Dr. Supriya Sharma, Dr. Soumyava Basu, Dr. Lubhani Jain
Background:Fairness creams are increasingly being used by both men and women. Several such creams have been withdrawnfrom market, owing to steroid content. Herein, we investigate the role of fairness creams as risk factor for central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR)
Methods:Retrospective chart review
Results: We found 9patients (8 men, 1 women) diagnosed of CSCRin past three year, who reported using fairness creams.Only 2 patients had another risk factor for CSCR. Mean duration of using such creams was 9.88 +/-5.46 years. 6 patients had unilateral disease and 3bilateral. There were no unique angiographic or tomographic features. The sub-retinal fluid resolved in 6/9patients after discontinuing the cream, however those still using the cream complained of persisting symptoms.
Conclusion: Fairness creams may be a potential risk factor for CSCR. It needs further investigation such as role of duration of use, and chemical analysis of existing creams