Desonide (Desowen) Risks, Warnings, and Complications
| Desonide can cause potentially serious adverse effects in certain high-risk individuals. Talk to your doctor about other treatment options for your skin condition if you are at a high risk of complications from this medication. Some of the risks of using desonide include: SKIN REACTIONS: Desonide can cause skin reactions, including stinging, burning, itching, dryness, skin atrophy (thinning), stretch marks, spider veins, rash, and changes in skin color. To prevent these skin reactions, your doctor will prescribe the lowest dose of desonide for the shortest time to treat your symptoms. Call your doctor if irritation develops. If you develop allergic contact dermatitis with corticosteroids, your skin may fail to heal. Tell your doctor if you do not notice an improvement in your condition after 2 weeks of using desonide topical cream, ointment, or lotion or 4 weeks of using desonide gel or foam. If you do not respond to desonide or have a clinical exacerbation of your symptoms, your doctor may order appropriate diagnostic patch testing to find out if the corticosteroid medicine is causing an allergic reaction. Desonide is a synthetic nonfluorinated corticosteroid, and these drugs are more likely to cause contact allergy than fluorinated steroids. CONCOMITANT SKIN INFECTIONS: Desonide suppresses the immune system and can affect your body’s ability to fight infections. It is important to treat bacterial or fungal skin infections if you are using desonide. Seek prompt medical care if you develop signs of a secondary infection such as redness, swelling, or oozing pus. HPA AXIS SUPPRESSION: Sufficient systemic absorption of topical corticosteroids (absorption of steroid medicines applied to the skin into the bloodstream) can produce detectable quantities of steroids in the blood. This can lead to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis suppression and possible glucocorticosteroid insufficiency after treatment is stopped. It happens because too much corticosteroid medication in the body suppresses natural steroid production in the body. When external treatment with steroids is stopped, it leads to low steroid hormone levels in the body. Children are at a higher risk of systemic steroid toxicity because they have a higher skin surface-to-body mass ratio. Do not apply topical steroids to large areas or skin. Do not place an occlusive dressing or wrap on the treated area as this can lead to increased absorption of the medicine. Your doctor may do tests such as ACTH stimulation test, morning plasma cortisol, and urinary free cortisol to evaluate you for HPA axis suppression while you are on desonide or other corticosteroids. If you are receiving other topical corticosteroids, especially higher potency corticosteroids, your doctor will likely recommend short-term treatment for no more than 2 weeks at a time. They will only treat small areas of skin due to the risk of HPA axis suppression. Recovery of HPA axis function is usually prompt after topical corticosteroids are discontinued. Rarely, glucocorticosteroid insufficiency due to HPA axis suppression may require appropriate therapy with supplemental systemic corticosteroids (oral steroid medicine for replacement).
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Precautions Before Starting Desonide (Desowen)
Tell your doctor if you have ever had an allergic reaction to desonide, any of the active or inactive ingredients in desonide formulations, or any other drugs. Your pharmacy can give you a list of ingredients.
Give your doctor or pharmacist a complete list of your medications, including prescription medications, nonprescription medications, vitamins, dietary supplements, and herbal products. This can help avoid interactions between desonide and your other medications.
Give your doctor a complete medical history. Desonide may not be safe for people with certain medical conditions such as diabetes, Cushing’s syndrome, or liver problems.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, might be pregnant, are planning a pregnancy soon, or are nursing an infant with breast milk.
Precautions During Use of Desonide (Desowen)
Tell your doctor if you do not see an improvement in your skin symptoms after 2-4 weeks of using desonide.
Tell all your doctors you are using desonide, especially if you are having surgery or dental procedures.
Call your doctor if you become pregnant while using desonide.
Desonide (Desowen) Drug Interactions
Certain medicines can affect how desonide works. Using desonide with certain other drugs can increase the risk of side effects. Your doctor may change the doses of your medications, switch you to a different medication, and/or monitor you carefully for adverse events if there are known interactions between desonide and your other medicines.
Give your doctor or pharmacist a complete list of your medications, including prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements, and herbal remedies. Also, tell your healthcare provider if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use recreational drugs because some of these substances can cause serious health complications when used with prescription and over-the-counter medicines.
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