The Use of Urea to Treat Skin Conditions

Urea is an organic compound that is probably most well known for its role in a fertilizer used in farming. Urea plays an important part in our bodies metabolism and is an important way in which the body excretes excess nitrogen. Urea is formed in the liver from an ammonia compound via the deamination of amino acids as the main end product of protein catabolism. Urea consists of two amine groups which are joined together by a carbonyl functional group. In 1928 Friedrich Wöhler showed for the first time that an organic compound could be made from inorganic compounds when he was able to synthetise urea from inorganic precursors in the laboratory. The synthesised version of urea is widely used as a topical or external medicine used to treat a wide range of skin conditions. It has become so important for this that urea is now listed by the World Health Organization on their List of Essential Medicines that it recommends that all countries have access to. In skin that is dry, it has been shown that there is a significant loss of urea in the skin, so hence the need to apply the urea cream. These skin conditions include simple skin conditions like dry skin or the more severe skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema and ichthyosis. These creams are often used by podiatrists after the debridement of cracked skin around the heels.

Urea creams have differing affects on different skin conditions depending on their concentration in the medication. At concentrations of around 40% the urea can dissolve the intercellular matrix of the nail plate so can be used to treat nail dystrophy disorders by dissolving part of the nail. This can be useful in conditions like fungal infections of the nails. At concentrations lower than that, but still above 20% the urea cream is a keratolytic which means it can cause a breakdown of proteins in the skin, so the dry skin can flake off, especially with the cracked dry skin around the heel of the feet. At concentrations of less than 20% the urea cream acts as a humectant which means it helps the skin retain moisture and reduce water loss and keep the skin soft and flexible. Urea has an additional advantage in that it also has anti-pruritic affects which means that it can help with those dryer skin conditions that are also itchy. There are not really any adverse effects using these urea creams on the skin except for an occasional local irritation that almost always clears up when you stop using the cream. Unlike a lot of other drugs, there are no known interactions between urea and other medicines that may be used. Urea should not be used if there is a known allergy to it or any of the other ingredients that are used in making the cream. There are literally 100’s of different brand names of urea crams such as Walker’s Urea Foot Cream from Australia and Keralac Cream from the USA. Always avoid contact with the eyes with the urea cream and wash your hands after using it.

Craig Payne is a University lecturer, runner, cynic, researcher, skeptic, forum admin, woo basher, clinician, rabble-rouser, blogger and a dad.