Cortaid
Cortaid is a 15g tube of hydrocortisone cream, a mild steroid for itching, redness and minor skin irritation, sold in packs of one to five tubes.
- Category
- Skin Care
- Active ingredient
- Hydrocortisone
- Route
- Topical
- Form
- Cream, Ointment
- Strengths
- 15g
You will receive a quality generic equivalent, depending on stock.
Shipped in a discreet, unmarked envelope.
Details
- Conditions
- Itching · Redness · Minor skin irritation
- Therapeutic Class
- Corticosteroid
- Pharmacological Class
- Glucocorticoid
- Minor Side Effects
- Stinging, burning, dry skin
- Moderate Side Effects
- Skin thinning, redness, irritation
- Dosage Forms
- Cream, Ointment
- Administration Route
- Topical
- Originator
- Pfizer
- Onset Time
- 30 minutes
- Duration
- 6–12 hours
- Storage Instructions
- Store away from heat.
What you will receive
Cortaid is the originator brand name, made by Pfizer. We use it to identify the medicine; the pack you receive is a generic equivalent, not the original Cortaid.
- The same active ingredient (Hydrocortisone) at the same strength.
- The exact brand supplied depends on what is in stock when your order ships.
FAQ
Which Cortaid strengths and pack sizes can I order?
Cortaid comes as tubes in 15g. You can order packs of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 tubes. Larger packs cost less per tube. The pack contains generic hydrocortisone, not the original Cortaid.
Can I cancel my generic hydrocortisone order before it is sent to Hong Kong?
Orders for generic hydrocortisone can be cancelled within 24 hours if not yet dispatched. Tracked courier takes 5 to 9 business days with online tracking, or standard airmail takes 14 to 21 business days, or 30 at most, and is untracked. Support answers 24/7 in English and Cantonese by live chat.
What are the alternative names for Cortaid and hydrocortisone?
Cortaid and Cortef are brand names of hydrocortisone, which is also sold as Dermacort and Hytone. Here, hydrocortisone can be bought online as generic Cortaid. These are generics, not the original brand.
How quickly does Cortaid stop the itching?
Itching tends to ease before the redness does: the itch calms early on, while the swelling and colour take longer to go. A patch that has not changed after about a week of regular use is likely to be something the cream cannot treat on its own.
Should I choose the cream or an ointment?
Cream is the lighter option: it spreads easily, disappears into the skin and suits damp, weeping or hairy areas. Ointment is greasier and stays on the surface, which makes it the better pick for dry, scaly or cracked patches. Both forms can carry the same amount of hydrocortisone.
Can I put moisturiser on top of Cortaid?
Yes, and it helps. Let the cream sink in first, then smooth a fragrance-free moisturiser over the area to replace some of the water the skin is losing and ease the dryness steroid creams can leave behind. Moisturiser goes on after the hydrocortisone, not before, so the medicine reaches the skin.
Where should I not put Cortaid?
Keep it away from the eyes and eyelids, and out of the mouth. Hydrocortisone is meant for skin, and repeated use around the eye can raise the pressure inside it. If it has been on your hands, wash them before touching your face, and don't use it on broken skin or a patch that already looks infected.
Can using Cortaid for a long time thin the skin?
Yes, when the same patch is treated for weeks on end. The skin can become thin, shiny and easily bruised, and stretch marks may form where the cream has been used for a long time. Short courses on small areas don't carry the same risk.
About Cortaid
A 15g tube of hydrocortisone cream
Cortaid is sold here as a 15g tube of hydrocortisone cream. Hydrocortisone is a corticosteroid, which means it damps down the immune activity in the skin that produces redness, heat, swelling and itch. It sits at the mild end of the steroid creams, which is why it is the one people reach for on everyday rashes and insect bites rather than on thick, stubborn plaques.
What it clears up
A red, itchy patch left by a new washing powder, a cluster of mosquito bites, heat rash under a collar, the dry scaly side of mild eczema: these are the sorts of skin problems hydrocortisone is used on. It calms the reaction in the skin, not the cause of it. Leave the soap, plant or rough seam that started it in place and the patch will come back once you stop using the cream.
Getting the cream onto the right spot
For a patch on the back of your hand, squeeze a thin film over the skin and rub it in gently — the same for a crease behind the knee or a bite on the ankle. Once or twice a day is enough for most rashes, at roughly the same times each day. Don't cover the area with a plaster or a tight dressing: trapping the cream makes the skin take up more of it. Wash your hands after, so you don't carry it to your face.
Side effects
The first applications can sting or burn a little, and the skin may look redder or drier before it settles. Longer spells of use can bring acne, extra facial hair, small bumps around the mouth, or patches of lighter and darker skin. Weeks of use on one area can thin the skin and leave stretch marks. Children absorb more through their skin than adults, so keep a child's treatment short and to a small patch. If the treated skin turns hot, swollen and weepy, an infection has taken hold and the cream will not shift it.
The tube itself
Screw the cap back on between uses and keep the tube somewhere cool rather than on a warm shelf or a sunny windowsill; don't freeze it. If the cream has changed colour or smell, or the date on the tube has passed, throw it away.
Sources
- Hydrocortisone Topical: MedlinePlus Drug Information — MedlinePlus
- Hydrocortisone cream 1% w/w - Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) - (emc) | 13103 — electronic medicines compendium (emc)