Aldara Cream and Sarcoids

[fivehorses]

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[vanillabean]

Yup, I have seen it used on a number of horses. It does work well, you have to be prepared for the sarcoid to get raw and oozey before it falls off. I would guess that you might need to give the horse some time off from riding if using it around the lips. It seems to "burn" the sarcoids off but the area heals flat and I haven't seen them return in any of the horses that were treated.
Have fun picking it up at the pharmacy! Especially if it is under your horse's name :-D!

[mroades]

how is it different from xterra?

[vanillabean]

mroades, xterra is a zinc based cream, I think, which might discourage sarcoid growth or shrink it but I haven't used it. Aldara is a human genital wart cream, very potent, and will remove the sarcoid (at least in all the instances I saw).
fivehorses, I don't remember putting anything on them except maybe some swat for the horse we did over the summer. He had a lot of sarcoids. It takes a couple of applications of the cream, but it is ok that they get irritated looking because it means that the cream is working. Then one day they kind of flake off. The last person that used it at our barn had some of her horse's sarcoids removed surgically and the ones that the Aldara cream was applied to came off cleaner and have not come back. There are a lot of academic-type vets at our barn and they like to research new treatments and try them out :-).

[onelanerode]

Please keep us posted on how this turns out for your horse. A grade pony I used to ride turned up with sarcoids on her ears, and her owner (well-meaning but not very up-to-date on equine healthcare) took her to a local vet, who apparently scraped the sarcoids down level with the ear. I had done some research into the XTerra, and in doing so found the info on Aldara and the University of Minnesota study. I passed that along to him prior to him taking the mare to the vet's.

I'd love to know how this works so I can update him in case the mare's sarcoids do not resolve.

[etc.]

I had to use it on my face for basal cells for 6 weeks. It was itchy and scabby looking, but the basal cells did not come back. (I know you were asking about horses, but it's more info and will bump it back to the top!:winkgrin:)

[BeastieSlave]

What are we talking about cost-wise? I'm at work and can't do a lot of research. I'm getting ready to start 'working on' a sarcoid on my boy...

[ticofuzzy]

I've had two horses in my barn use Aldara cream. The owners got it in Canada. It worked very well for both horses. The vet said you have to keep putting it on until there is no redness left and normal skin starts to show. Both horses got very aggressive about having it put on after a while. I am guessing it was very irritating to them as they both began to flail and strike out when it was being applied. Both horses no longer have sarcoids.

[vanillabean]

Both people I knew that used it got it from the local pharmacy. Neither horse got too bad about the treatment, maybe a little flinchy towards the end of it. Some of the sarcoids we were treating were under the tail head, luckily the horse was a good boy.

[SonnysMom]

I have not used the Aldara but did 2 separate rounds of Xxterra. The Xxterra didn't work.
Eventually the vet injected a chemo drug into the sarcoid. He did that twice about 2 or 3 weeks apart. That is what finally worked.
The Xxterra also made the area raw and oozy. Well so did the chemo drug but that wasn't as bad.
It healed flat but is partially hairless. You can kinda see it in the summer but it was on the side of his face right under his noseband.

[LauraKY]

I used CareFree Enzymes Sarcoid Cleansing Salve on my QH. He had a continuing problem, which at first just was unsightly, but then developed a sarcoid in the corner of his eye which began to obstruct his vision. He's NOT a pleasant patient and although he really didn't like us applying the cream, it did not seem to burn. The entire sarcoid finally fell off, root and all, leaving a "divot" which finally filled in. We last treated him two years ago and, knock on wood, they have not returned. The cream costs about $90 and, if I remember correctly, lasted about 2 months. The hair has returned and, except for a small bump, you would never know there had been a problem.

It is an herbal treatment, and as far as I know, does not have any side effects.

The website is: http://www.carefreeenzymes.com/id35.html and http://www.carefreeenzymes.com/id37.html

[fivesocks]

I'm curious... how much does the Aldara cream cost? I'm using Fluorouracil cream. It works but it's $200 for a small tube.

[oozer]

A few years ago I purchased a young gelding with sarcoids on his neck, brow area above his eye and his barrel right where the girth goes. I tried all the natural type remedies -- arnica cream, aloe vera, Vit E oil, eucalyptus oil, Crest toothpaste, Indian Mud and XXterra over a period of a year. I regret the time I wasted on all of them.
I finally showed my vet the study that was done at the Univ. of Min. and he prescribed the Aldara cream. (generic- Imiquimod) It got rid of all of them and they never returned (knock on wood) AND I only applied it to the two largest sarcoids because they were the ones constantly being rubbed open by his tack. Yes, it is irritating for the horse when the immune reaction starts, but better than watching those sarcoids constantly spreading, growing and bleeding. PM me if you want a few hints about applying it.

[wendybird]

If your horse has the wart-like sarcoids I suggest you get some blood root paste from your local herbal health care shop.
It is made from Sanguinaria Canadensis, and is the active ingredient in a number of preparations. It is very much cheaper than commercial preparations - I paid the = $US 20 for a 20gm pot, and didn't use more than half.

I have used it on the wart-like sarcoids and it is very easy to apply around the face and mouth. Applied daily to the lesion itself, it will disappear in 2-3 weeks.

I used it on my arab - the sarcoid was starting to irritate her and she would rub and make it bleed. She wasn't the least upset by the paste. The skin healed and hair grew in very quickly and there has been no recurrence.

[esdressage]

I don't have experience with the Aldara but just for info purposes since the product has been mentioned, thought I'd throw in the mix that the Xterra did wonders for my mare.

She had a good half-dozen sarcoids on her when I bought her, including one right in the girth area, and the Xterra got rid of all of them. I've had her for eight years and not one has returned, nor have there been any new ones. I am so thankful for how well that product worked!

[pawsplus]

Resurrecting this thread b/c my mare has a sarcoid in her ear. I found the Minn. study on Aldara and am talking w/ my vet about trying that.

I'm confused about a few things--first, I don't see it offered in a tube--just in 1-dose packets. See here on Canadian Pharmacy:

http://www.canadapharmacy.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product/product_id/1326.htm

I called my local pharmacy and their quote for the generic was $900 for a 36-pack!!! 3X a week for 16 weeks = 48 treatments, so the 36-pack wouldn't even be enough!

I don't see a tube on Canadian Pharm either--still the 1-dose packets.

The last time I ordered something from them, it was opened at the border and sent back--I never got my item and it was a huge PITA. Have folks had better luck than that ordering drugs from Canada?

I guess I'll order a 12 pack and see how it goes? Has anyone else been using it since this thread died?

Thanks!!

[dalpal]

Just wiped out a sarcoid with Aldara cream.

Cost...250.00 for a months supply. Ended up only needing half, so my vet bought the other half from me. So total treatment was around 125.00 for this particular horse.

You rub it on with a glove (or at least I did)..very small amount..after about two days, it literally starts rotting off your horse...it's gross.....but it does not affect healthy tissue. My gelding had a hole where the tumor was....

Took about a week for the tissue to fill in.

Vet likes Aldara the best because he says that it will wipe the tumor out and he has never seen it reappear using this cream.

I actually have pictures..LOL. I'll have to put them in a photobucket account so you can see them.

[dalpal]

Resurrecting this thread b/c my mare has a sarcoid in her ear. I found the Minn. study on Aldara and am talking w/ my vet about trying that.

I'm confused about a few things--first, I don't see it offered in a tube--just in 1-dose packets. See here on Canadian Pharmacy:

http://www.canadapharmacy.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product/product_id/1326.htm

I called my local pharmacy and their quote for the generic was $900 for a 36-pack!!! 3X a week for 16 weeks = 48 treatments, so the 36-pack wouldn't even be enough!

I don't see a tube on Canadian Pharm either--still the 1-dose packets.

The last time I ordered something from them, it was opened at the border and sent back--I never got my item and it was a huge PITA. Have folks had better luck than that ordering drugs from Canada?

I guess I'll order a 12 pack and see how it goes? Has anyone else been using it since this thread died?

Thanks!!

Why so many treatments....I only used it twice a week. And in two weeks that sucker was gone. I don't know if it comes in a tube....it came in one dose packets from my pharmacy.

My vet even told me that you can sometimes stretch the packet and use half at a time.

It certainly didn't take much with my guy.

[kittykeno]

This is a timely post for me. Thank you for the information on Aldara. I'm going to keep this in mind should I need it in the future.

As I understand it, what treatment used depends on where the sarcoid is located. Four very small sarcoids located on the body of my horse (rice grain to pencil eraser size) were all treated successfully with Exterra. It's been 5 years since the earliest sarcoid was removed and no reappearance in that location has been observed.

Over the past 9 months one sarcoid was actively growing in the horse's ear. This one grew to the size of a cherry tomato with 9 months. It oozed a sticky serous fluid and at times bled thus attracting a lot of flies. Surgery was the recommended treatment. So far things are looking very good for that ear but of course there is the possibility that the sarcoid will return. If it does it will be treated with a chemotherapeutic agent but I understand exterra is not what will be recommended.

Thanks for the tip on Aldara. I will ask my vet about that.

[Tif_Ann]

I've used Aldara on squamous cell carcinomas on his eyelid. Fabulous drug, HORRIBLE treatment, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. It saved my horse's good eye.

Cost was $90 for a 3 TINY tubes, one tube per treatment. I was able to use half a pouch for the last round because the area had shrunk enough. Think of the size of the little foil things you can get makeup samples in out of magazines. See here: http://i.ehow.com/images/a04/rm/3k/aldara-200X200.jpg - I paid $90 for three of those little packets. We purchased them directly from a human pharmacy because the amount my vet needed to purchase was crazy.

The Aldara made a huge difference in the cancer. It completely removed three of the tiny tumors, and ate a huge amount of the large tumor away. We had to do 3 treatments per week, and because of side effects I ended up not doing the full six weeks at a time treatment, but broke them up into smaller cycles. After the third or fourth cycle which was the only one that wasn't effective, I chose to take him to an expert to discuss surgery. Prior to starting Aldara the tumor was so large he would have lost the eye because of the damage to the eyelid. After Aldara the tumor had shrunk enough that the surgery was pretty uneventful and we were able to remove the tumor completely without losing his eye. Since he's blind in the other eye, this was very important.

NOW, the side effects. OMG this stuff irritated him. There was one other horse at our vet getting the same treatment and the owners actually ended up having him stay at the clinic because they couldn't handle putting him through the treatment. It is a VERY painful treatment, the swelling and irritation is horrible. We would start out with no problem getting the first treatment on, because Pi is very good for the vet, the second would take two people and a struggle, and the third 2-3 people and a twitch, plus sedation. It was awful watching him go through it, and worse on him. He lost a ton of weight because of the pain (ended up on daily bute while on the treatment) and was unable to navigate his surroundings because the pain overwhelmed his normal senses (blindness, you know). Luckily he was in a stall and I have a fabulous BO who took extra time when leading him, though she did insist that he have a halter on at all times because he wouldn't let you near his head.

Here are some pictures of his eye - though it's hard to show swelling and just how painful it was in pictures. Most of these pictures are after one or two treatments ... and they just kept getting worse.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127755&id=787364103&l=a6bee7e051

At one point we finally said we were done, and I couldn't put him through another round. Even the vet commented that Pi was "done with us messing with his eye" when he went to remove his stitches. I wouldn't change the treatment, because it saved his eye, but I did hit the breaking point of how much suffering I could cause, even in the name of good. I lost a lot of Pi's trust and it took me months to get it back. But he is cancer free, still has his "good" eye (he only has 30% vision in that one anyway) and is very happy, active and healthy today.

[maxxtrot]

i have several packs left. had one removed by surgery on a front leg that was over a rather large blood vessel. the aldara really works. i will sell it for what i bought it for from the vet i work for.