

A sample cream simply means that the doctor was able to give you a sample of the cream to try for free (drug companies provides doctors with samples of their products so that the doctors can let their patients try it for free and see if it's effective for their problem before making them go out and buy it at the pharmacy). But the sample is the same prescription product (your doctor's allowed to dispense prescription medication).

A.L.

Answer 6

Bamma doctor. Bamma get free samples all the time. Bamma say the pharmaceutical suppliers hand them out like candy. Bamma say doctors give them out to patients. Bamma say he'll let others suggest creams that work. Bamma more of a bone specialist. Bamma say so.

Answer 7

You got samples of a cream. (prescription or not). It's better than paying for a prescription, only to find that it doesn't work for you.

Since it doesn't seem to have worked for you, talk to the doc about another treatment.

Answer 8

all a sample cream does is let you try that product for free, because the producers want you to buy their product. If it works you buy it, if not you go back to your dermatologist and drag him out and shoot him. ..jk..he'll just give you a prescription

Answer 9

Free cream

Answer 10

It is a "Trial Size" that pharmaceutical Companies give to doctors to give to their patients. It's kind of like a sales technique to get doctors to recommend their new products.